Mangini Bonomi House Museum: a hidden treasure

Carlo Emilio Mangini: the dream of creating a museum in his own home

We begin our guided tour in the oldest center of the city, just a few steps from Piazza San Sepolcro and the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana: right here we can come across the incredible Casa Museo Mangini Bonomi, which houses the amazing collection of everyday objects of Emilio Carlo Mangini.
Exploring the museum is like diving into a very rich, untold and at times amusing history: in fact, we will find numerous works of art but also everyday objects that have now disappeared, fragments of a distant past,

The elegant 15th-century palace in the heart of historic Milan was purchased by Carlo Emilio Mangini in 1978 to house the thousands of objects he had collected over the course of his life and discovered during his many travels; in fact, he, who had nurtured the dream of creating his own museum since childhood, described himself as “a curious and tireless collector.”
As the years went by, Emilio was no longer able to travel, but his collection was completed by his son Giuseppe, who added a series of modern art masterpieces.

The collection is divided into forty sections where everything is arranged naturally, so much so that you almost ask permission before entering a space inhabited by the countless artifacts housed there. We will walk through several floors and come across weapons, period clothing, clocks, carillons, decks of cards, and a host of other curious objects.
An example? A fan that belonged to Mr. Mangini’s aunt who used to work at La Scala in Milan and has on each slat the autographs of important people who have passed through the well-known theater, including Gabriele D’annunzio and Eleonora Duse.
Each object enchants, leaving you speechless as it seems to want to tell its story and, indirectly, also the past of the city of Milan.