Palazzo dell'Istituzione

The Palazzo dell'Istituzione was built to house the craft school where the Duke planned that the youngsters of the village and neighbourhood would be trained, providing a solid basis for the vitality and fortune of Grazzano.
Today it houses a shop selling furniture and wooden objects produced by local craftsmen.

The Palazzo, which was built in two phases between 1908 and 1930, includes a broad portico behind pointed arches, and has Ghibelline crenellation. It is seen from a distance, thanks to the clock tower, and the bells chime every quarter of an hour.

On the outer wall is a bas relief showing Gian Galeazzo Visconti and a marble plaque records the marriage of Donna Anna Visconti di Modrone to Adolfo Caracciolo di Castagneto.
Under the portici a large painting portrays Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone's whole family in mediaeval costume.

Among the intentions of the Count Giuseppe, the creation of the borough Grazzano Visconti had mainly a philanthropic purpose. During an age when lower classes were certainly not able to afford to give an education to their children, the count created in Grazzano the one which can be considered as a professional school ante litteram, which provided courses for agricultural education and a school for artistic craftsmanship.
Among the courses established over the years, the course of wood drawing and carving had a large echo. It was established by Carla Erba, wife of the Count Giuseppe.
Lessons were attended by a hundred of students. At the end of the course, an exhibition of produced objects took place.
The artists/artisans, who then opened their businesses in the borough Grazzano, come from this school. Some descendants of them still works in the shops, which mainly sell wrought iron objects and carved wooden furnitures.