A row of sunflowers in glazed ceramic runs along the top floor — bought off the Richard-Ginori catalogue, because this client could not afford one-off art.
At a glance
Casa Dugnani stands at Via Aurelio Saffi 9, in the Porta Magenta quarter. It was begun in 1902 and finished in 1903 to a design by the engineer Giorgio Dugnani, for the client Ugo Castiglioni. It is a textbook example of Milanese Liberty built to a modest budget.
History
Porta Magenta filled up in exactly these years, as the demolition of the Spanish walls freed land close to the centre. The buyers were professionals and small manufacturers, not the great industrial families who commissioned Palazzo Castiglioni. Casa Dugnani is one of the buildings that shows what that second tier of clients could afford — and how the new style was adapted to reach them.
What you see
The building divides into two clearly different halves. The lower two floors are in smooth cement ashlar, with curved window frames and a cement frieze of floral motifs. The second and third floors are in exposed terracotta, the traditional material of the Po valley, which sets up a colour contrast with the top floor: there, a band of glazed ceramic tiles carries sunflowers, produced as a standard line by the Richard-Ginori works. Serial tiles cut the cost of decoration sharply while keeping the result elegant — an expedient common in Liberty buildings meant for the smaller bourgeoisie.
Cultural significance
Liberty is usually told through its masterpieces. Casa Dugnani tells the other half of the story: an industrial ceramics firm putting the style within reach of ordinary clients, and a whole quarter of Milan built that way. Reading the facade from bottom to top is a lesson in how much decoration cost, and where a builder chose to save.
Key facts
- Designer: engineer Giorgio Dugnani
- Built: 1902–1903
- Client: Ugo Castiglioni
- Ceramics: serial sunflower tiles by Richard-Ginori
- Address: Via Aurelio Saffi 9, Milan
- Coordinates: 45.4687 N, 9.1690 E
Practical information & getting there
Metro M1 Conciliazione, five minutes on foot. A private apartment building — the facade is what you see. The best light for the ceramic band is late afternoon, when the sun reaches the top floor.
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