Palazzo Cittadini Stampa

The Palazzo Cittadini Stampa, also known as Palazzo Stampa, is a historic gem nestled on the right bank of the Naviglio Grande in the quaint hamlet of Castelletto di Abbiategrasso, a small village in the province of Milan. This distinguished building, located within the Lombard Natural Park of the Ticino Valley, has a rich history that spans centuries and tells the tale of two prominent families: the Cittadini and the Stampa. After years of neglect and decay, the palace underwent a significant restoration starting in 2008, and since 2015, it has housed the Fondazione per Leggere, an organization promoting public reading initiatives in the southwest libraries of Milan.

The History of Palazzo Cittadini Stampa

The name of the palace itself is a testament to its storied past and the families that once owned it. The Cittadini family, noble merchants of wool and drapery from Milan, were among the first to establish their presence in Castelletto, a settlement that emerged between the late 12th and early 13th centuries during the excavation of the canal. The strategic location near Milan made it an attractive site, complete with a small castle and a tower, from which the name Castelletto derives.

The Cittadini family's presence in the Abbiategrasso area is documented as early as 1476, when a ducal privilege over the assets of Castelletto was granted to Filippo Cittadini, the family's patriarch. This privilege was later confirmed by Gian Galeazzo Maria Sforza in 1491. While the exact date of the palace's construction is unknown, it is believed that Filippo initiated the transformation and expansion of the existing defensive tower, incorporating it into the new palace. Filippo's will, dated 1493, played a crucial role in securing the family's legacy by stipulating that the properties and lands be passed to his sons Giovanni Francesco and Giovanni Giacomo, with a fideicommissum to ensure the inalienability of the family's assets.

Throughout the 17th century, the Cittadini family continued to enhance their prestige and expand their residence. The period between 1640 and 1680 marked the peak of the palace's expansion, driven by the efforts of brothers Gerolamo and Ludovico Cittadini, sons of Giovanni Francesco. Giuseppe Cittadini, a prelate, described the palace in his 1697 will as his residence and mentioned a now-lost oratory dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta, intended for private family devotion.

However, the mid-18th century brought financial challenges to the Cittadini family, forcing them to sell some properties while retaining the palace and oratory due to the testamentary disposition of their ancestor Filippo. By 1751, the family managed to annul the fideicommissum and sold part of their properties to Caterina Visconti, a member of the Visconti family. Despite these efforts, financial difficulties persisted, leading to further sales, including the garden and adjacent fields. The last member of the Cittadini family, Giovanni, passed away in 1792, marking the end of their control over the Abbiategrasso territory. The remaining properties eventually passed into the hands of the Stampa family.

The Stampa Family at Castelletto

In the early 19th century, Costanza Visconti, the niece of Caterina Visconti, inherited the properties along with her husband Giuliano Baronio. Their daughter, Laura Baronio, married Gaspare Stampa in 1835, bringing the Palazzo as part of her dowry, thus officially transferring ownership to the Stampa family. Gaspare Stampa, a supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini's political program and the Young Italy movement, held significant roles in local administrations and transformed Palazzo Stampa into a meeting place for many patriots fighting for Italian unification. Notable guests during this period included Giuseppe Garibaldi and Mazzini himself.

After Gaspare's death in 1874, the palace passed to his daughter Eugenia, who, in her 1920 will, bequeathed the Palazzo to the Congregation of Charity of Abbiategrasso (later the E.C.A. Ente Comunale di Assistenza), with the intention of converting it into a nursery school. This project never materialized, and the building was instead repurposed for public housing. Despite being declared a national monument in 1950, the palace continued to suffer alterations by tenants, compromising its stability. By the 1970s, the deteriorating conditions necessitated the evacuation of the premises and a request from the municipality for a conservation restoration, which was delayed by bureaucratic hurdles. The only structural intervention occurred in 1980 when the roof was repaired.

In the early 2000s, the University of Milan entered into an agreement with the Lombardy Region, the Province of Milan, and the Municipality of Abbiategrasso to transform the palace's large rooms into university classrooms, creating a new university campus in Castelletto. However, this project was never realized. It wasn't until 2008 that the restoration and revitalization of the entire neighborhood began. The restorations, completed in 2014, returned the ancient residence to the local community as one of the most important cultural and historical sites in the area.

Exploring Palazzo Cittadini Stampa

The imposing rectangular building, with its three floors, dominates a long stretch of the Naviglio Grande, extending over thirty meters in length parallel to the canal, and rising over eleven meters in height with a depth of twelve meters. The restoration efforts have allowed for the reconstruction of the building's stratigraphy, revealing that the structure is the result of multiple phases of expansion and modification over the centuries. The original construction traces back to the ancient 13th-century tower, confirming the castle-like and defensive nature of the Palazzo, which was expanded in the 15th century to give it a rectangular shape. The transformation into a noble villa likely occurred in the 17th century to meet the new needs of a vacation residence and a representative villa.

The 19th and 20th-century interventions divided the spaces and sacrificed the older parts of the building to accommodate public housing. The restorations aimed to recover and highlight as much of the original structure as possible. The main entrance, located a few meters from the Naviglio, is crowned with a wrought iron balcony. Through the entrance hall, visitors can access the inner courtyard, which no longer retains its original function as a carriage house and horse stable. To the left of the entrance hall is the staircase leading directly to the reception rooms above the portico of the central body. The left side of the portico houses the entrances to the ground floor rooms, and an internal staircase leads to the decorated rooms on the first floor.

The Frescoes

The noble floor of the building features frescoes in the Villa Cittadini Stampa, created in the reception rooms designed to host guests and hold official meetings. These private spaces served as a means for the family to communicate with the outside world and celebrate their identity, solidifying their connection to the surrounding territory. The restorations have allowed for a careful pictorial integration, enabling the full appreciation of the decorative cycle and its significance. The frescoed surfaces are primarily found in three rooms: the main hall above the loggia with direct access to the balcony overlooking the main entrance, and two other rooms located to the west of the building with windows facing the garden.

In conclusion, the Palazzo Cittadini Stampa is not just a historic building; it is a symbol of the enduring legacy of the Cittadini and Stampa families and their contributions to the cultural and historical tapestry of the Abbiategrasso region. The palace's walls echo the stories of its past inhabitants and their efforts to preserve their heritage, making it a must-visit destination for anyone interested in the rich history of this picturesque corner of Italy.