Butterflies forged in iron settle on wrought flowers at the gate — Mazzucotelli again, in what local guides rank among his finest work anywhere in the city.
At a glance
Casa Moneta stands at Via Ausonio 3, in the Magenta–San Vittore quarter. It was built from 1904 to a design by the architect Giuseppe Borioli, in the Liberty style then spreading through Milan. The building rises through three floors including the ground level.
History
Documentation on the building beyond its date and architect is thin in the sources available online; what is recorded consistently is the name of the ironworker responsible for its most celebrated feature.
What you see
The facade divides into three vertical bays, stone-faced at the centre and brick to either side, with floral Liberty ornament carried in friezes, balconies, ceramic inserts and plant-themed wrought iron. The building’s reputation, though, rests on its entrance gate — known as the Gate of Butterflies — made by the master ironworker Alessandro Mazzucotelli: geometric interlace resolves into butterflies alighting on forged flowers, set with coloured glass among the metalwork, in a vocabulary that echoes his ironwork at Casa Ferrario. The inner courtyard carries further floral decoration in ceramic.
Cultural significance
The Gate of Butterflies is counted among the masterpieces of Liberty wrought-iron sculpture, combining technical precision with the full vocabulary of the style. Alongside his work at Casa Ferrario and Casa Guazzoni, it is one of the clearest single demonstrations of why Mazzucotelli’s name recurs across Milan’s Liberty buildings as often as any architect’s.
Key facts
- Architect: Giuseppe Borioli
- Built: from 1904
- Three floors including ground level
- Known for: the wrought-iron “Gate of Butterflies” by Alessandro Mazzucotelli
- Address: Via Ausonio 3, Milan
- Coordinates: 45.4597 N, 9.1744 E
Practical information & getting there
Metro M2 Sant’Ambrogio, a few minutes on foot — the same quarter as Castello Cova. A private apartment building: the gate is the visit, and it is visible from the street.
Sources & resources
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