The Palazzo dell'Arengario is an early-20th century complex of two symmetrical buildings in Piazza del Duomo, the central piazza of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, 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 architec ...

, 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 arcade and a major landmark of Milan. Housed within a four-story double arcade in the centre of town, the ''Galleria'' is named after Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

s by Arturo Martini. 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 g ...

(easternmost panel, facing Duomo);

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan (; 4 April 397), venerated as Saint Ambrose, was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promoting Roman Christianity against Ari ...

on horseback enters Milan take his bishopric against the wishes of the Arians (inner panel, eastern wing, facing Duomo); the busy

Battle of Legnano The battle of Legnano was a battle between the imperial army of Frederick Barbarossa and the troops of the Lombard League on 29 May 1176, near the town of Legnano, in present-day Lombardy, Italy. Although the presence of the enemy nearby was al ...

(northernmost panel facing western wing); four Sforza dukes of Milan (middle panel facing western wing); and

Carlo Borromeo Charles Borromeo (; ; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a cardinal in 1560. Borromeo founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and was ...

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

Giacomo Manzù Giacomo Manzoni (22 December 1908 – 17 January 1991), known professionally as Giacomo Manzù, was an Italian sculptor. Biography Manzù was born in Bergamo. His father was a shoemaker and sacristan. Other than a few evening art classes ...

. In the 2000s, the palace was restored and adapted by

Italo Rota Italo Rota (2 October 1953 – 6 April 2024) was an Italian architect. Biography Born in Milan in 1953, he obtained a degree in Architecture at Milan Polytechnic University in 1982. Before that, he had started off in the architecture firms of ...

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 futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...

paintings. During the restoration works, a "media façade" (i.e., a 487 m²

LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light (corresp ...

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