4

Given the uniqueness of the Ital-ian national history, the urban iden-tity has become a real feeling of “be-longing to” the city. The lenghtyperiod of the Comuni, in north-ern/central Italy, saw blooming ur-ban realities that alongside episodesof relentless rivalry have led to thecampanilismo, citizen’s pride cou-pled with his faith to the belfry, ar-

chitectural emblem of the city, giv-ing rise to magnificent publicbuildings boosting communityspirit and the sense of belonging.

Also, the artistic legacy of the citysupports the image it projects out-wards; everything is represented inart, from the spiritual and militarypower to the wealth deriving fromtrade and craft.

cities of artFactor ies of ar t , factor ies of his tor y

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Sabbioneta’s charm does not end with its extraordinary architectural works: the PalazzoDucale, the Palazzo Giardino, the Teatro all’Antica. In fact, the city offers a calendarrich in events. In June, the Città di Sabbioneta trophy, a skill race for vintage cars, isdedicated to the memory of the legendary driver Tazio Nuvolari; in September, thePalazzo Ducale houses the Mostra Mercato del Libro e della Stampa Antichi (AntiqueBook and Printing Fair), held simultaneously with the Antique Book Fair hosted inVespasiano Gonzaga’s “Libreria Grande”. The Teatro all’Antica presents a dense the-atre and music programme.

6

The Longobard monastery of Santa Giulia today contains a wide museum collectionmade up of prehistoric, protohistoric, Roman, medieval, and Renaissance artefacts. This

collection of great artistic interest tells about a 2000-year local history, with so manypeoples and cultures passing through. Also remarkable is the applied art collection, con-sisting of neo-classic items (glass, ceramics, ivory). Apart from its precious contents, the

monastery of Santa Giulia attracts by way of its architectural structure and the manyevents and exhibitions following one after the other.

The history of Lombardy was sep-arated from that of the rest of Italyin 568, when the Longobards de-scended and gave their name to aterritory that represented the veryheart of their conquest: Longobar-dia. The few late medieval ruins thatremain are testimony to a barbarianculture that Christianity managed

to tame. The nobility of the basilicaof Sant’Ambrogio in Milano andthe basilica of Saint Abbondio inComo, the suggestive monastery ofSanta Giulia in Brescia (today a mu-seum of paleochristian and medievalart) all represent the beginning of anideal journey through the history ofart in this region.

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Lombardia

To Milanese people, 7th December means Sant’Ambrogio or – to better say – Sant’Ambrös(dialectal name), the patron of the city. For one day, the rule prescribes to forget business andwander around the stalls of the Oh Bej Oh Bej market, held near the basilica of St.’Ambrogio’s.A visit to the the Oh Bej Oh Bej is an opportunity to admire and purchase antique furniture,hand-made products and various item, or “to attack” the food booths along the streets; and ifwearing scarves and coats is not enough against the cold, a good help is provided by mulledwine, the “official” market’s drink, together with roast chestnuts, also typical.

Once a year, in September, the castle of Belgioioso and its large garden house “Parolenel tempo”, the small publishers fair. Here, visitors can meet – beside small yet estab-

lished companies – those proud operators acting outside the mainstream, the ones youhardly see in the traditional book distribution channels. This is the opportunity of learn-

ing their catalogues and activity.

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A first thread that will guide usthrough the history of architecturein Lombardy is that of the region’scastles, forts and walled cities. Thetormented military history of the re-gion is represented by the largenumber of defensive constructionsthat were built just about every-where, from the great cities to thesmall suburbs in strategic positionsfrom the Middle Ages, right throughto the Renaissance. The RoccaScaligera guard house overlookingthe dock of Sirmione; the Visconti’scastles of Voghera, Pavia, Belgioioso,Chignolo Po, to name but a few,originally built for military purpos-

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Lombardia

The “Civica Raccolta delle Stampe Achille Bertarelli”, hosted in the Castello Sforzesco,consists of a very valuable heritage of prints, drawings, and photographs. The immensecollection, now of about one million of pieces, was initiated by the industrialist AchilleBertarelli, who started collecting prints and photographs in the late 19th century. In1927, after its name, the private collection became the current Civica Raccolta (CivicCollection). Today, it stands out as one of the most significant cultural institutions of thecity and the whole country.

es, were later transformed into mag-nificent residential buildings afterbeing embellished with creations ofgreat artists such as Bernini and Bra-mante. The Renaissance – duringwhich Lombardy, under Sforza’srule, obtained the greatest ever po-litical influence – achieved signifi-cant developments in its defensivecomplexes. The massive CastelloSforzesco of Milano has an unusualcharacteristic, that of the twentieth-century tower built correspondinglyto the main portal to replace theoriginal that collapsed.

