A New Location for the Pietà Rondanini. A Discussion about the Preservation of the BBPR Museum Layout in Castello Sforzesco (Milan)
The relocation in 2015 of the Pietà Rondanini to a different place inside Sforzesco Castle in Milan stirred
a passionate debate at the national level for causing the variation in the historical set up designed by the
BBPR architects, better known internationally as participants of the lucky Italian season of the post-war museums renovation. This paper seeks to discuss various aspects of the relocation of this treasure.
At the outset, it briefly revisits the historical relationship of Milan with the Pietà Rondanini, and then
it gives some insight into how the architects BBPR inserted the statue in the museum renovated in the
aftermath of the destruction of World War II. The paper also examines the changes that occurred in the
museum over the years that forced the decision of moving the sculpture from its postwar place.
Finally, a more theoretical part deals with the problem of preserving the museum layouts in the light
of the cultural changes that have taken place, and reflects, a few years after the inauguration of the new
site, on positive and negative aspects inside a general evaluation, which is not without shadows.