Exterior view

In Habsburg-ruled Lombardy, Giuseppe Piermarini was the official architect until the French invasion in 1796. As a pupil of Vanvitelli, he represented the Roman tradition his early works in Milan. He designed the Palazzo Belgioioso for Alberico Belgioioso d’Este, who had been raised in rank from privy councilor to prince. Although the articulation of the fa�ade evokes Bernini models, its sever orthogonality and clean separation of levels nonetheless carry the hallmarks of early Neoclassicism. The flat rustication and continuous entablature produce an almost two-dimensional effect.