Palazzo Clerici

Palazzo Clerici, Via Clerici, 5. (Open Map)
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Description

In the heart of old Milan, in a district known in the 17th century as the “Contrada del prestino (forno) dei Bossi”, this building is the result of Marquis Giorgio Antonio Clerici’s decision to extend an existing building in the early 18th century. Featuring patrician and Neoclassical elements, parts of the design can be attributed to Francesco Croce, according to Verri. In the 18th century, during the transition from the Baroque to the Neoclassical style, Milan enjoyed something of a golden age of architecture. The Austrians entrusted the Ducat’s internal governance to Clerici, and the palace subsequently became one of Milan’s most sumptuous, luxurious residences. Between 1773 and 1778, Archduke Ferdinand of Austria lived here, while he waited for Palazzo di Corte (current Palazzo Reale) to be finished. The names of some of the most sumptuous and richly-decorated rooms, like the Boudoir and Maria Theresa’s bedroom, can be dated to this period. Inside, in the Galleria degli Arazzi (Tapestry Gallery), the main floor houses a fresco by Tiepolo entitled Corsa del Carro del Sole nel cielo dell’Olimpo (The Course of the Chariot of the Sun in the Skies of Olympus).In 1813, the palazzo was sold to the Napoleonic government of the Kingdom of Italy and became the seat of the Court of Appeal in 1862. In 1942 it was then handed over to ISPI, the Institute of International Political Studies, to which is still home today.