Casa Panigarola (or Casa dei Panigarola), also known as Palazzo dei Notai ("Palace of the Notaries"), is a historic building of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, located in

Piazza Mercanti Piazza Mercanti ("Merchants Square") is a central city square of Milan, Italy. It is located between Piazza del Duomo, which marks the centre of the modern city of Milan, and Piazza Cordusio, and it used to be the heart of the city in the Middle ...

, former city centre in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. It is named after the House of Panigarola, a family of notaries from

Gallarate Gallarate (; Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people. It is the junction of railways to Va ...

, that owned the building until 1741. The building thus served as a notary seat, and the activities therein were strictly related to those that occurred in the adjacent Palazzo della Ragione, where trials were held. The palace occupies the west side of the rectangular Piazza Mercanti city square. While its original structure dates back to the age of

medieval commune Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense (both physical defense and of traditional freedoms) among the citizens of a town or city. These took many forms and varied widely in organization and makeup. C ...

s, it was largely rebuilt in the 15th century in

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style. The facade was designed by Giovanni Solari in 1466 and largely restored in 1899 by

Luca Beltrami Luca Beltrami (November 13, 1854 – August 8, 1933) was an Italian architect and architectural historian, known particularly for restoration projects. Biography Beltrami was born in Milan. He was initially a student at the Politecnico in Mila ...

. A minor restoration occurred in 1967, under the supervision of Antonio Cassi Ramelli. In the floor of the

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

, there is a notable relief with the

biscione The ''biscione'' or ''bisson'' . ("big grass snake"), less commonly known also as the ''vipera'' ("viper"), is a heraldic charge showing on argent an azure serpent in the act of eating or giving birth to a human. It is a historic symbol of th ...

, Milan's emblem under the

House of Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. They acquired the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti family in the mid-15th century, Sforza rule ending in Milan with the death of the last me ...

. Another notable decoration of the palace is a

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

plaque dating back to 1448, signed by Tommaso da Caponago (a 15th-century lawyer), that warns against the perils of recurring to the law to solve conflicts.Testo originale latino e suo significato della lapide
/ref>

Footnotes

References

*O.P. Melano, ''Milano di terracotta e mattoni'', Mazzotta, 2002 *A. Lanza and M. Somarè, ''Milano e suoi palazzi - Porta Vercellina, Comasina e Nuova'', Libreria Milanese. {{Authority control Palaces in Milan Tourist attractions in Milan Gothic architecture in Milan