Casa Panigarola, Gothic palace in Piazza Mercanti, Milan, Italy
Casa Panigarola is a Gothic palace on Piazza Mercanti in Milan, with a medieval facade of red brick, pointed arches, and ogival windows decorated with stone carvings. A covered passage on the right side connects it to the neighboring Palazzo della Ragione, while terracotta cornices run along the front of the building.
The building belonged to the Panigarola family, a line of notaries from Gallarate, who managed the Office of Statutes here until 1741. That office was responsible for recording the ducal decrees that governed Milan through the medieval and Renaissance periods.
A ceramic plaque inside the portico warns visitors about legal disputes, giving a sense of how justice shaped daily life in this part of the city. The tone of the inscription feels direct and serious, very different from the decorative stonework around it.
The building sits on Piazza Mercanti, a small square close to the Duomo that is easy to reach on foot. The portico and the right-side passage can be visited freely during the day, so you can look at the stonework and carved details without rushing.
The floor of the portico features a carved relief of the biscione, the serpent symbol of the Sforza family, one of Milan's most powerful ruling dynasties. Finding this emblem underfoot, rather than on a wall or a gate, is something most visitors walk past without noticing.
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