To the origins
At Castellaro Lagusello, near Lake Garda, you can discover some astonishing palafittic sites, including the remains of Neolithic dwellings designed on stilts to adapt to this lake region. The region's ancient remains are equally impressive. Brixia, the archaeological park of Roman Brescia, is a must-see, with its Capitoline temple with beautiful Corinthian columns, trompe-l'oeil frescoes, mosaics and the remains of its theater. When you take the Via Gombito and the Via Lupo and Via San Lorenzo in Bergamo, you'll be walking along the Roman decumanus and cardo, the main arteries of the ancient checkerboard layout. Pragmatic, the Romans were also great lovers of luxury, as evidenced by the remains of the sumptuous villas built by the elite. The Villa Romana in Desenzano de Garda boasts some of the finest polychrome mosaics in the region, as well as the remains of astonishing semicircular thermal baths. But the most famous Roman villa is of course the Grotte di Catullo, not far from Sirmione. These "caves" are in fact the ruins of a villa of impressive dimensions (167 x 105 m), with walls and arches up to 3 storeys high. The first Paleo-Christian treasures also appeared in Antiquity, influenced as much by Ancient Rome - many of these buildings were built on ancient civil basilicas or temples - as by Byzantium, notably in the use of domes and frescoes. The Basilica San Lorenzo Maggiore in Milan is one of the largest circular churches in the Western Roman Empire. Note how the 16 columns of an ancient temple were reused to build its monumental portico. Decorative splendor is also to be found in the San Vittore in Ciel d'Oro chapel in Milan's Sant'Ambrogio basilica, with its gold and azure mosaics dating from the5th century. Brescia's Duomo Vecchio is another superb example of this syncretism. The original church dates back to the 6th century and houses fragments of mosaics that once belonged to... an ancient thermal bath!
Medieval treasures
The power of the Lombards first manifested itself in the construction of numerous towers and fortifications. The archaeological site of Sibrium, near Castelseprio, is home to the remains of a castrum or ancient fortified village. Monasteries and churches were the main expression of the Lombard style, borrowing from the Roman, Byzantine and Germanic empires. The monastic complex of Santa Giulia and the basilica of San Salvatore are the finest examples. See the superb sculpted capitals and, above all, the incredible crypt, literally covered with a forest of columns. Coupled with Romanesque influences, this architecture gave rise to the Lombard-Romanesque style, which can be recognized by its multiple naves and apses, the use of brick or stone, and the use of Lombard banding (low-projecting vertical bands connected by small blind arcatures), geometric or zigzag patterns or floral motifs. This type of architecture was particularly developed around Como, thanks to the skills of the so-called "Masters of Como". Their masterpieces include the Basilica of Sant'Abbondio in Como, with its sculpted geometric motifs on the façade, and the Abbey of San Nicolo di Piona, which boasts a superb cloister with a beautiful polychromy of brick and local stone. The Cistercians, meanwhile, established two superb abbeys: Morimondo, built around a beautiful three-nave church decorated with the sobriety so dear to the order; and Chiaravalle, which bears the imprint of the great Bernard de Clairvaux, who introduced to Lombardy not only Cistercian architecture, but above all advanced engineering techniques such as irrigation canals. After these Romanesque-Lombard treasures, Lombardy was to experience a Gothic effervescence, the most famous example of which is Milan's Duomo. The whiteness of its marble and the delicacy of its lace-like decorations are the symbols of a richly ornamented Gothic style. Another masterpiece of the period is Cremona's Torrazzo. At 111 m, topped by a Gothic octagon, it is the tallest belfry in Europe! The Gothic period also saw the birth of powerful city-states dominated by rocca (fortresses) and protected by imposing systems of ramparts. Among the finest examples of this military architecture are the castle of Sirmione, whose walls increase in height the closer you get to the central keep, and the citadel of Bergamo. New buildings were also erected to symbolize communal power: the broletto and the palazzo della ragione, featuring an arcaded first floor topped by an upper floor. Don't miss the Brolettos in Como and Brescia and the Palazzo della Ragione in Bergamo. These buildings are enhanced by an urban design whose focal point is the piazza, lined with arcades and porticoes, towards which all streets converge. In Mantua, don't miss the city's three beautiful squares (piazza Broletto, piazza Sordello and piazza delle Erbe) and the incredible Palazzo Ducale, with its trompe-l'œil decorations. In Pavia, the Viscontis built their most sumptuous church-mausoleum, the Certosa di Pavia (Charterhouse of Pavia), calling on the greatest artists and importing the most prestigious materials, Carrara marble foremost among them. A masterpiece that marks an elegant transition to the Renaissance.
