Casa Manzoni, Milan

In the deed drawn up by notary Giorgio de Castillia, it is described as follows: ‘a residential house with garden, located in the Morone district of Milan at number [1171]’. Manzoni lived in Via Morone for about sixty years, in an elegant but very simple environment. The distinctive terracotta façade was built between 1862 and 1863 to a design by architect Andrea Boni. After Teresa's death (1861), Manzoni entrusted the management of the house to his eldest son Pietro, who had returned with his family from Brusuglio to Milan. Pietro convinced his father to have the house decorated, as it had become a destination not only for friends and acquaintances, but also for admirers and distinguished guests who, passing through Milan, wished to meet the great writer. The house was put up for auction and purchased in 1874 by Count Bernardo Arnaboldi Cazzaniga, who, in nineteenth-century style, had the entrance hall and portico leading to the study decorated with allegorical frescoes (now lost) by the painter Giacomo Campi, inspired by Manzoni's works: Il Conte di Carmagnola, Il 5 maggio, Adelchi, and I Promessi sposi. After various vicissitudes, the house was acquired by the Cassa di Risparmio delle Provincie Lombarde, which donated it to the Municipality of Milan, with the condition that it be used perpetually and exclusively by the Centro Nazionale Studi Manzoniani, established by Royal Decree Law on 8 July 1937. Restoration work began immediately to restore the building to the condition it was in at the time of Manzoni's death, an operation made possible by the detailed report drawn up by Arnaboldi at the time of purchase.