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The castle of Vigevano that over-looks the city is made up of a com-plex of buildings that include theDucale palace. The Venetian domin-ion over Bergamo has left a giant six-teenth-century fort, surrounded byover five kilometres of walls ending

in the fortress (the Rocca) that over-shadows the city. Also inherited fromthe Venetians is the spectacular for-tified complex Falcone d’Italia, Bres-cia, one of the best preserved exam-ples in Italy, testimony to the historicevolution in military architecture.

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Lombardia

Lively and elegant Vigevano town, with its open-air coffee bars and its busy centre,twice a year provides a special and spectacular event. In May and October the twelvecontrade (historic quarters) compete for the conquer of the Cencio, an artistic clothdesigned on purpose by a fellow-citizen. The representatives run the Palio in the honourof Matteo Carceri, the Blessed Patron of the city. In a fairy-tale atmosphere, noble andordinary people in historical clothes walk in procession with gonfalons and standards,to the sound of drums and chiarine. They pay homage to the Duke of Milan, headedsouth to Lomellina region for his delight. In the scenery of the Sforza Castle, spicedfoods, music, dances and shows bring back to life a fragment of Renaissance.

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Bergamo is a double-faced city, showing up through the local denomination: there is a“lower” Bergamo and a “upper” Bergamo. The low city, of late Renaissance and

Baroque origin is often ignored, in spite of its churches full with pieces of art. The highcity, instead, maintains the medieval atmosphere, in the form of twisting small street

under the Venetian Walls, many ancient palaces and beautiful monuments. The forest ofchurch bells, towers and domes and the incomparable beauty of Piazza Vecchia and

Piazza Duomo define the identity of one of the most fascinating Italian cities.

Alongside these defensive structureswithin the cities, of great interest andregard are the fortified villages, es-tablished in areas of particular strate-gic importance. Pizzighettone, thatwas an active commercial port on thebanks of the river Adda, subject ofdispute between Milan and Cre-mona, was granted by both a castleand city walls, among the most im-pressive of the region. Soncino, im-portant for its strategic position onthe banks of the river Oglio, was sur-rounded by a system of defensivewalls modified a number of timesduring the centuries. Thanks to thenineteenth-century restoration, thewalls and six of the nine towers arestill in remarkable condition today.

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Lombardia

The 16th century saw the development of new musical instruments, capable to interpret the new“languages”. The Museo del Palazzo Comunale in Cremona houses a priceless collection ofmasterpieces made by the expert violin-makers of Cremona. The “Charles IX” violin was madein the middle 1500s by Andrea Amati, the liutaio who invented the violin by altering the tenorviola. The major works of the Cremonese school – notably, those by Antonio Stradivari – werecreated between 1600 and 1700. Aside from the Carlo IX, the museums contains other instru-ments, such as the “Hammerle” violin, (by Nicolò Amati, 1658), the “Cremonese” violin (byStradivari, 1715), and the “Stauffer” violin (by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, 1734).

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The Castello Morando Bolognini, in Sant’Angelo Lodigiano, houses three museums. In 1933Countess Lydia Caprera Morando Bolognini decided to honour her husband’s memory, by con-

verting the castle into a museum and creating an institution with his name to carry out researchesand studies on agriculture. The twenty four halls of the museum contain the large collection of

Bolognini family, started in the 17th century. Also, the castle hosts the Museo Lombardo di Storiadell’Agricoltura (dedicated to the history of agriculture techniques in Lombardy), proposed for the“European Museum of the Year Award 1982”, as well as the Museo del Pane, illustrating a vari-

ety of bread-making techniques and containing five hundred actual loaves of bread.

Every city community designates apart of its city to the public, an areawhere the public can demonstrateand come together as a collective.This area or space, an ideal and geo-metric center, is the city square, heirof the Greek agorà, site of politicaldialogue, markets, acrobats and jug-glers, ceremonies both civil and reli-gious. And it is for this reason, for thehigh symbolic value, that some of thefinest examples of artistic expressionoverlook and decorate the citysquare, more often than not work ofthe authorities to promote the idea ofa blooming community.

