Dianu Houses

The Dianu Houses are a small architectural jewel of Craiova. Located right in the city center, they have always been some of Craiova's most attractive buildings. Spacious and solid, they amazed the locals when they were finished in 1902. The facades loaded with floral ornaments and balconies in the Art Nouveau style with wrought-iron railings, were enjoyed so much by the local aristocracy that they began to be copied.

The Dianu House has a single upper floor and is beautifully decorated with window-frames, with a masonry corner balcony and another forged iron balcony towards A. I. Cuza Street. It has a steep slope roof with a truncated pyramid shaped dome on the corner and another pyramid shaped dome above the alleyway towards A. I. Cuza.

On the side towards Panait Moșoiu Street, there is a truncated pyramid shaped dome exactly at the middle of the building. On this side there is another wrought iron balcony and another masonry balcony towards the area called the "Small Crossroad".

On the ground floor there were always two or three shops of little importance, visited by those who descended towards the "Small Crossroad".

In the summer of 1934, in Craiova it was held the trial of the railwaymen and oil miners who had organized big strikes in the previous year.
During the trial, a "defense committee" was set up and the newspaper "Defense of the Railwaymen" appeared. The headquarters of the editorial office were initially in the house of lawyer Costel Dianu (A.I. Cuza Street, no.16) opposite to today’s National Theater.
The Dianu House was later the headquarters of the Craiova Committee against the Imperial War of Looting and Conquest, which included Mihail Cruceanu, Eugen Constant, av. Nicu Popilian and av. Costel Dianu.

The facade of the house was renovated in 2014, following the City Hall's decision of renovating the aspect of the entire historical center of Craiova

Source: vladimirrosulescu-istorie.blogspot.com/2016/05/casa-dianu-aicuza.html
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/craiovadeieri/