Renaissance and Baroque
The Renaissance was founded on an idealized vision of the world. It's hardly surprising, then, that this period coincided with the development of Italian-style gardens around villas and palaces. With symmetrical hedges, geometrically precise labyrinths, fountains and sculptures reminiscent of ancient rigor, man ordered nature in gardens that were the counterparts of pure, harmonious architectural lines. Among the finest 16th-century villas is the Villa d'Este on Lake Como. The same concern for orderliness can be found in the new town-planning creations of the period, such as Bergamo's magnificent Piazza Vecchia or Vigevano's Piazza Ducale, on which a certain Leonardo da Vinci worked. The great Renaissance master also contributed to the technical improvement of Milan's canals and the reinforcement of the fortifications of the Sforza castle.
Bramante, another Renaissance master, left his mark on Milan, with the harmonious cloister and tribune of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, with its imposing 16-sided dome; and the incredible trompe-l'oeil choir of the chapel of Santa Maria Presso San Satiro, created to give perspective to a limited space. In Mantua, Leon Battista Alberti, the greatest theoretician of the Renaissance, designed the Basilica of Sant'Andrea. Mantua was transformed into a Renaissance laboratory, with astonishing water engineering works, extensions and renovations, and the construction of sumptuous palaces such as Palazzo Te, a Mannerist masterpiece with frescoes, trompe-l'œil and sumptuous gardens. Sabbioneta, on the other hand, is the image of the ideal city. Built in 1558 by Vespasiano Gonzaga and protected by a bastioned enclosure with regular hexagonal forms, the town boasts sumptuous palaces and a harmonious theater designed by Vincentino Scamozzi, a pupil of the great Palladio. In an elegant transition between Renaissance and Baroque, the Sacri Monti are the jewels of the Lake District. These devotional routes, set on a mountain, are made up of a series of chapels, each representing a stage in the life of Jesus or the saint celebrated. One of the most beautiful is the Sacro Monte d'Orta, with its superb white chapels with lauze roofs, typical of the region. Some of the chapels bear the hallmarks of a highly theatrical Baroque style that reached its apogee in the sumptuous Isola Bella, the Borromeo palace-island of harmonious, elegant excess. Don't miss the throne room, with its red marble pilasters and stuccoed vaults, and the astonishing "grottoes" on the first floor, decorated with mosaics combining tuff, stucco, shells and shiny stones. The gardens, too, are part of this Baroque splendor: see the 10 terraces that give the whole place the appearance of a plant pyramid. Unforgettable!
