A French film company gave it the name everyone uses; Milanese guides still call it by another. Either way, the wrought iron is unmistakably Mazzucotelli.
At a glance
Palazzo Pathé, also known locally as Casa Felisari, occupies a corner plot at the junction of Via Luigi Settembrini and Via Ruggero Boscovich, a short walk from Milano Centrale station. It was built around 1910 to a design by the architect Giulio Ulisse Arata.
History
For a number of years the building housed the Italian offices of Pathé, the French cinematographic company, and it is that tenancy the more common name records — even though older Milanese guides still refer to it as Casa Felisari. The facades were restored between 2017 and 2018.
What you see
The style is Liberty with a medieval-leaning accent: the facades are built in exposed brick, patterned with mosaics and cement relief rather than stone dressing. The wrought-iron railings and gates — the most elaborate part of the exterior — are the work of Alessandro Mazzucotelli, the same smith behind the ironwork of Casa Guazzoni and Casa Moneta elsewhere in the city.
Cultural significance
The building carries two names because it carries two identities that neither fully displaced the other — a private house that became, for a time, the outpost of a foreign entertainment industry in Milan. Local guides tend to describe it as one of the city’s more enigmatic addresses, more for that layered history than for anything unusual in the stone.
Key facts
- Architect: Giulio Ulisse Arata
- Built: c. 1910
- Also known as: Casa Felisari
- Historic use: Italian offices of the French film company Pathé
- Ironwork: Alessandro Mazzucotelli
- Facades restored: 2017–2018
- Address: Via Luigi Settembrini 11, Milan
- Coordinates: 45.4810 N, 9.2050 E
Practical information & getting there
Metro M2/M3 Centrale FS or M1 Repubblica, both a few minutes on foot. A private building: the corner elevation and the ironwork at street level are what a visitor sees.
Sources & resources
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