Palazzo Serbelloni, Neoclassical palace in Porta Venezia, Milan, Italy

Palazzo Serbelloni is a Neoclassical palace at Corso Venezia 16 in Milan. Its pale grey stone facade has a rusticated ground floor with grilled windows and a projecting right block crowned by a triangular pediment over an arched entrance; the upper windows carry dark green louvered shutters. The loggia's pediment is decorated with stucco reliefs by Francesco Carabelli showing episodes from the life of Frederick Barbarossa.

The palace was built between 1765 and 1793 under architect Simone Cantoni during a period of major urban transformation. In 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine stayed there for three months.

The Serbelloni family used the refined reception rooms regularly to gather with thinkers like Pietro Verri and Giuseppe Parini. These meetings shaped Milan's intellectual life in the 1700s.

The palace stands at Corso Venezia 16, in the Porta Venezia area; the rusticated ground floor, the green-shuttered windows and the columned block with pediment are visible from the street. The trompe-l'œil frescoed atrium can be seen from outside, but the monumental staircase and ballroom were destroyed in the 1943 bombings. Sotheby's Italia is based here, and the Napoleonic hall hosts conferences, auctions and Design Week exhibitions.

The 1943 air raids destroyed the palace's library of 75,000 books and Giuliano Traballesi's frescoes, along with the monumental staircase and ballroom. The Napoleonic hall was later rebuilt and now hosts conferences and Sotheby's auction previews.