Classic lines and urban renewal
After the flourishing Baroque, the 18th century turned to the sober, harmonious lines of Classicism. This was partly due to the Austrians, who controlled the Duchy of Milan at the time. In fact, Maria Theresa of Austria was responsible for the construction of one of the world's most famous theaters: Milan's Teatro alla Scala, designed by architect Giuseppe Piermarini. One of his collaborators also designed the astonishing Villa Reale, often referred to as Milan's little Versailles. Villas, too, are classical in style, such as the beautiful Parc Villa Serbelloni and the sumptuous Villa Olmo, with its gardens that combine rigorous Italian-style gardens with whimsical English gardens imitating nature. In the 19th century, the shores of the lakes, prized by the elite, were home to sumptuous neoclassical residences. The Villa Erba in Cernobbio, home of the Viscontis, and the Rotonda in Inverigo are fine examples. With the advent of the railroads, many villages were transformed into veritable resort towns, with beautiful promenades or lungomare overlooking the lakes, while adorning themselves in an eclectic style drawing on ancient, medieval... and even mountain repertoires! But the 19th century was also a period of urban renewal, particularly for Milan. The city expanded with the construction of new thoroughfares. The city was also endowed with numerous green spaces, such as its monumental cemetery-garden, whose tombs rivaled each other in originality and extravagance, or the Parc de Monza, one of the largest parks in Europe. While neo-styles were still very much in vogue, especially neoclassical and neo-Gothic, which were used in numerous restorations including that of the Sforza castle, or in the construction of factories such as the hydroelectric power station at Trezzo sull'Adda, the city also saw the first examples of architecture combining engineering prowess and formal modernity. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, with its 47 m high glass roof, is the finest example. This industrial effervescence was also accompanied by new urbanistic research, as illustrated by the village of Crespi d'Adda, entirely imagined by the Crespi family, wealthy weaving industrialists. Conceived as an ideal city, the village is organized around the factory, which can be recognized by its tall brick chimneys, according to a meticulously laid-out plan. An ideal factory town... yet one marked by the constant opposition between bosses and workers, the former living in castle-like villae padronale, the latter in modest houses with small vegetable gardens.
Modern and contemporary effervescence
The turn of the 20th century was marked by the Liberty style, the name given to Art Nouveau in Italy. In Milan, the Venezia Library, with its façade rich in scrolls, floral motifs and stylized ribbons, bears witness to this new formal freedom. Villas, too, succumbed to Liberty fashion. The most famous of these is the Villa Bernasconi, with its ceramics, stained glass and wrought-iron decorations. These voluptuous curves were followed by the more sober, geometric lines of Art Deco, as exemplified by Milan's Villa Necchi Campiglio. Gio Ponti's career also began at this time. His first creations were an astonishing blend of styles, such as the house in Via Randaccio, which combines Art Deco, Baroque and classical elements, or Casa Borletti, where he designed every detail, including the mosaics and ceramics. At the same time, the region saw many examples of Fascist architecture. Administrative buildings sprang up and overwhelmed newly-constructed piazzas with their classical monumentality. Such was the case in Varese's Piazza Monte Grappa, with its Torre Civica, an enormous belfry with an arengario at its base (this term, formerly used to designate municipal palaces, was reintroduced by the Fascists, who appreciated the concept of public buildings with balconies from which to harangue the crowds); or in Brescia's Piazza della Vittoria, lined with buildings with porticoes and marble columns. In Milan, the Palazzo dell'Arengario, composed of two perfectly symmetrical buildings, and the Central Station are also two great achievements of the Fascist era. But one of the most astonishing witnesses to this period is the Casa del Fascio in Como. Designed by Giuseppe Terragni, it harmoniously combines classical canons with rationalist lines. After the war, the greatest architects took part in the reconstruction. In Milan, Gio Ponti, in collaboration with Pier Luigi Nervi, designed the Pirelli Tower, the city's first skyscraper (Pirelli also contributed to the construction of the rubber slab of the Milanese subway!) Today, the world's greatest architects are reinventing the city. Among the must-sees: the Fondazione Prada, housed in a former distillery rehabilitated by Rem Koolhaas, with a 60 m tower; the MUDEC designed by David Chipperfield on the site of former steelworks; Stefano Boeri's astonishing Bosco Verticale, with its 27 entirely planted storeys; and, of course, the Piazza Tre Torri, so named because three skyscrapers designed by Zaha Hadid unfold in an astonishing dance: Tour Generali, with its helical twists, Tour Arata Isozaki (209 m of glass punctuated by curved surfaces) and Tour Daniel Libeskind (a curved tower reminiscent of a ship's sail). But the record for the tallest tower is now held by César Pelli's Tour Uni Crédit, at 231 m. This creative vitality is reflected in the Quadrilatero d'Oro, home to the world's leading fashion and design brands, as Milan is also one of the world's design capitals. There's so much to see!
