Lucio Fontana's Neon Lights

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The Palazzo dell'Arengario is located in the Piazza Duomo of Milan.  'Arengario' refers to its original function as a local government seat in the Fascist period. The building was constructed during the fascist time but interrupted by the World War II and finally completed in 1956.  It is a building composed of two big square towers, standing directly opposite to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. The outer walls were covered in the same marble from Candoglia that was use five centuries earlier in the construction of the Duomo.  The austere, rationalist style palazzo has big Art Nouveau glasses window. Inside the palazzo are superb views of the Piazzo Duomo and the surroundings.

 

In the 2000s it was restored and now housed the Museo del Novecento, a museum dedicated to 20th century art.   The museum is renowned for its unique collection of futurist paintings.  The top floor is featured with Lucio Fontana's fluorescents*, 430 feet of neon lighting that twist like arabesques. They hang from the ceiling.  In the evening the light shines through the windows and out onto the piazza.

*originally designed in 1951 for the staircase of the Palazzo della Triennale.





The day we visited was the funeral of Dario Fo, Nobel prize winner.  Many people gathered to say goodbye.




Location: Piazza del Duomo, Milano, Italy

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