The Prefecture, Milan (Italian: ''Palazzo della Prefettura di Milano'', ), also known as Palazzo Diotti, is a historic neoclassical building which has been the location of the office of the

Prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

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 ...

since 1859. The building is situated at 31, Corso Monforte in the city.

History

The original building was constructed in the early 16th century for the Humiliati, a religious order originating 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 ...

. In 1616, after that order was suppressed by the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, the building passed to another religious order, the

Somaschi Fathers , image = SomascosEscut.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = Coat of arms of the Somascan Fathers , abbreviation = CRS , nickname = Somascans , formation = , founder ...

. In 1782 it was purchased by a wealthy lawyer, Giovanni Battista Diotti who spent twenty years extensively re-building it. Diotti, an amateur architect, designed much of the building helped by Giuseppe Piermarini and later Pietro Gilardoni ( it). However, financial difficulties forced Diotti to sell the building in 1803 to the short-lived Napoleonic Italian Republic, passing to

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

’s

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

when it was created in 1805. The building was used as the Ministry of the Interior for the new kingdom. After the Napoleonic period, the building became a centre of government of the Austrian-ruled Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia from 1815 to 1859. In 1817, further work on the facade was carried out under the direction of Gilardoni. In 1849, it became the seat of the Austrian Lieutenant (or Governor) of Lombardy. Following

Italian unification The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

, it was chosen, in 1859, as the seat of the Prefecture of Milan in the new

, the Prefect being the representative of the national government at provincial level. Since then, it has remained as the seat of the Prefect of the former

Province of Milan The Province of Milan ( it, Provincia di Milano) was a province in the Lombardy region, Italy. Its capital was the city of Milan. The area of the former province is highly urbanized, with more than 2,000 inhabitants/km2, the third highest populati ...

, and from 2015, its successor, the

Metropolitan City of Milan The Metropolitan City of Milan ( it, città metropolitana di Milano; lmo, label=Milanese, cittaa metropolitana de Milan ) is a metropolitan city (not to be confused with the metropolitan area) in the Lombardy region, Italy. It is the second mos ...

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

resided in the Prefecture at 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 ...

, using it, from 18 to 25 April 1945, as his government’s last headquarters prior to the

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

victory. After the war, in 1947, it was seized and occupied for a short period by communists protesting at the removal of the left-wing Prefect of Milan,

Ettore Troilo Ettore Enzo Fimiani Troilo (10 April 1898 – 5 June 1974) was an Italian Resistance leader during World War II. Biography Early life The son of a doctor, he enlisted as a volunteer in the Great War at age 18, fighting as an artilleryman; he w ...

. The protest failed, however. The building was owned by the Province of Milan, and, subsequently, the Metropolitan City of Milan, but rented to the Prefecture. In 2017, it was reported that it was to be sold by the Metropolitan City for 38m euros to a real estate fund, established and owned by the Ministry of Finance, to assist Milan’s budget problems.

Description

Built in the neoclassical style, the imposing front of the Prefecture consists of two wings and a central section, which is set back. At the centre is a

doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

peristyle which supports a balcony. The facade of the ground floor is composed of finely dressed

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...

. On the first floor there are windows decorated with lintels surmounted by triangular gables, while on the second floor the windows are decorated with simple stone frames. The interior contains frescoes by Andrea Appiani and additional decorations by the theatrical designer Clemente Isacchi.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *{{cite web, access-date=2021-06-12, title=Il Palazzo, url=http://www.prefettura.it/milano/contenuti/Il_palazzo-13322.htm, author=Prefecture of Milan (Palazzo), website=Prefettura - Ufficio Territoriale del Governo di Milano Buildings and structures in Milan Government buildings in Italy Neoclassical architecture in Milan