Casa Atellani

The complex centers on a fifteenth‑century courtyard that preserves its original plan with a portico surrounding the open space. The portico vaults are formed as umbrella‑type ceilings divided into eight segments, a characteristic ceiling pattern that dates to the building’s quattrocento origins. Portions of mural decoration from this courtyard survive in situ.

A number of painted lunettes that once decorated the house survive as movable fragments. Fourteen of these lunettes bear portraits of members of the Sforza family and are attributed to a painter working in the Leonardesque circle; these panels now figure among the rooms of the Castello Sforzesco museums. Additional small fragments of fifteenth‑century fresco work from the courtyard also remain within the palace.

The principal interior space known as the Zodiac Room shows layered intervention from different periods. It contains fourteen lunettes that illustrate zodiac motifs, a count that reflects a twentieth‑century enlargement of the room when two extra lunettes were added. In the two added lunettes there are two inscriptions: the French motto “Faire sans dire” and the letters H and J, which represent the initials of Ettore Conti and his wife Giannina Casati. The western wall of this chamber bears traces of heavy retouching and modification, while the eastern walls preserve panels considered authentic and were restored during the 1922 campaign.

The building’s street face was reshaped during the early twentieth‑century works and now includes four medallions with sculpted portraits of the Sforza family executed by Pompeo Marchesi. Inside, Ettore Conti’s study opens toward the replanted vineyard and contains an inlaid wooden surround for a fireplace that displays coats of arms and insignia tied to the marriage between Christina of Denmark and Francesco Sforza. Above the hearth are painted figures and heraldic emblems: three crowns associated with Sweden, an eagle and the “biscione” linked to Visconti and Sforza authority (the eagle also representing the Empire), a golden lion tied to Norway, and a golden dragon connected with the King of Vendi. Several rooms are lined with eighteenth‑century boiserie (wood panelling), which enclose a substantial library collection still preserved within the house.