Palazzo Frette, Italian national heritage palazzo in Monza, Italy.
Palazzo Frette is a palazzo in Monza featuring two symmetrical towers and a central circular hall, with its main entrance marked by a large eagle with spread wings. The structure combines multiple architectural styles in an eclectic composition that blends different design traditions.
The Visconti castle on this site was demolished in 1809 under Napoleonic rule. Count Ercole III Durini had Carlo Amati design the palazzo in 1851, with a rectangular plan around a circular hall. The Frette textile firm bought it in 1860 and in 1911 commissioned Giuseppe Pirola to extend it, adding a second corner tower.
Locals call the building Palazzo Frette or "La Rinascente", after the department store that has occupied it since the 1970s. The name Frette recalls the textile firm founded in 1860, which made the palazzo its company headquarters. Above the entrance portal, a relief eagle still marks that former textile company.
The building stands in central Monza and now houses a La Rinascente department store, so the interior is entered during shopping hours rather than as a monument. Look up at the main portal for the relief eagle of the Frette textile firm, and note the two corner towers framing the symmetrical facade.
The Frette textile company purchased the building in 1860 and enlarged it dramatically in 1911 by adding a second tower. This expansion mirrored Amati's original design concept, creating a more balanced architectural composition than before.
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