Each one of the historical citysquares of Lombardy, from the maincities down to the smaller ones, af-firms its central role through thepresence of a public building,whether it be a cathedral or a cityhall. Suggestive the view offered bythe city squares of Rivarolo Manto-vano with its antique porches,Melegnano with its medieval build-ings, Clusone with its planetary clockembedded in the tower of the cityhall, Voghera with its curvilinear de-sign and elegant cathedral.

Literature

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Lombardia

I left Pavia on the 26th of October, Thursday. I turned right and took the road half a mile

far from right to see the place where they say King Francesco’s army had been destroyed,

a flat place. And to see the Chartrosa, which, quite rightly, is told to be a beautiful church.

The façade, upon entering, is made of marble, endlessly carved, something really

astonishing. Also, there is an ivory altar upon which are incided the Old and the New

Testament […] These are the most marvelous things […] The site is in the middle of a

beautiful meadow.

Michel de Montaigne, Viaggio in Italia,1581

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Once a year, in May, in Brescia it is time for the legendary Freccia Rossa, a race forvintage cars; while in the past it was based on velocity, the modern editions are

based on endurance. The “new” Mille Miglia goes from Brescia to Rome and back,along a fascinating route through the Italy of hills and art cities. About 360 cars builtbetween 1927 and 1957 take part in the race. For a car to be enrolled in the race,

the same identical model must have taken part in a historic edition of the MilleMiglia.

Unforgettable the use of perspec-tive in the city square of Cremona,with its tower, cathedral, baptistery,Loggia del Soldato and city hallmaking it one of the most importantmonumental complexes in Italy. Pi-azza Paolo VI, Brescia, with PalazzoBroletto and the old cathedral builtusing the circular design of a pale-ochristian basilica, fascinates with itsantique glaze. The spacious Piazza

della Vittoria in Lodi offers its irreg-ular archways. Vigevano enchants itsvisitors with what is quite rightlyconsidered to be one of the mostbeautiful city squares in Italy; in-spired by Leonardo and made byBramante, the square, with itsporches and archways and its cathe-dral’s concave, baroque façade makeit one of the most harmonious cre-ations of the Italian Renaissance.

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Lombardia

Cremona’s Piazza del Comune is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and fascinatingmedieval city squares of whole Italy, yet the city can offer even more. It is worth turningone’s eye away from its enchanting sight and enjoy the medieval atmosphere of Via diPorta Marzia and Piazza delle Erbe. Although the city has a primary artistic and histori-cal tradition, that one cannot help perceiving when watching the churches of San Luca(Romanesque), Sant’Agostino (Gothic) and San Sigismondo (Renaissance), it has not cutits connections with the countryside, to which it owes its wealth.

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Lombardia

Between June and July Brescia becomes the centre of an international event: the Festivalof Contemporary Circus. This happening invades the most fascinating areas of the city:gardens, squares, cloisters, historical palaces’ courtyards. The very rich programme isoriented towards a new conception of circus, where juggling and acrobatics are notsimply skill exercises, but are intended to revolutionise the traditional circus routine.Dance, choreography and music become key elememts of artistic expression, emphasising the technical and aesthetic potential of the human body.

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Piazza Mercanti, in Milan, is one of the few corners remaining from the original citycentre. Shy and hidden, this square is enriched by the Palazzo della Ragione, an elon-gated four-side building made up of a large hall sustained by three rows of arches rest-ing on firestone pillars. After being for century the office of judges deliberating on civil

and criminal “reasons” (ragione means reason), nowadays, after a recent restoration, ithosts several exhibitions. Overlooking the square are the Baroque palace of Scuole

Palatine and, in a different yet matching style, the Gothic Panigarola’s House.

Art and the city meet on fertileground when it comes to the cre-ation of sacred buildings, monu-mental evidence of a common faith,that both in terms of the colossalamount of work and in terms of thehuge amounts of money to erectthem, give an idea of the in-depth,spiritual value that these construc-tions glorify. There is a clear rela-tionship between the elevation of anemotional or spiritual value and itsexaltation through art and this iscan be truly verified when lookingat the architectural riches, figurativeand decorative, of these sacred con-structions. The great cathedral ofMilano (the Duomo), built throughthe will of Gian Galeazzo Visconti,unquestionably represents one ofthe best examples of Gothic archi-tecture in the world. The Ro-manesque cathedral of Cremona, itsmajestic façade enriched by itsporches, archways and lodge and itsinner walls adorned with sixteenth-century frescoes that create a greatvisual impact.

