San Polo
An ‘habitational unit’ of row houses and the Tintoretto tower in the background.
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The Tintoretto tower, the twin of the Cimabue tower, before demolition.
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Rehearsal for the show D.IO o dell’inferno quotidiano (D.IO or everyday hell) at the foot of the Cimabue Tower. ©Photo: Adriano Treccani
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Country: Italy
Year founded: late 1970s–early 1980s
Planned population: ca. 30,000
Current population: ca. 20,000
Purpose: conceived as an autonomous satellite district with schools, churches, administrative services, and green areas
Special feature: a town within a town
Built between the 1970s and 1980s on Brescia’s southern edge, San Polo is a rare Italian New Town created through public initiative rather than private speculation. Designed by architect Leonardo Benevolo, it combined housing diversity, green space, and social equity—an experiment inspired by the English New Towns. While some ambitions faded, its cooperative spirit persists through community gardens, the “social forest,” and local theatre. San Polo shows how public ideals continue through everyday civic life.
Avtor: New Towns New Narratives Network
Kraj: San Polo
