The Palazzo dell'Arengario is a Fascist-era complex of two symmetrical buildings in Piazza del Duomo, the central piazza 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. It was completed in the 1950s and currently houses the Museo del Novecento, a museum dedicated to 20th-century art. The word " arengario" refers to its original function as a local government seat in the Fascist period.

History

The Arengario was designed by Piero Portaluppi,

Giovanni Muzio Giovanni Muzio (12 February 1893 – 21 May 1982) was an Italian architect. Muzio was born and died in Milan. He was closely associated with the Novecento Italiano artists group. Biography The son of Virginio Muzio, an accomplished archi ...

, Pier Giulio Magistretti and Enrico Agostino Griffini. The palaces were meant to be connected by an arch to insinuate symmetry with the

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II () is Italy's oldest active shopping gallery and a major landmark of Milan in Italy. Housed within a four-story double arcade in the centre of town, the ''Galleria'' is named after Victor Emmanuel II, the first ki ...

entrance across the Piazza. Construction began in 1936, but experienced several delays and suffered from the

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 opposing ...

bombings; it was eventually completed in 1956. The façades on the eastern wing are decorated with 4

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s by

Arturo Martini Arturo Martini (1889–1947) was a leading Italian sculptor between World War I and II. He moved between a very vigorous (almost ancient Roman) classicism and modernism. He was associated with public sculpture in fascist Italy, but later renounc ...

. The crowded panels depict historical events and persons linked to Christianity, Milan, and Lombardy: including the dream of

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

(easternmost panel, facing Duomo); Ambrose on horseback enters Milan take his bishopric against the wishes of the Arians (inner panel, eastern wing, facing Duomo); the busy Battle of Legnano (northernmost panel facing western wing); four Sforza dukes of Milan (middle panel facing western wing); and

Carlo Borromeo Charles Borromeo ( it, Carlo Borromeo; la, Carolus Borromeus; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was the Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584 and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation combat ...

ministering to those afflicted by the plague (southernmost panel facing west wing). The 4 main portals are decorated by

Giacomo Manzù Giacomo Manzù, pseudonym of Giacomo Manzoni (22 December 1908 – 17 January 1991), was an Italian sculptor. Biography Manzù was born in Bergamo. His father was a shoemaker. Other than a few evening art classes, he was self-taught in s ...

. In the 2000s, the palace was restored and adapted by Italo Rota and Fabio Fornasari to house the Museo del Novecento, a museum of twentieth-century art inaugurated in 2010, especially renowned for its unique collection of

Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abo ...

paintings. During the restoration works, a "media façade" (i.e., a 487 m² LED screen displaying news on upcoming events, advertising, and more) was affixed to the façade of the left-hand building.Nasce a Milano la prima mediafacciata in Italia
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References

{{Milan landmarks Government buildings completed in 1956 Houses completed in 1956 Arengario Tourist attractions in Milan Italian fascist architecture