![Milano pal Marino piazza Scala](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Milano_pal_Marino_piazza_Scala.jpg)
Palazzo Marino is a 16th-century palace located in
Piazza della Scala
Piazza della Scala is a pedestrian central square of Milan, Italy, connected to the main square of Milan, Piazza del Duomo, by the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II passage. It is named after the renowned Teatro alla Scala opera house, which occupies ...
, in the centre 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 has been Milan's
city hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
since 9 September 1861. It borders on
Piazza San Fedele
Piazza San Fedele (''Saint Fedele Square'' in English) is sited in Milan near Palazzo Marino (Milan's Municipal office), the Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery and Piazza della Scala in a pedestrian area in the centre of the city.
The square is sited ...
, Piazza della Scala, Via Case Rotte and Via Tommaso Marino.
The palace was commissioned by Tommaso Marino, a wealthy 16th-century
Genoese banker and merchant. It became a property of the state in 1781.
History
![Galeazzo Alessi, Progetto originario per la facciata di Palazzo Marino a Milano](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Galeazzo_Alessi%2C_Progetto_originario_per_la_facciata_di_Palazzo_Marino_a_Milano.jpg)
The palace was built from 1557 to 1563 for Tommaso Marino. It was designed by architect
Galeazzo Alessi
Galeazzo Alessi (1512 – 30 December 1572) was an Italian architect from Perugia, known throughout Europe for his distinctive style based on his enthusiasm for ancient architecture. He studied drawing for civil and military architecture under the ...
from
Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...
. Its main facade originally faced Piazza San Fedele, as Piazza della Scala at the time was a warren of medieval houses. The construction was occasionally slowed down by the opposition of the population, that had a very conservative attitude towards the architecture of the centre of Milan.
Several sculptors from the
Fabbrica del Duomo were involved in the decorations this Palazzo. In the courtyard, sculptures were erected representing the
Labours of Hercules
The Labours of Hercules or Labours of Heracles ( grc-gre, οἱ Ἡρακλέους ἆθλοι, ) are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later romanised ...
and the
Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...
. The ceiling of the main hall (now known as "Salone dell'Alessi") had
fresco
Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
s and
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
s with the ''Marriage of
Cupid and Psyche
Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from ''Metamorphoses'' (also called ''The Golden Ass''), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyc ...
'' by
Andrea Semini
Andrea Semini (or Semino) (1525-1594) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance, active mainly in his native Genoa.
He was born in Genoa, son and pupil of the painter Antonio Semini. After studying some time under his father, together with h ...
and
Ottavio Semini
Ottavio Semini (c. 1530–1604) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance.
He was born and trained in Genoa and died in Milan. He was the son and pupil of Antonio Semini, and was influenced by Perino del Vaga. Aided his brother Andrea in ...
.
The four corners of the ceiling were also decorated with paintings by
Aurelio Busso Aurelio may refer to:
People Politicians
* Aurelio D. Gonzales Jr. (born 1964), congressman in the Philippines
*Aurélio de Lira Tavares (1905–1998), President of Brazil
*Aurelio Martínez, Honduran politician
*Aurelio Mosquera (1883–1939), Pr ...
representing allegories of the four seasons. Further frescos as well as
bas 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 the ...
s decorated the walls, with mythological themes such as the Muses, Bacchus, Apollo and Mercury by
Ottavio Semini
Ottavio Semini (c. 1530–1604) was an Italian painter of the late-Renaissance.
He was born and trained in Genoa and died in Milan. He was the son and pupil of Antonio Semini, and was influenced by Perino del Vaga. Aided his brother Andrea in ...
. The reliefs depict the story of Perseus.
When Marino died leaving his family bankrupt, the palace became a property of the State, but in 1632 it was sold to another banker, Carlo Omodei. The House of Omodei never inhabited the palace, which maintained its original name "Marino" and was rented to several notable Milanese.
In 1781, the palace was once again bought by the State (the notable Milanese scholar
Pietro Verri
Count Pietro Verri (12 December 1728 – 28 June 1797) was an economist, historian, philosopher and writer. Among the most important personalities of the 18th-century Italian culture, he is considered among the fathers of the Lombard reformist E ...
had an important role in convincing the authorities to buy the palace) and became the seat of administrative and tax offices. The palace was then restored, with the supervision of architect
Giuseppe Piermarini
Giuseppe Piermarini (; 18 July 1734 – 18 February 1808) was an Italian architect who trained with Luigi Vanvitelli in Rome and designed the Teatro alla Scala in Milan (1776–78), which remains the work by which he is remembered. Indeed, "il ...
, who was responsible for the renovation of the entire area.
![PalazzoMarinoDanteGalleriaScala](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/PalazzoMarinoDanteGalleriaScala.jpg)
In 1848, after the
Five Days of Milan
The Five Days of Milan ( ) was an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the First Italian War of Independence. On 18 March, a rebellion arose in the city of Milan, and in five days of street fighting ...
, the palace was temporarily used as the seat of the new government of
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 ...
. It was finally elected as Milan's city hall on 19 September 1861. The acquisition of the palace by the city administration marked a new thorough restoration of the building and the surrounding area. The block that occupied what is now Piazza della Scala was demolished to create the plaza; the facade of Palazzo Marino facing the plaza was renewed to become the palace's main facade (on a design 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 ...
, completed in 1892).
A second major restoration, directed by Arrigo Buonomo, occurred after the end of World War II. The original stuccos and frescos in the Salone dell'Alessi (which had been severely damaged by
bombings
A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...
) were recreated ex novo by notable artists of the time.
[Vergani, Guido, Palazzo Marino. Milano e il volto del suo governo, Comune di Milano 1989]
Footnotes
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marino
Houses completed in 1563
Marino
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 ...
Palazzo Marino
Palazzo Marino is a 16th-century palace located in Piazza della Scala, in the centre of Milan, Italy. It has been Milan's city hall since 9 September 1861. It borders on Piazza San Fedele, Piazza della Scala, Via Case Rotte and Via Tommaso Mari ...
Palazzo Marino
Palazzo Marino is a 16th-century palace located in Piazza della Scala, in the centre of Milan, Italy. It has been Milan's city hall since 9 September 1861. It borders on Piazza San Fedele, Piazza della Scala, Via Case Rotte and Via Tommaso Mari ...