«innumeras praetera sumptuosissimas domos»: Le residenze di casa borromeo. Vivere nel ducato di milano tra xv e xvi secolo

• Isabella Balestreri ^[1] ; Cristiana Coscarella ^[2]
  1. [1] Polytechnic University of Milan

     Polytechnic University of Milan

     Milán, Italia

     
  2. [2] University of Calabria

     University of Calabria

     Cosenza, Italia

     
• Localización: LEXICON: Storie e Architettura in Sicilia, ISSN-e 1827-3416, ISSN 1827-3416, Nº. Extra 2, 2021, págs. 153-162
• Idioma: italiano
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• Resumen

  • «Innumeras praetera sumptuosissimas domos»: Urban and Suburban Residences of Borromeo’s Family Members in the Ducato of Milan (XV- XVI century) From the beginning of the 15th century, the Borromeo’s family members (bankers and merchants coming from Tuscany and established in Milan), began to restore and build many residences for family use. Scattered throughout the Ducato of Milan, mansions were located inside feuds or countryside properties, devoted to crop production. Fortresses in Arona, Angera, Camairago and Bissone could guarantee the control of their domains; the abodes in Lainate, Robecco, Origgio ensured a relaxing stay, a pleasant hospitality and hunting grounds as well as the leisure activities of otio. In the city, the three districts of Porta Vercellina, Porta Tosa and Porta Romana/Ticinese were representative of the high social status achieved by the family. In the suburbs, there were the profitable lands of Peschiera and Longhignana with their castle-shaped farmsteads surrounded by irrigation ditches and gardens to witness the economic success and entrepreneurial skills.

    The urban and suburban houses were constantly enlarged and reorganized in terms of planimetry as well as interior layouts. The exterior walls of each buildings were also decorated with rich paintings full of different colours, based on geometric shapes and family crests, of which, however, only a small residual trace remains today.

    Living these mansions over seasons, the Borromeo family spent its time moving from place to place for safety needs, economic reasons and social visibility. This way of life, which we could actually consider as “Late Gothic”, was probably not only a typical feature of the family of the Counts of Arona, but perhaps it was shared with other peers having similar roles in the ducal society of Milan between the 15th and 16th centuries. However, it was so a distinctive feature that it became the most consolidated memory of the family’s way of life in the following centuries.