Palazzo Castiglioni: main entrance

The gate from the main entrance to Palazzo Castiglioni, by Giuseppe Sommaruga, was built by the firm Ghiand e Magnoni on a drawing by Sommaruga. The palace ranks as a sort of “manifesto” of the Art Nouveau style in Milan. The door was originally flanked by two half-nude, sensuous caryatids by Ernesto Bazzaro, which caused a stir in town because of their “outrageous” eroticism. Eventually, the offending statues were removed, putting at their place the current decoration by Ambrogio Pirovano, who collaborated with Sommaruga on other projects, too.

The archive photo from 1905 shows the entrance with the original statues by Ernesto Bazzaro (1859-1937).