Villa Paladini

Casa Paladini is separated from the Nava-Della Porta villa by a narrow alley, it was built in multiple phases between the 18th and 19th centuries. Despite its sober and modest style, the building remains an important historical testimony closely connected to the castrum of Barzanò. The current Via del Castello, which follows the ancient layout of the medieval city walls, now borders the terraced garden of Casa Paladini, creating an elevated terrace to the south that offers panoramic views of the town of Barzanò.

Casa Paladini, which is built on part of the area formerly occupied by the medieval castle, also exhibits clear architectural traces of this fortified presence. Some of the medieval fortifications are incorporated into the 18th-century residential construction. The massive central body, now plastered, hides the ruins of a medieval military tower that still extends well beyond 7 meters in height.

Several members of the Galliani and Paladini families, joined by marriage ties, are remembered in national history for their roles in the events of the Italian Risorgimento. For example, Giovanni Paladini, who served as the Director of the Prisons of Milan in March 1848, is well-known for his decision to avoid an uncontrolled release of hundreds of common criminals. He made this choice because he was well aware, thanks to his French officer colleagues, of the devastating effects of such a release. His refusal to create a "second Bastille" helped save the Five Days of Milan and the city from violence and looting. Giovanni’s sons, Leone and Cesare, actively participated in the Cinque Giornate of Milan: the elder Cesare, with the help of his father, was assigned as a Censorship employee with the role of covering important messages coming from Italy or abroad. Leone was arrested after his commitment on the front lines in the Milanese barricades of 1848. He continued to follow all the national events including the defense of Rome in 1849, and ultimately lived in exile for nearly twenty years in Tunisia, Algeria, and France.

Their brother-in-law, Attilio Galliani, was the same age and childhood friend of Luciano Manara, the first Commander of the Italian Bersaglieri. He is buried in the family Mausoleum here in Barzanò. Together, they led columns of patriots that defeated Radetzky's troops on March 22, 1848, liberating Milan. Galliani was also a close friend of Teodoro Moneta, the only Italian to receive the Nobel Peace Prize now buried in Missaglia. and becoming the first signatory of the Lombard Society for Peace and International Justice, a precursor to the League of Nations and thus of the United Nations. In 2011, the Paladini family donated to the Municipality of Barzanò a Tricolor flag carried into battle by their ancestors during the Cinque Giornate visible nowadays in the entrance hall of the municipal building.