Beholder of a changing city
Welcome to the virtual tour of the Bicocca degli Arcimboldi, which will take you through the history and rooms of this wonderful Renaissance building, now the official reception centre of the Pirelli Group. Here are some useful tips to give you a better browsing experience.
You can walk virtually through the rooms, moving in any direction, to whichever room or floor you like, using the arrows you see on the main screen.
A fixed icon at the top right gives you direct access to the various rooms and lets you examine the information that will enrich your virtual experience. Press the button at the bottom right to access this content. The Pirelli Foundation has selected documents and images that let you discover the history of the villa and its close bond with the company.
You can save time by pressing the button at the bottom left, which will take you directly to the next room.
Enjoy the tour!
The Pirelli Foundation staff
A painter at Bicocca
On the wall to the left of the entrance to the Sala del Dovere (the “Hall of Duty”) is an oil painting by Arturo Ferrari (1861-1932), a Milanese painter renowned for his views of the city, which is a recurring subject in his work. The painting shows the loggia of the villa as it was before construction work started in the area of the Pirelli factories. Another version of the painting is in the Galleria d’Arte Moderna Ricci Oddi in Piacenza.
The painting of the rooftop loggia by Arturo Ferrari, in the access room at the entrance to the Sala del Dovere, or “Hall of Duty”. Photo: Roberto Valenti, 2021
Another version with the same subject of the painting is now in the Galleria d’Arte Moderna Ricci Oddi in Piacenza. Photo: Roberto Valenti, 2021
Detail of the painting by Arturo Ferrari showing figures or soldiers in the loggia
Detail of the painting by Arturo Ferrari showing the view from the rooftop loggia as it was in the nineteenth century
Sempre el dovere
One of the various purposes that the "Sala del Dovere" was put to over the centuries was that of a nursery school classroom for the children of Pirelli employees, as we can see in pictures taken at the time. A door surmounted by a panel decorated with the heads of Roman emperors leads into a room with a large round table at the centre. The walls are decorated with frescoes bearing the motto Sempre el dovere inspired by a room in the Cascina Mirabello, which is similar to the Bicocca in terms of period and construction.
Detail of the Medici motto “Semper el dovere” and the plant elements that frame it
Cross-section of the “Hall of Duty”, which was used as a school for the children of Pirelli employees in the 1950s
Heads of Roman emperors on the entrance door to the “Hall of Duty”. Photo: Roberto Valenti, 2021
View of the “Hall of Duty” from the outside
Visitors around the great round table in the “Hall of Duty”