Casa dei Grifi, Renaissance palazzo in central Milan, Italy.
Casa dei Grifi is a palazzo at Via Valpetrosa 5 whose rectangular courtyard keeps a Bramante-style portico on three sides: round terracotta arches on tall granite columns with composite capitals. The vaults carry monochrome grotesques on a blue ground, and limestone capitals bear the rampant griffin within horse-head shields. Stone roundels between the arches show profiles of emperors and figures of antiquity, with full-round heads at the corners; the decoration is attributed to Benedetto Briosco.
This palazzo was built in the late 15th century and belonged to the Grifi family, who served as tax collectors for the Sforza dynasty in Milan. That period shaped the Renaissance features visible in the courtyard design and decoration.
The palace is named after the Grifi family, whose coat of arms with a rampant griffin appears on the limestone capitals inside horse-head shields. Between the arches, stone roundels show profiles of emperors and figures of antiquity, while full-round heads sit at the corners. The decoration is attributed to Benedetto Briosco, who also carved Ambrogio Grifi's tomb in San Pietro in Gessate.
The building is located at Via Valpetrosa 5 and remains residential, which may limit direct courtyard access. It is worth looking through the entrance to appreciate the architectural details and decorative scheme of the interior space.
The decoration of the courtyard, including the full-round heads set at the portico corners, is attributed to Benedetto Briosco, the sculptor who also made the tomb of Ambrogio Grifi in San Pietro in Gessate. The heads sit alongside the stone roundels of emperors and ancient figures between the arches.
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