Foreign travellers in Milan and their interests. From the landmarks on the Grand Tour to the art and antiquities market

This article reviews the presence and movements of foreign travellers in Milan in the mid-nineteenth century, focusing on the cultural context of art collecting. Perceptions of the Milan region abroad are examined through a number of guides and illustrated digests aimed at foreign visitors and produced by local publishers such as Giovanni Pietro Giegler, Ferdinando Artaria, Bettalli and Vallardi. Along with the main landmarks, the importance of private palaces and their art galleries has also been researched. Among them are locations associated with some established names (the Archinto, Litta, Borromeo and Trivulzio families), as well as new entries such as the Poldi Pezzoli family. The sections of guidebooks devoted to the city’s antiquarian market were particularly significant within these publications, a study of which helps us to understand the unexpected dynamics of some emerging antique dealers’ careers. Emphasis is placed on case-studies, notably the important and remarkable example of Alfonso Reichmann, whose family owned a famous hotel at Porta Romana. Reichmann successfully engaged in the domestic and international art trade, dealing with foreign museums as well as with Italian institutions and collectors, including Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli.