Poldi Pezzoli Museum
Sundial Room
Image © Andrea Jemolo
Milan, Italy
2025-2025
Goppion works with many museums all around the world, but sometimes they are very close to our home, here in Milan. The Poldi Pezzoli Museum is one such example: an elegant Neoclassical-style historical palace located in the central Via Manzoni, just a short walk from the Teatro alla Scala.
It is named after its creator, the Milanese nobleman Count Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli d’Albertone(1822-1879) who, in 1871, funded the establishment of a Poldi-Pezzoli Artistic Foundation. The Count’s vision was to protect in perpetuity the substantial art collection he had accumulated at his home in a lifetime dedicated to the pursuit of beauty. The Count had an eclectic and inquisitive mind, remarkable taste, and the financial means to indulge it. The autonomous foundation later became a non-profit organization by Royal Decree in 1887, and the house became one of Europe’s most attractive museums.
The palace was severely damaged during the Second World War, but its collections, stored for safety, survived unscathed. Today, the museum is world-renowned for its outstanding Renaissance painting collection and as an early example of a period-room museum. The galleries also display weaponry, glassworks, ceramics, jewelry, and furnishings.
Image © Andrea Jemolo
As part of a recent reinstallation project led by the museum’s management, Goppion was invited to design and build a new display case to house the collection of sundials and other time-measuring instruments from Piero Portaluppi, which would be placed in the room adjacent to the Hall of Mechanical Clocks. The case was designed not only to isolate and protect the most valuable objects, which come in a variety of types and sizes, but also to serve as a visitable archive, thanks to built-in drawers.
Among the selected objects—curated by Lavinia Galli in collaboration with the Associazione HORA—one of the highlights is the Navicula de Venetiis, a rare universal sundial made of ivory, created for King Louis XII by the mathematician Oronce Fine in 1524. The new exhibit also includes a rare armillary sphere, a moving model of the cosmos preferred by ancient Greek mathematicians and astronomers and used until the 18th century. This particular example was crafted by Gualterus Arsenius of Leuven in 1568. Other showcased items include a selection of refined Nuremberg ivory diptychs and three astronomical compendia.
Image © Andrea Jemolo
In terms of design, museum director Alessandra Quarto worked with Goppion to create a solution that would achieve both aesthetic and material harmony with the museum’s historic display cases. The challenge was to integrate the new case without making it appear overtly ‘in style.’ To this end, brushed brass—a material already present in other cases within the museum—was chosen for the new structure.
Designing the complex interior took a lot of thought. Our solution accommodated the different clocks by positioning them at different heights on many plinths of varying sizes. This achieved the aim of giving better visibility and organization to the collection.
Conservation requirements included storage for very delicate exhibits, the fragile ivory objects, and a drawer for hygroscopic material to contain relative humidity.
The Poldi Pezzoli museum is a special place, well cared for since its foundation and very dear to the Milanese people. Goppion ensured the new interventions were in tune with the historical identity of the building, while maintaining a context of great style and taste.
Image © Andrea Jemolo