SCALVINI MUSEUM

Housed in Villa Tittoni since 1999, the Giuseppe Scalvini Museum Donation consists of thirty-six sculptural works, to which sixteen charcoal drawings and some engravings were added in 2003. The works were created by the artist Giuseppe Scalvini (Milan, 1908 - Milan, 2003), who donated part of his artistic production to the city of Desio.

Giuseppe Scalvini in 1937 created two angels for Desio on the tympanum of the pediment of the seventeenth-century Basilica of San Siro and Materno and has always remained linked to the city ever since. A member of the "15 Borgonovo" artistic movement and then of the existential Realism of the fifties, his fame was consolidated with the invitation to the Venice Biennials in 1948 and 1954. For Milan he created various decorations and bas-reliefs, including the Eagles decorating the Central Station, the Statue of Justice for the Court and some sculptures for the Monumental and Major Cemetery. The Friends of the Scalvini Museum Association takes care of the donation, which aims to promote exhibitions and awareness of the artist's work. The permanent exhibition is flanked by temporary exhibitions of 20th century artists.

VILLA TITTONI

Villa Cusani Traversi Tittoni of Desio occupies, in the panorama of the "delightful villas" of Brianza, an important role from the historical-artistic point of view. The origins of the Villa are ancient, indirectly dating back to 1290 when a Franciscan convent was founded in the Desio area, which was the first nucleus built in the place where the building stands today. The Villa complex was built in the 18th century by the Marquis Ferdinando Cusani to a design by the architect Giuseppe Piermarini; according to the customs of the time, the desiano complex, located in suburban areas and far from the city, had been conceived as a villa of delight; therefore, as a place whose owners retired during holidays; the nineteenth-century extensions, designed by the Bolognese Pelagio Palagi, essentially gave the Villa the physiognomy that has come down to us. In particular, we will open the chapel and the rooms on the ground floor to visits, characterized by a great decorative richness.