memorial inscription in the hall refers to a smaller building that existed in the 16th century. This building was completely renovated in the 17th century by the proprietor Cardinal Cesare Monti, proud owner of a remarkable art collection and successor to Federico Borromeo as Archbishop of Milan. He purchased the palace, which, according to archive records, was already large and magnificently decorated. Notwithstanding, Cardinal Monti decided to renovate it in order to add prestige to his personal collection. During the Cardinal’s permanence, the building gained a courtyard of honor and a monumental staircase, a magnificent expression of his life-style.
Later, Count Cesare Monti Stampa, continuing the Cardinal's project, decided to extend the building towards Porta Tosa (now Piazza Cinque Giornate) giving it a new façade, which is still preserved and currently serves as the library entrance. Architect Francesco Croce (1696-1773), a leading exponent of the then fashionable “barocchetto” or late baroque style, was in charge of the works.
Records tell of the quarrel between Count Monti and the Trivulzio family who owned the nearby palace. The latter thought that the value of their building would be diminished by the enlargement of Palazzo Monti, which they feared would obstruct their balcony view of the Naviglio. This canal once flowed along the present Via Francesco Sforza. The architects of the two palatial residences fixed a boundary representing the extreme limits of the building and built the small square at the front. The two small balconies at the sides of the main body, that make the façade profile unique, were designed to maintain an open view from the nearby buildings.
It may be worth noting that Palazzo Sormani is almost the sole example in Milan of a noble palace with two major façades. The second façade, looking on to the back garden, was built in the middle of the 18th century by the Piedmontese architect Benedetto Alfieri (1700-1767). It shows an impressive line of tall pillars decorated with stuccoes and a monumental clock, crafted by the Sangiusti brothers.
In 1783 this palace was sold to the Andreani family. The new owner Count Giovanni Pietro Paolo Andreani was a Milanese senator married to Cecilia, a member of the Sormani family. His son Paolo Andreani was famous at that time as the first person in Italy to successfully make an ascent in a hot air balloon.
Stuccoes by Agostino Gerli (1744-1821), who introduced the new neoclassical French style to Milan, were added to the main salons, as well as to two rooms on the side facing the garden (now the Manuscripts Section of the Library).
There is little information about the palatial residence during the 19th century, except for the curious story of the iron ball still visible, embedded in a wall close to the entrance. It is said to be a cannon ball shot in the heroic Five Days of Milan, the insurrection against the Austrian domination in March 1848.
Among the works of art still decorating the palace, the remarkable sequence of twenty-three pictures reproducing the myth of Orpheus charming the animals, (one of which is now displayed at the Civiche Raccolte d'Arte in the Castello Sforzesco), is accommodated in the Sala del Grechetto now used as the Library conference room.
For a long time the paintings were attributed to the Genoese painter Giovan Battista Castiglione, also known as Il Grechetto, whereas an anonymous painter from northern Europe known as the Painter of the Palazzo Lonati-Verri is now generally regarded as the real artist. The paintings actually come from a building owned by the Milanese Verri brothers, well known supporters of enlightenment reforms. Those pictures were brought to Palazzo Sormani in the 1880’s and hung in this room in the early 20th century in order to recreate the original sequence at Palazzo Verri, documented by a picture of Francesco Colombi Borde (1846-1905). This picture can be admired in one of the Library’s offices.
The beautiful 18th century English garden is a work of art, designed by the architect Leopold Pollack (1751-1806), who also planned the lateral prospect along the Naviglio. In the past, under the Andreani family, the garden hosted the Arcadia Lombarda. The big sculptural group in the park depicting a wild boar hunt, is a spectacular terracotta by Agenore Fabbri (1911-1998). It was presented at the Triennale art exhibition in 1949 and was bought by the Milan Municipality in 1955.
The Sormani building was sold to the Milan Municipality in 1930 to house the Museo di Milano’s historical collections now displayed in Via Sant'Andrea.
Second World War bombings seriously damaged both the building and some 18th century frescoes by Biagio Bellotti (1714-1789) in the Ballroom. These, together with other decorations, were unfortunately lost.
Architect Arrigo Arrighetti (1922-1989) restored the building in 1955-56 on behalf of the Municipality. Since then it has housed the books of the newly founded Central Public Library, which, in its long history, had been located in different buildings such as Palazzo Marino, Palazzo dei Giureconsulti, the Museo di Storia Naturale and the Castello Sforzesco.