Belgioioso Palace

The Palazzo Belgioioso (also spelled Belgiojoso) is a palatial residence in the northern Italian city of Milan, completed in 1781 in a Neoclassical style by Giuseppe Piermarini.

Considered to be one of Milan's architectural treasures, the mansion is modeled on Luigi Vanvitelli's Palace of Caserta. Built for Prince Alberico XII di Belgioioso d'Este, it is located on a side street off Via Manzoni on the site of the house where he was born. One of the finest examples of Neoclassical architecture in Lombardy, it stands out like a jewel in the centre of the city. It was designed in 1772 by Giuseppe Piermarini who in this instance abandoned the sober and austere style of early Neoclassicism, building an imposing and highly decorated mansion which dominates the street. The most lavishly decorated part of the facade is the slightly protruding central section with a series of four giant order columns, an entablature and a tympanum enclosed by pilasters. The ground floor is finished in rusticated bugnato ashlar, the first floor, separated from the second with bas-reliefs of heraldic symbols, has windows crowned with garlands and decorative mouldings.