Food and Wine

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Lombardia

Many of the great gastronomic inventions derive from the need to revive methods of food

conservation; this is the case of the mostarda of Cremona. The recipe, that dates back to

Middle Ages, consists of candied fruit (cherries, apricots, pears, figs, prunes), mustard and

wine must thickened throughout the cooking process. The mustard seeds, already widely

known in paleolithic times and therefore probably the oldest spicy ingredient known to

man, have bacteria-stabilising properties, as do many spices, and so act as a preservative.

The name mostarda derives from the latin name ”mostum ardens”, meaning “spicy must”,

which when added to the sweet fruit creates a particular flavour that was highly regarded

in Roman and Medieval times.

The rich Cremonese gastronomy uses the mostarda as side dish for boiled meats (from beef

to mortadella-stuffed chicken) and cheeses. The result of this combination of flavours is as

unusual as only a really authentic local speciality can be.

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and admiration amongst its visitors.Solemn historical testimony, thecathedral of Monza – built on thesite of Longobard chapel named af-ter the queen Teodolinda – is hometo the most diverse artistic influ-ences through to Baroque and ro-coco; then, it does not surprise us tofind the Iron Crown of the Longo-bard kings kept in this historicallyrich area.

The Basilica of Sant’Andrea, inMantua, is testimony to the Re-naissance through the work of itsarchitect Leon Battista Alberti. Justoutside of Pavia lies the famousCertosa, one of the jewels of theItalian Renaissance. The multi-coloured marble of its façade, thespires, statues, mullioned windowsand medallions, the detail both in-side and out, are cause of stupor

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Lombardia

Beyond the charming blooming of waterlilies, typical of Lombard palustrine environment,in July and August months the lake Superiore, near Mantova, presents – unique inEurope – the pink spectacle of fragrant blossoming lotuses. In 1921 a botany studentplanted a rhizome that a professor had brought her from China. It gave birth to an actu-al 19-hectare flower island. This far-eastern flowers acclimatized very well, so that nowits growth has to be kept under control, to prevent it from endangering the local species.

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In May, exhibitors and visitors meet at the Mostra Mercato Nazionale dell’Antiquariato.This fair, created over 30 years ago, is one of the most famous in the antique industry. It

is held in the magificent setting provided by the Palazzo del Giardino (built in the last16th century to host the collection of marbles belonging to Vespasiano Gonzaga), and

the superb Galleria, among the longest galleries built during the Renaissance with its 96metres. This event is accompanied by a number of artistic and cultural initiatives,

launched by Sabbioneta town.

One of the dominant themes ofHumanism was the search for anew relationship between humani-ty and divinity, between the spiri-tual and earthly dimension andthrough this a new understandingof the dignity of man was born,with greater attention paid to thespace within which mankind livedand moved. This is the culturalcontext from which urban studiesbegan, aiming towards the realiza-tion of a utopian rebirth, throughharmony and measure. This dreamessentially remained in writing,though a few men, ahead of theirtime, partially able to realise it. AtSabbioneta, Vespasiano Gonzagaplanned to build a mini-Athens, acity in which the classical ideal ofequilibrium reigns: particular ex-amples of this can be found in thePalazzo del Giardino and theTeatro all’Antica. The cardinalBranda Castiglioni transformed hisurban model that characterised hisdeep humanistic culture into thereconstruction of he principal sitesof Castiglione Olona, among

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Lombardia

which the Collegiata, the Ginnasioand the Chiesa del Corpo diCristo, extending the magic of thisvillage. Anyway, if a city exists thattruly expresses the spirit of the Re-naissance, it must surely be Man-tua, the Gonzaga’s city. The city isa reflection of a dynasty that uponits love for the beautiful things inlife, built its fame. From the roomsof the immense Palazzo Ducale,made famous by Mantegna, tothose of the splendid Palazzo Te,decorated with paintings by GiulioRomano, transpires the laic con-ception that pushed many restlessspirits of the Renaissance to bringlife closer to art.

Palazzo Te is a majestic palace, among the most beautiful and best-preserved ItalianRenaissance villas, designed and adorned by Giulio Romano, who conceived it as a place ofdelight for Gonzaga’s court. Beside many temporary expositions, Palazzo Te houses some inter-esting permanent collections: the Egyptian Collection, created by Giuseppe Acerbi, following hisbeing consul in Egypt in early 1800s on behalf of Austria; the Mesopotamian Collection “UgoSissa”, consigned by the heirs of Ugo Sissa himself, an architect and painter from Mantua; theGonzaga Section, consisting of pieces related to the city's history; finally, the ArnoldoMondadori Donation includes paintings by Federico Zandomeneghi and Armando Spadini.

