Palazzo Cornazzani, Gothic palace in Pavia, Italy.

Palazzo Cornazzani is a Gothic palace in Pavia featuring two distinct interior courtyards framed by octagonal granite columns. The rooms throughout display Gothic architectural elements in their layout and decorative details.

The building was constructed in the 15th century on older foundations and passed from the Beccaria family to the Cornazzani family through marriage in the 16th century. This transfer marked a turning point in how the house was managed.

The palace was home to poet Ugo Foscolo during his work as a university professor, which led locals to call it Casa del Foscolo. This connection to an important literary figure has shaped how people remember the house.

The palace stands on the street later named after Ugo Foscolo, and two plaques on the plastered facade mark the stays of Foscolo and of the Einstein family. Look for the 15th-century terracotta tile of the Nativity set into that facade. The two courtyards are reached one after the other: the older 15th-century one first, the 17th-century one with the Cornazzani coats of arms in the lunettes beyond.

Physicist Albert Einstein lived here between 1895 and 1896 and wrote an essay about the investigation of ether in magnetic fields during this time. This brief stay connected him to the city and its intellectual life.