Maestro di Casa Morigia
Two works in Pallanza are attributed to the anonymous artist known as “Master of Casa Morigia”: the courtly cycle of Casa Morigia, and the fresco of the Madonna delle Grazie (also known as “Virgin of the Milk”) in the church of Santa Maria di Campagna.
The name “Casa Morigia” refers to what is left of the great house which once belonged to the aristocratic Morigia family of Pallanza. On the first floor is a room painted with frescoes, of which three scenes are still decipherable (to them must be added the Courtship, which can be seen in the Museo del Paesaggio): Game of Chess; Crowning with a garland of flowers; Departure for a hunt with dogs. The coats of arms of the Morigia and Visconti families are also painted on the upper band of the wall.
This cycle of profane scenes can be dated to between 1441 (the year in which the Morigias became feudatories of the Viscontis for the lands of Suna and Rovegro) and 1460 (the date is engraved on one of the walls).
The frescoes, which had been covered over in 1909 when the room was part of a private house, were uncovered in 1975 by the Department for the Conservation of Historic Buildings, which arranged for their restoration, including the removal of the Courtship from the south side of the room to the Museo del Paesaggio.
