Description
Palazzo Marino is Milan's city hall: the large 16th-century palace that closes off Piazza della Scala, opposite the opera house. It has been the seat of the city government since 1861, and inside, around its courtyard and halls, it keeps the splendor of a banker's residence.
The Genoese Tommaso Marino had it built between 1557 and 1563, to a design by Galeazzo Alessi. The courtyard of honor is decorated with the labors of Hercules and Ovid's Metamorphoses; the Sala Alessi, the old great hall, is now the city's reception hall. The facade on the square is more recent: Luca Beltrami completed it in 1892.
Originally the palace faced Piazza San Fedele. After Marino's death the family fell into ruin, and in 1577 the public administration took the palace to settle its debts. A granddaughter of the banker, born in 1575, became Sister Virginia de Leyva: her story inspired Manzoni's Nun of Monza.
The Genoese Tommaso Marino had it built between 1557 and 1563, to a design by Galeazzo Alessi. The courtyard of honor is decorated with the labors of Hercules and Ovid's Metamorphoses; the Sala Alessi, the old great hall, is now the city's reception hall. The facade on the square is more recent: Luca Beltrami completed it in 1892.
Originally the palace faced Piazza San Fedele. After Marino's death the family fell into ruin, and in 1577 the public administration took the palace to settle its debts. A granddaughter of the banker, born in 1575, became Sister Virginia de Leyva: her story inspired Manzoni's Nun of Monza.