Palazzo Dal Verme

Milan is famous for fashion and design, yet it also hides Renaissance gems. The Palazzo Dal Verme is one of these: a noble residence begun in the fifteenth century by Luigi Dal Verme. He was a condottiero, a leader of mercenaries, and the Dukes of Milan granted him the land. His descendants carried the work on, and the family ranked among the most powerful at the Visconti and Sforza courts.

In 1943, bombing during the Second World War destroyed the facade. The courtyard behind it survived as a classic example of Renaissance civil architecture. You enter through a hall whose cross vaults rest on intricately carved brackets and carry original frescoes. The courtyard itself forms a regular square, and arcades run along all four sides, each carrying four arches. Stone columns support them, their composite capitals worked with classical acanthus leaves. Overhead runs a band of cornices and cordons in terracotta, restored where possible to the original design.

Where the arches meet, the spandrels carry stone roundels: noble coats of arms alternating with profiles of figures from the Sforza court. Look up as you cross the square, and the court that ruled Milan looks back at you.