Palazzo dell'Arengario

"The Palazzo dell'Arengario is a complex of two symmetrical buildings in Piazza del Duomo, Milan, built in the early 20th century and completed in the 1950s. It now houses the Museo del Novecento, a museum dedicated to 20th-century art. The term "arengario" refers to its original use as a local government seat during the Fascist era. The Arengario was designed by Piero Portaluppi, Giovanni Muzio, Pier Giulio Magistretti, and Enrico Agostino Griffini. The complex was intended to be linked by an arch to align symmetrically with the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II entrance across the piazza. Construction began in 1936 but faced delays and damage from World War II bombings, ultimately being completed in 1956. The eastern wing's façades feature four reliefs by Arturo Martini. These panels depict scenes related to Christianity, Milan, and Lombardy: the dream of Constantine (easternmost panel, facing the Duomo), Ambrose entering Milan to assume his bishopric (inner panel, eastern wing), the Battle of Legnano (northernmost panel, facing the western wing), four Sforza dukes of Milan (middle panel, facing the western wing), and Carlo Borromeo aiding plague victims (southernmost panel, facing the western wing). The four main portals are adorned by Giacomo Manzù. "