35 Via Francesco Sforza
Milano
Lombardia
20122
IT
Once called by the Milanese “Ca’ Granda” (the Big House) this building was commissioned by Francesco Sforza who, in 1456, decided to gather into one hospital the numerous institutions scattered about the town.
Antonio Averutino (called Filarete) signed, as designer, the plans for the main block of buildings. A great many important architects worked on the edifice after him until the early 19th century. The result is an unusual picturesque mixture of styles, motifs, and decorative forms Filarete s style here is typical of the architecture of the transitional period between Gothic and Renaissance There is a large and majestic interior courtyard with a columned arcade and an imposing loggia.
The Ca’ Granda ceased to be a hospital in 1924. it now houses the chancellorship, offices and some of the schools of the University degli Studi. The entrance is at 5 Via Festa del Perdono.
The palace stands in the rectangular square on the southern side of the cathedral; it is a wide building with a Neoclassical front and two lateral wings. It is of ancient origin and during i[…]
Styles called “floreale” and “Liberty” were fashionable at the beginning of 20th century. They were typified by heavy ornamentation of figures, columns, flowers and f[…]
Over one million insects, twenty-four thousand birds, seventeen thousand minerals, one hundred thousand fossils and a large specialized library: this is only part of what can be found in the[…]
The Loggia of the Osii was built by Matteo Visconti in 1316. It was restored in 1904 and the deformations of the XVIIth. and XVIIIth. centuries were removed. The façade, with two superimpose[…]
(Town of Carate Brianza, province of Milan). The Basilica di San Pietro is one of the prime examples of Romanesque architecture in Lombardy. Dating from the 9th or 10th cent., it has a simpl[…]
The construction of the church which is incorporated into the Royal Palace (the entrance is from via Pecorari) began in the first half of the 14th century. Azzone Visconti had it built as a […]
The name Brera come from the place where the “Umiliati” (an order of religious men and laymen) built their house within the city walls in about 1170. In the 13th century the church of […]
The correct name would be Palazzo Morando Attendolo Bolognim. It now contains a municipal museum collection. The Barocchetto style facade has been partly remodeled. The staircase within has […]
This is the rest home for musicians that Giuseppe Verdi ordered built. The architectural plan was the idea of Arrigo Boito: in a crypt in the center of the garden (decorated with allegorical[…]
Large village built on a rise, to the right of the river Adda. The Castello Borromeo d’ Adda, whose origins are pre-1000 A.D., was rebuilt in later periods. It has an interesting inner[…]
The famous Galleria connects the plaza of the Cathedral to the Piazza della Scala. Building began in 1865 under the direction of Giuseppe Mengoni who died in 1877 after falling from the scaf[…]
This museum, which has no egual in Italy, was founded by the engineer Guido Uccelli. It was inaugurated in 1953 with the great exhibition held for the Vth centenary of Leonardo’s birth[…]
Also known as “Palazzo Arese”, it was enlarged by the Litta family in 1700. The architect B.Bolla was commissioned to work over Richini’s original construction (1648). It i[…]
At the meeting-point of Venetia, Emilia and Lombardy. Pile-dwel-lings and other remains indicate that the area was inhabited in ancient times. After being a Longobard and Frankish centre, it[…]
In the center of the plaza we find the Monument to Leonardo da Vinci by Pietro Magni (1872). Four statues of the Milanese disciples of Leonardo, Marco d’Oggriono, G. Antonio Boltraftio[…]
The rather plain façade of this 15th century mansion is interesting for its Gothic entrance. Its pointed arch is accented with two colors of cut stone and by three marble borders decorated w[…]
The church is at 15 Corso Magenta. It was consecrated in 1519. It belonged to a convent of Benedictine nuns called “Maggiore” because it was the largest and most important in the[…]
This Basilica was one of the first churches to be constructed in Milan-Sant’Ambrogio was responsible for initiating the plans to build it (4th cent.) but it was completed under the dir[…]
Important agricultural and industrial centre, with historical connections, on the right bank of the river Adda. The Duomo was begun in 1160, and has a facade which has obviously been altered[…]