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At Biumo, near Varese, a Permanent Exposition of Contemporary Art is housed in VillaLitta Panza. This Baroque structure, surrounded by a marvelous terrace-like garden, con-

tains a variety of contemporary, African, and pre-Columbian masterpieces, as well asantique items from Count Panza’s collection. Particularly intersting are the environmentalart installations, created by American artists while staying in the Villa. Since 1996, the

Villa, donated by Count Giuseppe Panza to the Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano (NationalTrust for Italy), has been open to the public.

tains enhance the natural element.Among the villas in Lombardyworth mentioning is BorromeoVisconti Litta villa at Lainate, con-verted in the late sixteenth centuryfrom its original agricultural struc-ture into an authentic delight byPirro I Visconti Borromeo. Extra-ordinary the stage-like effect of theNinfeo, made up of a series ofrooms and caves decorated withstatues and unusual cobblestonemosaics. What really makes thisfrescoed building unique are thesomewhat bizarre yet spectaculareffects created by running water:jets and little waterfalls intersectingeach other by means of a sophisti-cated hydraulic system that wasbuilt based on studies carried outby Leonardo, which were laterelaborated.

Of great artistic value is PalazzoArese Borromeo at Cesano Mader-no, a rich monumental complex.

The love for beautiful things andsome hedonistic vision of the life-style that you will discover withinmany of the palaces and villas, no-ble jewels that men with refinedartistic taste commissioned genialarchitects, sculptors, and paintersto create. Numerous are the villassituated in pleasant places, wherethe Lombard aristocracy sought af-ter the peacefulness and calm of na-ture. The province of Varese boaststhe presence of a number of out-standing buildings. Della PortaBozzolo villa at Casalzuigno, Ci-cogna Mozzoni villa at Bisuschio,Menafoglio Litta Panza villa at Bi-umo Superiore, and Toeplitz villaat Varese are worthy of admirationfor the elegance of their structureand also the décor of their rooms.However, one of their most seduc-tive aspects is that of their gardens,in which the graceful architectureof the steps, balustrades and foun-

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Lombardia

When Alfred Marshall, nineteeenth-century English economist, tried to explain the specific

ability of an inhabited area in a productive sector he hypothesised the existence of an

“industrial atmosphere”. According to Marshall, this consists of a diffused “know-how”

originating from a certain familiarity with a trade, beginning as an infant, and gradually

progressing throughout daily life within the community. If this is true, then it might just

explain the tradition of the famous shoemakers of Vigevano. If we look at the production

of shoes on a national level , which prospers abroad due to an excellent reputation, on a

scale of one to ten, then Vigevano would be awarded ten, as it represents excellence. For

this reason many designers have these craftsmen create their more exclusive ranges in

reduced quantities. Today there are no longer the workshops that used to line the sides of

the roads, but the shoeshop windows display high-quality products. A museum of footwear

– the Museo della Calzatura, hosted in the old castle’s stables – tells the story of the

heritage of this particular craftsmen’s culture. Here the different shoe making techniques

are explained, from the making of a pair of sandals right up to industrial production and

shoes from every era, every type of use and from every part of the world are on display.

Handcraft

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The Pinacoteca di Brera contains one of the most elevated creations by Andrea Mantegna:the “Cristo Morto” (“Dead Christ”) painted around 1480. By virtue of the unusual perspec-tive, the figure of the Christ, flanked by those of the Virgin and Saint John, conveys a veryhigh and special intensity. The perspective revolutionises the space planes, by showing the

Christ's feet in the foreground and the face (that is, the most dramatic component of thepainting) in the background. With regard to the technical aspect, this work is related to the

artist's study of the “foreshortened figure”, thus testifying about his tormented originality.

For art lovers who visit Lombardy,the “Stendhal syndrome” is a risk youwill have to run, not only due to theimmense amount of frescoes, paint-ings and sculptures on display in theregion’s palaces and churches, but al-so because this region is home to mu-seums of overwhelming artisticwealth. The Pinacoteca di Brera inMilan, offers one of the richest Ital-

ian art collections; it was founded bythe empress of Austria Maria Teresaas a complement to the Accademiadelle Belle Arti at Brera, the samelively and artistic quarter from whichthe gallery takes its name. The galleryhouses works of art of exceptionalvalue, especially from the period dat-ing between the 1300’s and 1500’s.Apart from a considerable amount of

