Casa degli Omenoni, Milan

Casa degli Omenoni is a historic palace whose façade carries an extraordinary procession of carved figures. Leone Leoni designed the house for himself, using it as both residence and studio. Across the lower façade, eight massive atlantes give the building its familiar name; Antonio Abondio sculpted them, probably from a design by Leoni.

Look at the relief beneath the cornice: two lions tear apart a satyr, while lion imagery recurs throughout the decoration. The palace belongs to Milan’s mannerist architecture, with theatrical details that recall Michelangelo. Its courtyard, reshaped by Piero Portaluppi in 1929, contains a colonnade enriched with metopes and triglyphs. The house also held a remarkable collection: an inventory from 1615 lists works by Titian, Parmigianino, and Michelangelo, plus Leonardo da Vinci drawings identified with the Codex Atlanticus, now preserved at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana.