Address: Corso di Porta Romana, 3
Leaving the shop on your left, you just need to walk a few steps to discover a piece of Milan history: in Corso di Porta Romana, 3 you’ll be able to admire Palazzo Acerbi, a building from the 17th century which belonged to the Milanese senator Ludovico Acerbi. If you look up at the shelf positioned on the right of the first balcony, you will see a cannon ball: it was shot on 20th March 1848 during the famous 5-day insurrection in Milan - as attested by a tiny plaque placed below the ball.
Palazzo Acerbi is well-known not so much for its baroque architectural style (particularly sober and austere) as for his owner Ludovico Acerbi, a senator and marquis from Milan who, during the spreading of the Plague in Milan, used to organize several parties attended by the nobles who hadn’t left Milan. He also used to ride in a carriage about town, followed by a crowd of servants. Notwithstanding such exaggerated social life - rather outrageous for the period - neither the inhabitants nor the illustrious guests of that palace caught the plague. This fact provoked rumours that the building was inhabited by the devil himself.
