Palazzo della Ragione (Milan)

Milan - Palazzo della Ragione

The Palazzo della Ragione (often just called Broletto ) is a council, judicial and market building in the northern Italian city of Milan . The medieval building with its neoclassical upper floor is located about 200 meters west of the Milan Cathedral in the Piazza dei Mercanti .

Building history and function

Equestrian statue of the mayor ( podestà ) Oldrado da Tresseno (13th century)

The current palace ( Palazzo Nuovo ) had a predecessor, which presumably stood on the site of the royal palace begun in the 14th century, and a successor ( Palazzo Nuovissimo ) on Via Broletto. It was built in 1233 at the instigation of the then mayor ( podestà ) Oldrado da Tresseno, whose equestrian statue is attached to the outer wall, and was in municipal use until 1776. During the reign of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa , the building was rebuilt by the architect Francesco Croce and used as an archive. Croce added one storey to the medieval building with large round windows in neoclassical style and had the brickwork plastered. At the end of the 19th century, it was restored and converted into the seat of the Banca Popolare di Milano . The importance and value of the medieval structure was only slowly recognized. A restoration of the original condition and thus a removal of the upper floor was rejected at the beginning of the 20th century.

architecture

Long the ground plane of about 50 meters and 15 meters wide structure is continuous on all sides by kapitelllose pillar arcades Haustein opened; a third row of arcades in the middle also supports the upper floors. Iron tie rods inserted in the transverse direction provide more stability. As in an ancient basilica , public court hearings and markets were held in the pillar hall that was created in this way . The middle level is entirely made of brick; it still shows three-lane late-Gothic windows overlaid with round or segmental arches. The upper floor, which was added later (1770/1771) but was also made of brick, with its round windows was plastered.

Furnishing

The central importance in the life of the city can also be seen in the rich furnishings of the Palazzo della Ragione : Various speculations are circulating about the importance of a marble relief with a monster ( scrofa semilanuta ); it seems to be closely linked to a myth about the founding of a city. A fresco by Bramantino with the Mother of God , the baby Jesus and two angels ( Madonna del Palazzo de Broletto ) adorned the exterior facade of the building for a long time; it was removed from there in 1808 and is now in the Pinacoteca di Brera . The frescoes inside come from both the late medieval and baroque periods; most of them show heraldic shields, but there is also a representation of the Holy Family .