Item: i112308
 
Authentic Coin of:

Italy – Milan’s Pallazo Marino
1998 Silver Medal 42mm (44.90 grams) .986 Silver
IL COMUNE DI MILANO, Crowned Coat-of-Arms.
Palazzo Marino facade.

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Palazzo Marino is a 16th-century palace located in Piazza della Scala, in the centre of Milan, Italy. It has been Milan’s city hall since 9 September 1861. It borders on Piazza San Fedele, Piazza della Scala, Via Case Rotte and Via Tommaso Marino.

The palace was built for, and is named after, the Genoan trader and banker Tommaso Marino. It became a property of the State in 1781.

The palace was built from 1557 to 1563 for Tommaso Marino. It was designed by architect Galeazzo Alessi from Perugia. Its main facade was originally that facing Piazza San Fedele, as Piazza della Scala didn’t yet exist; the corresponding area was occupied by buildings. The construction was occasionally slowed down by the opposition of the population, that had a very conservative attitude towards the architecture of the centre of Milan.

Several sculptors from the Fabbrica del Duomo were involved in the decorations of Palazzo Marino. In the courtyard, sculptures were erected representing the Labours of Hercules and the Metamorphoses. The ceiling of the main hall (now known as “Salone dell’Alessi”) had frescos and stuccos with the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche by Andrea Semini and Ottavio Semini.

The four corners of the ceiling were also decorated with paintings by Aurelio Busso representing the Four Seasons. Further frescos as well as bas reliefs decorated the walls, with mythological themes such as the Muses, Bacchus, Apollo and Mercury by Ottavio Semini. The reliefs depict the story of Perseus.

When Marino died leaving his family bankrupt, the palace became a property of the State, but in 1632 it was sold to another banker, Carlo Omodei. The House of Omodei never inhabited the palace, which maintained its original name “Marino” and was rented to several notable Milanese.

In 1781, the palace was once again bought by the State (the notable Milanese scholar Pietro Verri had an important role in convincing the authorities to buy the palace) and became the seat of administrative and tax offices. The palace was then restored, with the supervision of architect Giuseppe Piermarini, who was responsible for the renovation of the entire area.

In 1848, after the Five Days of Milan, the palace was temporarily used as the seat of the new government of Lombardy. It was finally elected as Milan’s city hall on 19 September 1861. The acquisition of the palace by the city administration marked a new thorough restoration of the building and the surrounding area. The block that occupied what is now Piazza della Scala was demolished to create the plaza; the facade of Palazzo Marino facing the plaza was renewed to become the palace’s main facade (on a design by Luca Beltrami, completed in 1892).

A second major restoration, directed by Arrigo Buonomo, occurred after the end of World War II. The original stuccos and frescos in the Salone dell’Alessi (which had been severely damaged by bombings) were recreated ex novo by notable artists of the time.

Italy, officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Italy covers an area of 301,338 km² (116,347 sq mi) and has a largely temperate climatelo Stivale (the Boot). With 61 million inhabitants, it is the 4th most populous EU member state. Located in the heart of the e Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino and Vatican City.

Since ancient times, Greek, Etruscan, Celtic, and other cultures have thrived on the Italian Peninsula. Rome ultimately emerged as the dominant power, conquering much of the ancient worldcentreWestern civilisation. During the Dark Ages, the region suffered sociopolitical collapse amid calamitous barbarian invasions, but by the 11th century, numerous Italian city-states rose to great prosperity through shipping, commerce and banking, and even laid the groundwork for capitalism. The Renaissance led to a flourishing of Italian culture, producing famous scholars, artists, and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. Italian explorers such as Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci, and Giovanni da Verrazzano discovered new routes to the Far Eastst and the New World, helping to usher in the European Age of Discovery. Nevertheless, Italy remained politically fragmented and fell prey to European powers such as France, Spain, and later Austria, subsequently entering a long period of decline that lasted until the mid-19th century.

After various unsuccessful attempts, the second and the third wars for Italian independence resulted in the eventual unification of most of present-day Italy by 1866. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the new Kingdom of Italycolonial empire, becoming a great power. However, southern and rural areas of the country remained largely excluded from industrialisation, fuelling a large and influential diaspora. Despite being one of the main victorsrs in World War II, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil, leading the way to the rise of a Fascist dictatorship in 1922. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in military defeat, economic destruction and civil war. In the years that followed, Italy abolished the monarchy, reinstated democracy, and enjoyed a prolonged economic boom, thus becoming one of the world’s most developed nations.

<font color="#000000" italy="" has="" the="" third="" largest="" economy="" in="" Eurozone and the eighth largest economy in the world. It has a very high level of human development and enjoys the highest life expectancy in the EU. Italy plays a prominent role in global military, cultural and diplomatic affairs and is also considered to be a major regional power in Europe. Italy is a founding and leading member of the European Union and the member of numerous international institutions, including the UN, NATO, the OECD, the OSCE, the WTO, the G77/G8, G20, the Union for the Mediterranean, the Council of Europe, Uniting for Consensus, and many more. As a reflection of its vast cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is one of the most visited countries.