Palazzo dell'Arengario, Milan

Palazzo dell'Arengario is the paired marble complex beside Piazza del Duomo, and it now contains the Museo del Novecento, devoted to art made during the twentieth century. Its rounded arcades and sculpted portals give you a clear view of the building’s Novecento design. The project was created by Giovanni Muzio, Piero Portaluppi, Enrico Agostino Griffini, Pier Giulio Magistretti, and Gualtiero Galmanini.

Work started in 1936, was interrupted by wartime bombing and other delays, and reached completion in 1956. On the eastern façade, Arturo Martini’s reliefs turn the architecture into a crowded historical narrative, including Constantine’s dream, Ambrose entering Milan, the Battle of Legnano, Milan’s Sforza rulers, and Carlo Borromeo caring for plague victims. The name also preserves the building’s original role as a municipal government seat during the Fascist period.