31/05/2021
Gorgonzola: the two Napoleons and the dawn
Gorgonzola, a tiny little town in the countryside eastern from Milan, crossed by the water canal Naviglio della Martesana, is usually known as birthplace of the Gorgonzola cheese. Actually the town is really worth a visit: it was chosen by some aristocratic families of Milan, as setting of their beautiful country houses (villas) matching the wealth and the social standing of the owners.
Among them, Villa Serbelloni (today Ca' Busca) stands out, it hosted firstly Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796 and secondly, on June 9th, 1853 Napoleon III. They slept in the same bed and in the room adorned with a beautiful fresco representing the Dawn. The owner of the mansion was the powerful duke Gian Galeazzo Serbelloni, first ambassador of the Cisalpine Republic in Paris. The Serbellonis greatly contributed to embellishment works and promoted the building of a new Church (1806-1820) and of a Hospital (1848). Gian Galeazzo Serbelloni is also remembered as benefactor of the poor and patron of the arts.