Palazzo Ghirlanda-Silva

The Palazzo Ghirlanda-Silva (Ghirlanda Silva Mansion) is a patrician building in the old town of Brugherio, Italy. Built in the first half of the nineteenth century, it now houses the public library. It has an area of 1,992 m2 (21,440 sq ft), of which 1,407 m2 (15,140 sq ft) are used for library services, with the remaining space providing an exhibition room, an auditorium and offices.[1]

Palazzo Ghirlanda-Silva
Palazzo Ghirlanda-Silva: main entrance
General information
TypePublic library
Architectural styleNeoclassical
Addressvia Italia, 27
Town or cityBrugherio
CountryItaly
Construction started16th century
OwnerMunicipality of Brugherio
Height
Top floor2
Technical details
Floor area1992 square meters
Lifts/elevators2

History

Origins

The original palazzo, dating from the eighteenth century, was located in the Municipality of Cassina Baraggia, and, along with Villa Fiorita, which now houses the City Hall, was first owned by the Counts Scotti.[2][3] In 1778, Gio Batta Scotti sold the property to Gaspare Ghirlanda Silva of Milan,[4] from whom the building now takes its name.

From Ghirlanda Silva's property to Brugherio Municipality

On 14 December 1872, Carlo Ghirlanda Silva, who had run up extensive debts, was forced to sell the building. It was sold as two separate lots, one of which was bought by the Municipality of Brugherio, and the other by Paolo Alberti (Ghirlanda Silva's estate manager, mill owner and town councillor of the Municipality of Cassina Baraggia), while the garden adjoining Noseda Square (now called Cesare Battisti Square) was bought by Cavalier Noseda.[2] The Municipality of Brugherio bought the "public part with the courtyard and the garden",[2] and Paolo Alberti bought the "remaining buildings, the farm house, and the rest of the garden to the south".[2]

20th and 21st centuries

Until the end of the 19th century, the Palazzo Ghirlanda-Silva housed the elementary school, the municipal offices and, after 1904, a kindergarten.[2] In 1960, when library services began in Brugherio, the library was added to the other public services that were already established in the building.[1] The palace was restored on several occasions in the second half of the 20th century: in 1970, in 1982 and from 1998 to 2003 (for structural repairs). Since the last restoration was completed in 2003, the Palazzo has been used as a library, auditorium and exhibition site.[1]

Description
Palazzo Ghirlanda-Silva inner courtyard

The building is in the 18th-century Neoclassical style. Its layout is U-shaped: the main facade faces Via Italia (formerly Via Unione) while the rear walls face a garden with a twin-columned portico. The portico was once open but is now closed by a full-length window. Outside the garden there is a balcony in wrought iron. The facade is composed of a monumental main door above which hangs a massive decorated balcony of 21st century construction.[5] The roofing is in brick-tile.

Originally the site also contained a farmhouse and stables, along with a large garden in back, an extensive tract of cultivated land in front, and a grove of mulberry trees.[5] In the 1794 Cronaca by parish priest Paolo Antonio De Petri,[3] the palace was described as follows:

De Petri, Paolo Antonio (1753), Cronaca, Around the garden there is a twin-columned portico, apartments above and below, stables, hay lofts and sheds. There is a wine press and vats, wine cellars and lofts, a warehouse and farm house. Outside the enclosure, facing the south-west gardens irrigated by the river Gallarana, there stands a park with an avenue of apple trees. There is also a "crottino" with an icehouse. In 1753 the large garden of the palace held an exhibition of public abundance, financed by the Marquess Pallavicini; not only did everyone enjoy themselves, but prayers were also offered in the private chapel.[5]

During the first half of the 19th century the property extended from Via Unione to Piazza Noseda. The two walls that currently stand to the south and west of the Palazzo were built only after the property was sold and divided up in 1872.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Comune di Brugherio. Biblioteca Civica. Cenni storici" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  2. Tribuzio Zotti, Luciana (1987). Brugherio: luoghi memorabili. Brugherio: Parole Nuove.
  3. Tribuzio Zotti, Luciana; Magni, Giuseppe (2012). Una città nel segno dei Magi: Brugherio 1613-2013 (in Italian). Brugherio: Associazione Kairos.
  4. Tribuzio Zotti, Luciana (1986). Brugherio nei documenti (in Italian). Brugherio: Musicografica Lombarda.
  5. Brugherio: i suoi luoghi, la sua storia: 225. Anniversario del primo volo italiano in mongolfiera con uomini a bordo (in Italian). Brugherio: Comune di Brugherio. 2009.

Bibliography
  • Biblioteca, la seconda casa dei cittadini: mezzo secolo di storia della Biblioteca Civica di Brugherio raccontata dai Brugheresi (DVD) (in Italian). Brugherio: Comune di Brugherio. 2010.
  • Brugherio: i suoi luoghi, la sua storia: 225. anniversario del primo volo italiano in mongolfiera con uomini a bordo (in Italian). Brugherio: Comune di Brugherio. 2009.
  • Tribuzio Zotti, Luciana (1986). Brugherio nei documenti (in Italian). Brugherio: Musicografica Lombarda.
  • Tribuzio Zotti, Luciana (1987). Brugherio: luoghi memorabili (in Italian). Brugherio: Parole Nuove.
  • Tribuzio Zotti, Luciana; Magni, Giuseppe (2012). Una città nel segno dei Magi: Brugherio 1613-2013 (in Italian). Brugherio: Associazione Kairos.
  • Ritorno al futuro: la rinnovata Biblioteca Civica si presenta (DVD) (in Italian). Brugherio: Comune di Brugherio. 2004.
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