The Palazzo Litta, also known as the Palazzo Arese-Litta, is a
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
structure in
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 ...
, northern Italy, opposite
San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore
San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore is a church in Milan, Northern Italy. It was originally attached to the most important female convent of the Benedictines in the city, Monastero Maggiore, which is now in use as the Civic Archaeological Museum ...
, and dating from the period of Spanish rule of the city. In 2018, it served as a cultural center, housing exhibition spaces, offices, and a theater.
History
Architect
Francesco Maria Richini
Francesco Maria Richini (also spelled Ricchini) (9 February 1584 – 24 April 1658) was an Italian Baroque architect.
Biography
He was born in Milan and trained under Lorenzo Binago. He was patronized by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, Archbishop o ...
built the nucleus of the
palazzo
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
in the years 1642–1648 for Count Bartolomeo Arese, a member of the
Arese family
The Arese (or Aresi, Aresio, or Arexio in ancient form) are a prominent family of the Milanese nobility.
Origins
Originating in the comune of Arese on the outskirts of Milan and descending from the Lombard Captains of Arexio (Capitanei d'Are ...
, one of the most influential Milanese families of the period, who became President of the Senate of Milan in 1660. Palazzo Litta thus became an important cultural centre. Grand parties held here over the years included receptions for Archduchess
Mariana of Austria
Mariana of Austria ( es, Mariana de Austria) or Maria Anna (24 December 163416 May 1696) was List of Spanish royal consorts, Queen of Spain as the second wife of her uncle Philip IV of Spain from their marriage in 1649 until Philip died in 1665. ...
, for
Margaret Theresa of Spain
Margaret Theresa of Spain ( es, link=no, Margarita Teresa, german: link=no, Margarete Theresia; 12 July 1651 – 12 March 1673) was, by marriage to Leopold I, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and B ...
, for
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (28 August 1691 – 21 December 1750) was Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary; and Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to Empe ...
, for
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' ( ...
, for
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Duke of Leuchtenberg (; 3 September 1781 – 21 February 1824) was a French nobleman, statesman, and military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
Through the second marr ...
and for the arrival of
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 ...
in Milan.
Apart from its general plan, the principal features which remain essentially intact from the original seventeenth-century building are the ''
piano nobile
The ''piano nobile'' (Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the hou ...
'' (although largely redecorated) and one of Richini’s courtyards. The family oratory, also the work of Richini, and consecrated in 1671, was later turned into a private theatre for the use of the family and its invitees. The theatre, the oldest in Milan, is still in use as the ''Teatro Litta di Milano'', which also has a second performance space located in the old stable block.
In 1674 the palazzo passed to Bartolomeo’s daughter Margherita, wife of Fabio III Visconti Borromeo Arese; towards the middle of the eighteenth century, when his branch of the
Arese
Arese ( lmo, Ares ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, about northwest of Milan.
Arese borders the following municipalities: Lainate, Garbagnate Milanese, Bollate, Rho, Milan.
Arese ...
became extinct in the male line, it was inherited by the Litta family, whose members were also prominent in the political life of the city. It was in this period that a number of important changes were made to the building. By the late 19th century, it had become the home of the Railroad Administration of Northern Italy.
Architecture
Between 1752 and 1761 ''Bartolomeo Bolli'' constructed a new façade for the building, highly decorated in a late Baroque, or
Rococò
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
Carlo Giuseppe Merlo
Carlo Giuseppe Merlo (5 November 1690 – 13 February 1760) was an Italian architect of the late- Baroque period; born in Milan, Italy.
He was a pupil of Francesco Bianchi, and from 1708 to 1716 trained in the College of Engineers and Archi ...
built the imposing and scenographic forked staircase (a '' scalone a tenaglia'') whose sophisticated curves lead to the apartments of the ''piano nobile''. These too were refurbished in part, a number being decorated with murals by