A place that leaves a mark

I was pleasantly surprised when Leonardo Ferragamo told me that he planned to bring back to life such a special building - the rooms and courtyards of the seminary on corso Venezia - by providing a new meaning to its original function as a place that welcomed and left a memorable impression on all those who stayed there. It so happened that I had just got back from a trip to Trento, the city that hosted the famous Council, which led to the construction of this monument, one of Europe’s oldest seminaries, the one that would be taken as a model to build all seminaries from then on: in the 1500s, in fact, Milanwhich would later become the city of architecture and design - already explored new directions and paths. The former archbishop’s seminary is one of those places whose extraordinary beauty is further enhanced by learning about its history. We need to go back to the years of

C A rlo b orromeo C onsidered be A uty to be A sourC e of inspir Ation . h e wA nted A building designed to A ffe C t people ’ s lives

A nd it is of gre At C omfort to know th At , A fter so m A ny C enturies , this pl AC e is b AC k to wel C oming guests A nd le Aving A n indelible m A rk on them the Spanish rule over Milan, a period which is often overlooked but actually lasted nearly two centuries, starting from the Battle of Pavia in 1525, when Spain and the Habsburg Empire forced the French to abandon the Duchy of Milan, which they had been occupying for several decades. Milan, in fact, having lost its political autonomy in the late 1400s - with the fall of Ludovico il Moro (of the House of Sforza) who had misplaced his trust in Charles VIII, King of France - came under the

VIII and then with Louis XII and Francis I, the King who fought against and was defeated by Charles V, King of Spain and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The ruler of the empire on which the sun never set was succeeded by his son Philip II, who governed Milan at the time when the seminary was built. While this was the geopolitical situation, that marked the advent of what was not a mere architectural project, but a new institution: the Council of Trent , held between 1545 and 1563. The response- although late in coming- to the upheaval caused by Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation. The German friar was banished from the Holy

Roman Empire by Charles V in 1521, Theses of Wittemberg, which led to the Reformation. While many of these theses were mere theological opinions, many others severely condemned the corruption that permeated the Catholic Church, which is why the Council had to act on both the doctrinal and disciplinary front. And that’s when Carlo Borromeo, the future Bishop of Milan and nephew of Pius IV , was held, came into play. He was the one whom - although he had not been ordained bishop yet and, thus, was not

IV turned to for the reforms in the Church. As the younger son in the family, he was initiated to a career in the Church - which had a more political than religious nature back then - but he was soon deeply affected by the crisis that the Church was facing and felt the urge to respond to the challenge posed by Protestantism. A response which required the involvement of the Church of Milan, which had good organizational ability, a legacy of Saint Ambrose who, before becoming Bishop the Roman Empire. And there was no one who could be relied on more to deal with disciplinary decrees than such

Among the reforms introduced by the Council was the founding of seminaries for the education of priests. For the very to become a priest, it was necessary to receive a college education, with a strong spiritual basis and a focus on religious culture. As soon as Borromeo was appointed Bishop of Milan at the end of the Council in 1563, he devoted his energies to the founding of a seminary and, after a short time in temporary premises, this great monument, which today houses Portrait Milano , opened its doors in 1569. Carlo Borromeo - whose family coat of arms, Humilitas, appears in many of the seminary’s spaces - took an active part in the building’s design. He planned for it to be located in a central position, near the Duomo, and yet hidden and secluded, with the windows giving onto the inner courtyard rather than onto the streets, in order for the young seminarians not to be distracted from their studies. He wanted the spaces to be large and healthy, pleasant and comfortable, and beautiful, as he considered beauty to be a source of inspiration and a formative experience in itself. The building was a place of transit, but also designed to affect people’s lives. A place where people were welcomed and educated, both intellectually and spiritually, and when they left, they would carry the memory of it with them for the rest of their lives. And it is of great comfort to know that, after so many centuries, this place is back to welcoming guests and leaving an indelible mark on them after only a few days, because of its beauty, architecture and fascinating history.