The building is located on the main city’s avenue - the Korzo - and is characterized by one of the most recognizable balconies in the city centre, while its other facade looks on to the Rijeka Resolution square. It is one of the most noteworthy buildings in Rijeka, and it went through many political transformations during the twentieth century. It was built in 1863, following the plan of the architect Antonio Deseppi, and it initially housed the “Casinò patriottico” and the Società filodrammatica. From 1890, the building housed the “Narodna čitaonica” (the People’s/national reading room), becoming the most important cultural center of the Croatian-Slavic life in the city. Important decisions for the Croatian community were taken in this building, such as the Rijeka Resolution in 1905: a political agreement aimed at establishing a political coalition between Croatian and Serbian parties in the Austro-Hungarian political arena. In 1918, when the Austro-Hungarian empire was collapsing and possession of Rijeka became a point of contention between Italy and the new Yugoslav state, it was in this building that the Croatian/South Slavic national council declared the annexation to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Rijeka was however annexed by Italy, and subsequently the building served to maintain a connection with the South Slavic population of the city, alongside the Consulate of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In 1930, however, it was turned into the headquarters of the Italian Fascist Party: the “Casa del Fascio”. After the Second World War, its role changed again. Since 1951 it has been the headquarters of Radio Rijeka, originally broadcasting both in Croatian and Italian languages. In the fifties, two commemorative plaques were unveiled on the building, aimed at memorialising the building's role in Croatian history. The first celebrates the Resolution of Rijeka, while the second celebrates the literary journal Neven and the first century of the Croatian press in the city of Rijeka. The Čitaonica is still housed in the building. Another section of the building, called the Mali Salon was a space for art exhibitions established after World War II and one of the main expressions of city’s artistic life on Korzo. Sadly, it was closed in 2019.