In the area that already in the early Middle Ages hosted the mint – from which the name of Via Moneta – from 1928 to 1940 arose a small neighborhood dedicated to finance.
At an office building by Emilio Lancia (1939), which divides the square from Via Posta, opposes Palazzo Mezzanotte, the historic seat of the Stock Exchange.
Opened in 1932, the Stock Exchange building lost its function with the advent of IT systems in the 1990s.
Designed by architect Paolo Mezzanotte, the building of the Milan Stock Exchange has an impressive white marble facade that reaches a height of 36 meters. It adopts classical architectural models with two arch orders crowned by a tympanum sustained by four semi-columns, at the ends of which are the sculptural groups depicting the “Four Natural Elements.
Since September 2010, the sculpture by Maurizio Cattelan, L.O.V.E. (acronym of Liberty, Hate, Revenge, Eternity): sculpted in the Carrara marble in the impudent gesture of the ‘middle finger’ – indeed the other four fingers are cut off – and addressed as a mockery to the sancta sanctorum of Milan’s finance. Born to be a temporary installation, among the appreciation and grumbles the City has continually postponed its removal.
USEFUL INFO
Opening hours: open air
Admission: free
How to reach: Metro Duomo, Cordusio, Tram 16, 19
Address: Piazza degli Affari, 20123 Milano MI
