Are you ready to discover the most amazing examples of Liberty style in Milan? When you think of this city, you immediately think of iconic places such as the Duomo, the Galleria or the glamorous Fashion District.
But Milan is much more than that and has hidden treasures waiting to be discovered. An example are the Liberty style buildings
Liberty style ‒ which can be considered the Italian interpretation of the French Art Nouveau ‒ developed between the beginning of the 20th century and the start of the First World War. It was the artistic expression of the new industrial middle class, which was flourishing in Milan as opposed to the old ruling class made up of aristocrats, financiers and members of the clergy.
Liberty-style buildings became a sort of very distinctive status symbol for the representatives of the emerging industrial middle class, and they were a breath of fresh air compared to the more rigid and conservative architectural style of the past.
Decorations in wrought iron or decorative concrete, often with a floral or animal theme, are recurrent in the new buildings, which sometimes also have facades with ceramic tiles.
Would you like to find out which are the most characteristic Liberty-style buildings in Milan? Here they are.
Casa Galimberti
Via Malpighi 3
This is a wonderful example of Milan’s Liberty-style architecture, designed by Giovanni Battista Bossi. The building boasts a richly decorated façade with ceramic tiles painted with human figures and plant motifs, as well as wrought iron balconies.
Casa Guazzoni
Via Malpighi 12
This is another interesting Liberty-style example, in the same street as Casa Galimberti (and designed, again, by Giovanni Battista Bossi).
Palazzo Castiglioni
Corso Venezia 47
This is one of Milan’s first Liberty-style buildings. Designed by Architect Giuseppe Sommaruga, its construction was completed in 1903. It can be considered the artistic manifesto of Liberty-style in Milan. It is decorated with concrete sculptures with a floral theme and wrought iron compositions.
But this palace is known for a rather funny story.
Originally, by the entrance door, there were two statues of naked women in decidedly daring poses. For this reason, the building was jokingly called “la ca’ di ciapp” (in Milanese dialect, this means “the house of buttocks”).
The public uproar caused by these two statues was such that Sommaruga was forced to remove them from the Palace and move them next to the main door of a private villa (at the time called Villa Faccanoni) in Via Michelangelo Buonarroti 48, a villa that since the 1940s has been the headquarters of the “Columbus” clinic in Milan.
Casa Ferrario
Via Spadari 3
In a very lively street rather close to the Duomo, you can admire this great Liberty-style building. The wrought iron balconies of Casa Ferrario are decorated with elegant floral and spiral motifs. An absolute must-see if you love this architectural/artistic style.
And if you love top-quality food you can’t miss a visit to Peck, just a few metres away.
Here are some more buildings in this architectural style, built at the beginning of the 20th century:
Casa Campanini
Via Vincenzo Bellini 11
Casa Marinoni
Via Francesco Burlamacchi 3
Casa Dugnani
Via Aurelio Saffi 9
This post was all about Liberty style architecture in Milan.