Rediscover and marvel
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The Gallery Meravigli is a private gallery in Milan that connects via Meravigli with via Gaetano Negri, near the central Piazza Cordusio and Piazza degli Affari. It was built by the company "La Milano Centrale" between 1928 and 1930 as part of the transfer of the Stock Exchange to Palazzo Mezzanotte which took place in 1932 and the director of the works was the engineer Luigi Repossi.
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Style
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The Gallery built in 1928 differs from the line in vogue in a Milan already oriented towards a twentieth-century architectural style, evidently affected, especially in the large glass and iron roof, of the Art Nouveau taste in vogue in the universal exhibitions of the time, including Paris and London, recalling the architecture of Paxton, Turner, Horeau, the -Duc and Girault subsequently filmed in the buildings of the 1906 Milan International Exhibition.
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The mosaics
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The floor preserves mosaic friezes with floral decorations, typical of the Milanese Liberty style, created by the Fantini Mosaici company and which can be found inside The Gallery café.
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The origin of the passage
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Appearing for the first time in Paris towards the end of the eighteenth century, the first half of the nineteenth century represents the period of maximum diffusion for the passages. Period characterized by a strong increase in the urban population and the simultaneous development of the first industrialization processes. The passage had to represent a democratic space and at the same time merge the commercial function with entertainment.
The first passage was inaugurated in Paris in 1786, built in the gardens of the "Palais-Royal" at the behest of the Duke of Orléans.
The characteristics of passage
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The passages are characterized by a massive use of glass and iron, materials that the development of industrialization has made available on a large scale. Furthermore, being "modern" materials, they gave a modern appearance to the entire construction, representing the great satisfaction of nineteenth-century man for his own technological development.
The passages built after 1860 will convert their nature as places of consumption to take on the status of monuments. The passage becomes part of the architectural and cultural heritage of the city.
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