19th Century, Eight Views Of Milan

19th century

Eight views of Milan

(8) tempera on paper

(6) 16.5x21.56 cm - (1) 21.5x16 cm - (1) 17.5x24 cm

In these eight views, of the refined watercolor prints and enclosed in elegant vintage frames, are presented some of the most suggestive glimpses of the Napoleonic Milan and its surroundings. The views represent respectively:

1. Porta Comasina, the current Porta Garibaldi, obligatory passage point for the population of Como and Brianza who went to Milan.

2. The Villa Reale in Milan, also known as Villa Belgioioso or Villa Belgioioso Bonaparte, built between 1790 and 1796 in Milan by the architect Leopoldo Pollack, commissioned by Count Ludovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso, advisor of the Austrian emperor, to retire at the end of their diplomatic and military careers. On the death of Count Ludovico Belgioioso, the villa was acquired by the government of the Cisalpine Republic becoming the residence of Napoleon - who was occasionally hosted during visits to Milan - and of Eugenio di Beauharnais viceré d'Italia in 1805, who lived there permanently with his wife, Princess Augusta of Bavaria. The viceroyalty couple commissioned the great decorative intervention that led to the lavish decoration of the interior of the main floor, involving, among others, Andrea Appiani. With the return of the Austrian government to the city, the building became property of the Austrian viceroys, being inhabited among others by marshal Josef Radetzky, who signed the Peace of Milan in 1849 that decreed the surrender of the city to Austria. After the Second War of Independence, it became available to the Savoy Crown. In 1920 it was purchased by the City of Milan, which in 1921 established the Civic Gallery of Modern Art of Milan, which is still today.