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Lombardia

Even if the toponym Brera resembles an ancient German term for “meadow”, Brera quarter isespecially known for its Pinacoteca (picture gallery). The Pinacoteca di Brera displays manymasterpieces by celebrated artists such as Raffaello, Mantegna, Caravaggio, and Piero dellaFrancesca. This area, since the 19th century a favourite place for painters and avant-gardewriters, almost naturally evolved into an elegant old-fashioned quarter, with small streets,stately palaces and nightspots (some of which very old) for clubbing. Of course, all of themshare the space with picture galleries and cultural bodies, such as the Teatro Strehler.

foreign paintings, in particular Flem-ish, you will find on display some ofthe most important Italian works ofart, from Ambrogio Lorenzetti toPiero della Francesca to Raffaello,Mantegna, Bramante and Caravag-gio. None the less famous, nor lessworthy of its fame is the AccademiaCarrara of Bergamo, built at the be-ginning of the 1800’s by count Gia-

como Carrara, who filled it with hisown personal art collection, mainlyconsisting of works painted in the1600’s and 1700’s by artists fromLombardy, Veneto and Emilia. Be-sides these, the Accademia Carraradisplays important sculptures by Do-natello and Canova and an interest-ing collection of carved objects andminiatures.

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A major international attraction in Milano is that of high fashion. The so-called fashionquadrilateral – delimited by the vie Montenapoleone, della Spiga, Borgospesso, and

Sant’Andrea – encompasses ateliers and boutiques of universally famous fashion design-ers: Armani, Valentino, Biagiotti, Ferré, Trussardi, Versace, Krizia, Fendi, Missoni,

Ferragamo, and Gucci. The quadrilateral provides shopping opportunities rivaling in ele-gance those of Fifth Avenue and Rodeo Drive. The attractiveness exerted by shops andshow rooms in the quadrilateral is proved by the international mix of loyal customers.

The immense heritage of art thatLombardy has accumulatedthroughout time certainly repre-sents a strong form of identity andan understandable reason for pride.Nonetheless, a region so deeply in-clined towards the modern way oflife and progress cannot simplyleave its artistic creativity, aban-doned as if it were a thing of thepast.

Lombardia owes its vitality to theattitude of looking towards the fu-ture. The second half of the 1800’s

and 1900’s were for the region notonly times of great economic ex-pansion, but also of an intense cul-tural evolution. The ability to ac-cept new things without abandon-ing the old is maybe one of themore positive aspects of Lombardy’spragmatism. Without signs of nos-talgia, the region has turned to newforms of artistic expression, to newstyles to meet the demanding needsof industrialisation.

So, next to the elaborated grace-fulness of liberty, clearly visible

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Lombardia

through the façades of many citybuildings and villas, the modernLombardy has accepted fresh ideasproposed by its modern architectsand engineers whose bold yet lightconstructions in metal and glass arean expression of a new aesthetic sen-sibility. A sign of these new times isexpressed through the increasing at-tention that is paid to areas ofbustling movement and motion.For example, the train station Cen-trale of Milan built with the inten-

tion to strike the traveller’s eye assoon as he sets foot in it with itswide, solemn, well-lit spaces; or thegallery Vittorio Emanuele II, de-signed by Giuseppe Mengoni, oneof the most beautiful and wellknown covered walk ways in Eu-rope, which represents an elegantview of the cosmopolitan life-stylethat runs through Milan and underthe gallery’s four metal and glassarms, joined in the centre by adome.

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Modern day aesthetics, however,is not just limited to the more priv-ileged aspects of social life. Even thedaily routine of working life has leftits mark in buildings that are todayconsidered to be symbols of an era.Industrial archaeology is the termused to describe the new aestheticenjoyment of the early and pio-

neering factories of the city. Milanand many other parts of Lombardyis home to a number of buildingsthat date back to the late 1800s -early 1900s, particularly suggestivefor their functionality and aesthet-ics. Palazzo Pathé, Milanese head-quarters of the homonymousFrench film producer, has a beauti-

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Lombardia

ful façade that can be described asbeing architecturally “in motion”,whereas the Camera del Lavoro re-sides in its severe, almost austere,geometry. The regularity of the se-ries of low houses in via Archimedeprovides us with a view to an eco-nomic reality of craftsmen’s labora-tories, whereas the Binda paper

mill, on the Naviglio Grande, rep-resents an imposing vertical struc-ture, lightened by the large numberof windows. Very interesting is theCasa del Fascio of Como, innova-tive project of the architect Terra-gni, whose façade alternates be-tween empty and full spaces, em-phasised by marble and glass.

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cities of art

Traveller’s Notes

Lombardia