The first residential building nucleus that was destined to become palazzo Isimbardi was initiated during the Sforza era.
From the sixteenth-century onwards the building changed hands many times; it was acquired by noble families who, during their times, modified the internal and external features to bring it to the current building that we admire today.
In 1775, the Marquises Isimbardi purchased the building and kept it in the family until 1908; the palazzo still bears the family name. In the ‘30s the Provincial Authorities of Milan acquired the property as their headquarters and decided to restore and conserve the architectural elements created throughout the different eras.
The new palazzo was inaugurated on October 24th, 1942; about half an hour later the first bombings broke out in Milan shattering the glass in all the windows. The task of reconstruction and renovation lasted from 1950 to 1953 and was entrusted to Reggiori, the architect formerly in charge of the previous building works.
The nineteenth-century name "Palazzo Isimbardi" was added definitively in the ‘50s.
Nowadays, the palazzo is the headquarters of the Milan Provincial Authorities and the institutional bodies of this organisation.
The Sala della Giunta (council committee hall), which can be visited on request, features a painting by Tiepolo depicting "The Triumph of the Doge Francesco Morosini."
The modern extension on the corner of via Vivaio was designed by Giovanni Muzio in 1940. The sculptures on the façade are by Ivo Sioli.
On May 9th, 2008 a statue "L’uomo della Luce” (Man of Light) was placed in the piazza directly in front of the palazzo, a gift to the citizens of Milan from the Provincial Authorities; it was placed in occasion of the Day of Memory for all victims of terrorism and murder to mark the anniversary of the killing of Aldo Moro.