Gallavresi Palace (or the Marchioness Palace) is a public building dating back, by all accounts, to the second half of the 13th century, which lies in the historical centre of the town of

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

, in

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, northern

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 ...

; it has been see to the town administration since 1947.

History

It is not precisely known when the palace was built, although a valid ''

terminus post quem ''Terminus post quem'' ("limit after which", sometimes abbreviated to TPQ) and ''terminus ante quem'' ("limit before which", abbreviated to TAQ) specify the known limits of dating for events or items.. A ''terminus post quem'' is the earliest da ...

'' is given by the

International Gothic International Gothic is a period of Gothic art which began in Burgundy, France, and northern Italy in the late 14th and early 15th century. It then spread very widely across Western Europe, hence the name for the period, which was introduced by th ...

style of the

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

es making up 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 ...

es on the facade, according to which the construction date could be in the second half of the 13th century (when the Gothic style spread in Lombardy) at earliest. Anyway, the palace was probably erected onto a pre-existing building. The palace began hosting the town hall during the first half of the 14th century; through the centuries it was then ceded to private families, starting from the Marquisses from the

Sforza family 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 ...

, and then to the Villani Marquisses and to the Schizzis. The last owners were the Bellinzaghis and the Gallavresis, who kept the property until the first half of the 20th century. Just after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the town administration bought back the palace to move the town hall there, from the old building in via Mangone. The palace underwent a heavy restructure in 1981; the restructure of the facade revealed characteristic features which are typical of the International Gothic style.

Description

Structure

The palace lies in piazza Garibaldi, the central square in the old town; it is surrounded by the pedestrian streets of the historical centre an all the other sides. By looking at old maps, one can easily detect the existence of two ancient suspended pathways connecting the palace to two neighbouring buildings, home to the

podestà Podestà (, English: Potestate, Podesta) was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of Central and Northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a city ...

and the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

; these were destroyed in 1850, when Palazzo Gallavresi was owned by the Bellinzaghis.

Facade

Above the porticoes dating back to the 15th century, the facade features marble medals with the faces of four Italian patriots:

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the in ...

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

Vittorio Emanuele II Victor Emmanuel II ( it, Vittorio Emanuele II; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was Kingdom of Sardinia, King of Sardinia from 1849 until 17 Marc ...

and

Camillo Benso, conte di Cavour Camillo Paolo Filippo Giulio Benso, Count of Cavour, Isolabella and Leri (, 10 August 1810 – 6 June 1861), generally known as Cavour ( , ), was an Italian politician, businessman, economist and noble, and a leading figure in the movement towa ...

. The medals were made between 1884 and 1889. Between the windows there used to lie the coat of arms of the town marquesses (from the earliest to the last, the Viscontis, the Sforzas, the Villanis and the Schizzis).

Interior

The main characteristic of the interior of the palace is a majestic stairway, featuring a starry sky on the ceiling, leading to the town council hall, in the upper floor. The hall is typically baroque, and is by far the most richly decorated in the building; it features a decorative bend on all four sides, just below the ceiling, with pictures of winged

putti A putto (; plural putti ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. Originally limited to profane passions in symbolism,Dempsey, Charles. ''Inventing the Renaissance Putto''. University of ...

playing instruments. The walls feature baroque frescoes. The floor features a mosaic representing the coat of arms of the town. The entrance of the hall hosts a sculpture of Emilio Gallavresi, who was born and lived in the building and became a member of the

Italian parliament The Italian Parliament ( it, Parlamento italiano) is the national parliament of the Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1943), the transitiona ...

as a member of the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country. Founded in Genoa in 1892, ...

; the sculpture was made by Enrico Pancera.

Picture gallery

Gallavresi Palace currently hosts the picture gallery belonging to the town administration; all the pictures, some of which date back to the early Renaissance, feature an explanation on their side. The exposition is permanent, and visits for free can be booked via the town administrative offices. {{Authority control Gallavresi Gothic architecture in Lombardy Tourist attractions in Lombardy Art museums and galleries in Lombardy Caravaggio, Lombardy