Fiat Tagliero Building

The Fiat Tagliero building in Asmara was put up in 1938 as a service station and is the single most photographed structure in the city: a central tower with two concrete wings some fifteen metres long projecting on either side with nothing holding them up. The story told locally is that the authorities insisted on supporting pillars and the architect had them removed at gunpoint once the concrete cured.

What you actually see

• The cantilevered wings - fifteen metres of concrete each side with no supports.
• The central tower - the glazed block the wings project from.
• The 1938 design - futurist architecture applied to a filling station.
• The World Heritage context - part of the inscribed modernist city.

When to go

Year round; Asmara sits at over two thousand metres and the climate is mild. Mornings have the best light on the wings. The building is exterior only.

Honest expectations

The building is not open and the visit is from the street. Photography in Asmara is restricted and permits are required for many subjects; ask before pointing a camera. Its condition has deteriorated.

Nearby

Cinema Impero is nearby, and Harnet Avenue runs through the centre.