The Palace of the Banca Commerciale Italiana (in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, ''Palazzo della Banca Commerciale Italiana'') is a historic building 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 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 ...

, 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 city centre. It was designed by architect

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 ...

in the early 20th century for

Banca Commerciale Italiana Banca Commerciale Italiana (COMIT), founded in 1894, was once one of the largest banks in Italy. In 1999 it merged with a banking group consisting of Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde (aka Cariplo; est. 1823) and Banco Ambroveneto, wh ...

(BCI, an Italian bank), and it is still in use as a seat of the company (now merged into

Banca Intesa Banca Intesa S.p.A. was an Italian banking group. It was formed in 1998. In the next year the banking group merged with another bank Banca Commerciale Italiana to become IntesaBCi. However, the name of the group was reverted to Banca Intesa in 2 ...

). Since 2011 it hosts the

Gallerie di Piazza Scala The Gallerie d'Italia - Milano is a modern and contemporary museum in Milan, Italy. Located in Piazza della Scala in the Palazzo Brentani and the Palazzo Anguissola, it hosts 195 artworks from the collections of Fondazione Cariplo with a strong ...

where are exposed many artworks from the collections of Fondazione Cariplo.

History

In the early 20th century, the centre of Milan gradually evolved into a prominently financial district. BCI decided to establish a new, more prestigious headquarters building in the area.La sede della Banca Commerciale Italiana
/ref> Architect Luca Beltrami was chosen as the main designer, both because of his renowned talent, and because his fame and personal influence was expected to be helpful in achieving the permissions needed for the work, including permission to demolish 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 ...

church that occupied part of the designated area for the BCI building.Attilia Lanza, ''Milano e i suoi palazzi: Porta Vercellina, Comasina e Nuova''. Libreria Meravigli Editrice, 1993, pp. 138-139 Besides the church, also the "Caffé Martini" café (which was renowned as a gathering place for the Milanese patriots who had fought in 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 ...

) was demolished.

Architecture

Despite the popularity of

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

in the Milanese architecture of the early 20th century, Beltrami chose to base his design on the neoclassical style. The reason was twofold: on one hand, the neoclassical style was best fit to represent the authority and decorum of a large bank as the Banca Commerciale Italiana; on the other hand, this design created a symmetry with

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

theatre, which occupies another side of the same plaza. In fact, La Scala was Beltrami's major inspiration. The main element of the marble facade is the central pediment, with its large columns. The interior of the building (which is still partially preserved), was also decorated in neoclassical style; the hall and the large staircase are the most notable elements. The design also included an underground store, mainly used for safe boxes; some of the original safes, in cast iron, are preserved.

References

{{Milan landmarks 1900s architecture

Gallerie di Piazza Scala Intesa Sanpaolo buildings and structures Renaissance Revival architecture Tourist attractions in Milan