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THE HOME of Fausto and Giuseppe Bagatti Valsecchi exemplifies the prevailing
19th-century practice - internationally as well as in Italy - of looking to
styles of the past for artistic inspiration.
HOWEVER, breaking away from the approach then most commonly adopted,
the two brothers did not mix designs from different periods. Turning their
backs on eclecticism, they set their sights on acquiring original pieces and
remakes in strictly Renaissance
style. In this respect they were moreover conforming with the cultural programme
launched by the newly installed monarchy under the House of Savoy, immediately
after the unification of Italy. The Renaissance had in fact been singled out
as the age likely to contribute most to the then barely existent national
identity.
THE REVIVAL of the Lombard Renaissance as proposed by the Bagatti Valsecchi
brothers also became a tribute to the era of Lodovico il Moro, undeniably
a cultural "golden age" for the city. In late 19th-century Milan this emphasis
on its one-time artistic pre-eminence was very much in tune with the modern
destiny of Lombardy's capital, then enjoying rapid economic growth. As a leading
light of the new nation the city was also able to bask in the glory of age-old
roots and sound historical precedents.
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