Aurum - La Fabbrica delle Idee

Aurum, Pescara's former liqueur distillery, began as a seaside Kursaal and is now a municipal cultural centre. Its history joins the city's resort architecture, industrial production and later reuse of the complex for cultural activity.

Why it matters

The building brings together distinct chapters of twentieth-century Pescara. Antonino Liberi designed the original Kursaal for the pinewood district, and Giovanni Michelucci's 1938 expansion adapted it for the Pomilio distillery while retaining the earlier hall. After production ended in the 1970s, the complex became a setting for contemporary art and public cultural programmes.

What to notice

The building's plan preserves the contrast between Liberi's earlier hall and Michelucci's later work. Circular courtyards shape the distillery complex, while the former stills hall recalls its industrial use. Getulio Alviani's kinetic environment, created for the 1995 Fuori Uso exhibition, remains part of the building's artistic history.

Context and history

The Kursaal opened in 1910 as part of Pescara's seaside resort district. The Pomilio family acquired it in 1919 and established the distillery there; the liqueur Aurum became associated with the city. Michelucci's expansion followed in 1938. After production moved away in the 1970s, the municipality took over the abandoned complex. Restoration began in 2003, and the building returned to cultural use, including the AlvianiArtspace project, in the following decade.