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Palazzina Appiani
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Palazzina Appiani
Palazzina Appiani is a historical building located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built as the entrance hall of the arena at the beginning of the 19th century by the French, who occupied Milan in 1796. Its original function was to be the official gallery and guest residence to host Napoleon's family during his public appearances. It is located in Parco Sempione, the biggest park in the city, which also comprises the Sforza Castle and the Arch of Peace. Adjacent to the Arena Civica, the Palazzina is now entrusted to FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano.
The building was designed for Napoleon, his family and court to watch the games in the arena below, allowing them to watch the performances privately, from a preferential position. The building project also included the Arena Civica, and, at the center of the space, the Sforza Castle, which was meant to play host to the building of power: the central headquarters of Napoleon's government. Just like other places dedicated to art and culture, the building accommodated a theater on each side, but the original project's completion was estimated to take around ten years and cost approximately six million Milanese Lira ( the contemporary currency). Owing to the exceptionally high cost, it was deemed too expensive and abandoned.
Palazzina Appiani is one of the few surviving buildings that evidences the ambitious urban plans conceived by the French Emperor. Napoleon's plan should have been carried out by the Italian architect Giovanni Antolini, but due to its excessive cost, it was never realized. Napoleon's objective was to make Milan as important as Paris, the capital of his Empire. He was trying to accelerate the growth of the city with some architectural projects, including the one for the Palazzina. The project of the Palazzina was included in what Napoleon wanted to call the "Bonaparte's Forum", thought of as the new political center of the city. This was to be designed following Neoclassical doctrine, as it was associated with the new liberal political movements of the time, like that of the Emperor, as opposed to Rococo and Baroque, which were considered to be the symbol of the absolutist monarchies.
The Palazzina was not only conceived as the palace where Napoleon's family could watch the competition in the Arena Civica, but also as the building from which he and his court could host his public appearances.
Napoleon's project was initially entrusted to Giovanni Antolini in 1801. The original plan provided a large circular-based open space, 570 meters in diameter, broken by two wide crossings for carriages and with a navigable canal linked to the main canal network that ran around the city's inner boundary. This project was then rejected by the French government because it was too expensive and therefore abandoned. These initial plans provided an inspiration for the actual final project.
Antolini's initial project was redesigned by Luigi Canonica, one of the main exponents of the Italian Neoclassical movement. In 1797 Canonica replaced Piermarini, his former teacher, in the role of national architect of the Cisalpine Republic, which was instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte during the end of the 18th century.
Antolini's wooden amphitheater project was the starting point for Luigi Canonica who decided to scale back the project to include just the Sforza Castle, placing a large open square in front of it, which echoes Antolini's in its curved lines and shapes. While the open space behind the castle remained substantially unchanged, the Arch of Peace, which stands on the other side, was designed by the marquis Luigi Cagnola in 1806.
Andrea Appiani was Napoleon's official Italian painter and in 1802 was appointed commissioner of the Cisalpine Republic's entertainment. To celebrate the Day of the Republic, on 26 June 1803, he designed a wooden circus inspired by Roman Times, which then represented the main inspiration for Luigi Canonica's work on the Palazzina. During 1803 Canonica reconsidered Andrea Appiani's short-lived plan for the Bonaparte Forum, intending to create a location for official events. Napoleon officially approved the project in 1805 and construction work began in 1806, using the materials gathered from the destruction of the Sforza Castle fortifications. The blueprints comprised a large elliptical structure of 238 meters in length and 116 meters in width, covered by a row of shrubbery and with a capacity of 30,000 people.
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Palazzina Appiani
Palazzina Appiani is a historical building located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built as the entrance hall of the arena at the beginning of the 19th century by the French, who occupied Milan in 1796. Its original function was to be the official gallery and guest residence to host Napoleon's family during his public appearances. It is located in Parco Sempione, the biggest park in the city, which also comprises the Sforza Castle and the Arch of Peace. Adjacent to the Arena Civica, the Palazzina is now entrusted to FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano.
The building was designed for Napoleon, his family and court to watch the games in the arena below, allowing them to watch the performances privately, from a preferential position. The building project also included the Arena Civica, and, at the center of the space, the Sforza Castle, which was meant to play host to the building of power: the central headquarters of Napoleon's government. Just like other places dedicated to art and culture, the building accommodated a theater on each side, but the original project's completion was estimated to take around ten years and cost approximately six million Milanese Lira ( the contemporary currency). Owing to the exceptionally high cost, it was deemed too expensive and abandoned.
Palazzina Appiani is one of the few surviving buildings that evidences the ambitious urban plans conceived by the French Emperor. Napoleon's plan should have been carried out by the Italian architect Giovanni Antolini, but due to its excessive cost, it was never realized. Napoleon's objective was to make Milan as important as Paris, the capital of his Empire. He was trying to accelerate the growth of the city with some architectural projects, including the one for the Palazzina. The project of the Palazzina was included in what Napoleon wanted to call the "Bonaparte's Forum", thought of as the new political center of the city. This was to be designed following Neoclassical doctrine, as it was associated with the new liberal political movements of the time, like that of the Emperor, as opposed to Rococo and Baroque, which were considered to be the symbol of the absolutist monarchies.
The Palazzina was not only conceived as the palace where Napoleon's family could watch the competition in the Arena Civica, but also as the building from which he and his court could host his public appearances.
Napoleon's project was initially entrusted to Giovanni Antolini in 1801. The original plan provided a large circular-based open space, 570 meters in diameter, broken by two wide crossings for carriages and with a navigable canal linked to the main canal network that ran around the city's inner boundary. This project was then rejected by the French government because it was too expensive and therefore abandoned. These initial plans provided an inspiration for the actual final project.
Antolini's initial project was redesigned by Luigi Canonica, one of the main exponents of the Italian Neoclassical movement. In 1797 Canonica replaced Piermarini, his former teacher, in the role of national architect of the Cisalpine Republic, which was instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte during the end of the 18th century.
Antolini's wooden amphitheater project was the starting point for Luigi Canonica who decided to scale back the project to include just the Sforza Castle, placing a large open square in front of it, which echoes Antolini's in its curved lines and shapes. While the open space behind the castle remained substantially unchanged, the Arch of Peace, which stands on the other side, was designed by the marquis Luigi Cagnola in 1806.
Andrea Appiani was Napoleon's official Italian painter and in 1802 was appointed commissioner of the Cisalpine Republic's entertainment. To celebrate the Day of the Republic, on 26 June 1803, he designed a wooden circus inspired by Roman Times, which then represented the main inspiration for Luigi Canonica's work on the Palazzina. During 1803 Canonica reconsidered Andrea Appiani's short-lived plan for the Bonaparte Forum, intending to create a location for official events. Napoleon officially approved the project in 1805 and construction work began in 1806, using the materials gathered from the destruction of the Sforza Castle fortifications. The blueprints comprised a large elliptical structure of 238 meters in length and 116 meters in width, covered by a row of shrubbery and with a capacity of 30,000 people.
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