The house on the via del Morone

On 2 October 1813, Manzoni bought a house in Milan on the via del Morone (currently number 1) from a friend of friends (Grossi, Rossari and Confalonieri), where he lived until the very end of his long life. The Manzoni family was living at the Beccaria family home in via Brera at the time, and moved to the new home only in late winter, once the necessary renovation work had been completed. It was only fifty years later that the façade overlooking Piazza Belgioioso acquired the decorative brickwork that is admired today today. In his letters Manzoni mentions a number of places in the house that were particularly significant for him. In his study on the ground floor he would “huddle up” (rannicchiarsi) at his desk, anxious in case the door opened and someone came in to bore him by talking about business matters, and happy if it was one of his close friends instead (perhaps Grossi, who lived with the Manzoni family in two rooms opposite Manzoni’s study). He spent the whole evening with his family in the “red room” (sala rossa) on the first floor, enjoying long conversations with friends, often about the novel he was writing, which contributed to the teamwork that produced at least the first phase of his work. Another ritual area in the house was the fireplace, which he recalls with nostalgia during his journey to Tuscany. The fireplace was also where Manzoni would perform his obsessive art of lighting and rekindling the fire while engaged in conversation, keeping the heat going strong even in summer (as recounted by Niccolò Tommaseo, who caught a bad cold at that very fireplace). Since 1937 the house on the via del Morone has been used as the Centro Nazionale di Studi Manzoniani, which is currently preparing the national edition of Manzoni’s works.