The Foundation
The Durini Foundation was founded in 1939, when Antonio Durini, son of the painter Alessandro and Guglielmina Litta, decided to leave his entire family estate to a special foundation dedicated to helping young painters and supporting elderly painters in need.
Don Giulio Durini, president of the Foundation and heir to one of Lombardy’s oldest families, personally oversaw the restoration of the Palazzo and the program of institutional events.
Art is at home in the Palazzo. From 1809 to 1815, it was the home of Giuseppe Bossi, a renowned painter and art theorist, and secretary of the Brera Academy from 1801 to 1807. This period marked an important historical moment, linked to Canova, who had his studio here during his stays in Milan as a guest of the Durini Counts of Monza.
The Durinis, patrons then as now, generous and welcoming, cherished the pleasure of sharing, of gathering together, of giving as well as receiving. It is here that Canova also bears witness with casts, plaster casts, and colors that are retrieved from the archives and reconfirmed with authentic mastery. The interior spaces unfold in a quadrilateral overlooking the courtyard.
All around, among the porticoes, niches, and statues, the echo of Handel’s music, memories of the “distinguished pianist” Guglielmina Durini Litta Biumi Resta: an “excellent musician” in nineteenth-century Milan. Even today, concerts are dedicated to her by musicians from the Conservatory.
Here, Don Giulio Durini has dedicated himself for many years to an operation to recover and relaunch the historic Durini Foundation, created by his great-uncle, Antonio Durini, in memory of his father Alessandro, an important figure in 19th-century Milanese culture and artistic history.