Located in Scala square, Palazzo Marino is today the headquarters of the City of Milan. It was designed in the 16th century by the architect Galeazzo Alessi and commissioned by Tommaso Marino, who belonged to a Genoese family of bankers in business with the city of Milan. The Sala Alessi, which was restored in 2002 and was intended at the time to host large parties and receptions, contains magnificent frescoes dating back to 1568 with mythological allegories. All the gods of the ancient Greeks are depicted, with particular emphasis on those that Marino favoured: Poseidon (who was depicted on the ceiling, but is no longer visible today), Bacchus (in honour of the festivities that the room hosted) and Hermes (messenger of the gods and protector of merchants and traders, as Marino was). The Sala Alessi is today’s state room: this is where the most important press conferences are held and where Heads of State and Royalty are received. The new lighting project was motivated by the need to adapt the system to the different uses of the hall, which is now a centre for cultural events and official meetings: the basic idea was to preserve the original style of the architecture and restore an integral perception of the space, eliminating the visual clutter produced by the superimposition of extraneous elements. Three architectural lighting systems were designed with the possibility of alternative or integrated switching, to meet the different visual and maintenance requirements of each priority with different types and sources. The need to avoid direct vision of the equipment and devices for the sound and video projection systems required special attention in the search for the most suitable locations. In particular, there is the possibility of motorised, remote-controlled tilting of both the lighting fixtures set up for receptions and television filming, and the video projection screen. This project has similarities with the grand ballroom at the Quirinale Palace.
Project:
Lighting Design Piero Castiglioni
Photo Courtesy:
Piero Castiglioni
Year:
2002
Other Projects
Orsay Museum where architecture became a big lighting device, the reflections of light bulbs with walls and ceilings create a uniform light without shadows. Groups of projectors in Grassi Palace recall a small football field. Here was born a new type of lighting device. Reflector lamps and articulated support gives life at the "Cestello". Spasa na Krovi is a perfection of Mantova project. Light beams aggregation allow the device size reduction and the dispersion light control.
