Palace of Monza

History

The construction of the Villa of Monza was commissioned by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria to be the summer residence for the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, governor of the Duchy of Milan. He had initially settled in the Villa Alari, Cernusco sul Naviglio, rented from the Alari Counts. The choice of Monza was due to the salubrity of the air and the amenity of the country, but also because it represents a symbolic link between Vienna and Milan, being the place on the way to the imperial capital.

It was originally built by Giuseppe Piermarini between 1777 and 1780, while the realization of the gardens took a few more years. Later, the young Archduke Ferdinand ordered many additions to the complex, again by Piermarini, and used the villa as his country residence until the arrival of the French army in 1796.

Piermarini took inspiration from Schönbrunn Palace and the Royal Palace of Caserta realized by his master Luigi Vanvitelli. Schönbrunn's inverted U-shaped plan is reused and combines the strong scenographic impact that the side wings give to the main façade, the distributional comfort (the central body is used for representation functions, the side wings for private apartments, and the avant-corps for service functions). Unlike the other imperial palaces, the east–west orientation of the façades is preferred here, in place of the classic north–south orientation that guaranteed greater solar radiation. Maybe this choice aimed to ensure a cooler temperature in the villa's rooms or to orient the façade that overlooks the gardens towards the imperial capital. The extension is really vast: 700 rooms for a total of 22,000 m².

Following the establishment of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, the building was used as a royal palace and became home to the viceroy of Italy, Eugène de Beauharnais.

The new Viceroy commissioned the architect Luigi Canonica to improve the structure of the villa, including the construction of the theatre on the north wing. …

Architecture

Piermarini created a neoclassical building adapted to the needs of suburban reality. The palace complex includes the Cappella Reale, or the "Royal Chapel", the Cavallerizza (horse-shed), the Rotonda dell'Appiani, the Teatrino di Corte ("Small Court Theatre") and the Orangerie. The rooms at the first floor include grand salons and halls, and the Royal apartments of King Umberto I and of Queen Margherita of Savoy. In front of the palace are the royal gardens, designed by Piermarini as English landscape gardens.

The three main bodies, arranged in U-shape, delimit a large court of honor closed at the end by the two cubic volumes of the Chapel and the Cavallerizza, from which the lower wings of the service buildings start: this defines a rational space, consisting of the orderly arrangement of the volumes that intersect orthogonally and that, progressively, develop in height.

The decoration of the façades, renouncing colonnades and relief tiles, is extremely rigorous. The stylistic essentiality of the building is due not only to precise taste choices but also to political reasons: the court in Vienna preferred to avoid excessive ostentation of wealth and power in an occupied country.

The interiors also accord with the principles of rationality and simplicity that characterizes the entire project. In particular, their functionality is a key point: the corridors, for example, are cut to serve independently various rooms used for different uses.

The interior decoration is entrusted to the main masters of the newly formed Brera Academy, founded by Archduke Ferdinand in 1776. In particular, the stuccoes and decorations of the representative rooms are made by Giocondo Albertolli, the frescoes and paintings by Giuseppe Levati and Giulio Traballesi, floors and furniture by Giuseppe Maggiolini.

The greenhouses, called Orangerie in the original Piermarinian project and now commonly known as the Serrone, was built in 1790. Commissioned by Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of his wedding to Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este, it was designed on the model of the Orangerie of the Schönbrunn Palace. Located on the north side of the villa, it was connected to the palace via a corridor called "Passage of the Ladies". A small circular room, now called Rotonda dell'Appiani, introduced to the large greenhouse. …

Events at the Royal Villa of Monza

Annually, on 24 June in conjunction with the patron saint of the city, San Giovanni Battista, a fireworks show is organized to the rhythm of the music on the lawn of the Villa Reale or inside the Park of Monza. There have also been numerous concerts and sporting events attended by famous stars of music, sport and entertainment.

The Consortium

The Consortium was constituted on 20 July 2009 to promote an optimal use of the Royal Residence of Monza (Reggia di Monza), consisting of the Royal Palace (Villa Reale) and its surrounding park. The aim was to restore the palace and park and ensure regular conservative maintenance, to enable and improve public fruition. The consortium began its activities on 9 September and it brings together the institutional owners of the various sections of the palace and park: the State (the Ministry of Cultural Assets and Tourism), the Region of Lombardy, the Municipality of Monza and the Municipality of Milan. Though the Chamber of Commerce of Monza and Brianza and the Province of Monza and Brianza do not hold ownership rights within the historical site, they adhered from the beginning. In 2014 the Federation of Industries (Confindustria) of Monza and Brianza joined the governance of the Consortium.

The Consortium is a no-profit organization and may cooperate with universities and Italian or foreign institutes to promote and support research applied to the field of the safeguarding and fruition of cultural assets and landscape. It proposes to encourage the development of tourism in the historical buildings of Brianza, in collaboration with businesses and administrations of the territory. Its goals also include the creation of new museums, art exhibitions and performances of particular value. Its nature is not entrepreneurial, but it may produce and sell services that are aligned with its goals and can receive donations and public or private contributions, with possible tax benefits for the donors.