The lands of Lombardy, still divided between the ancient confines of the Duchy of Milan - which had become an integral part, first of the kingdom of Spain, and later of the Austrian empire - and the Republic of Venice, underwent radical transformations during the seventeenth century and the first half of the eighteenth century, both in the layout of the urban and agricultural landscape as well as in the developments of art and architecture.
This volume is the result of a complex blend of expertise and in-depth research into different issues in the history of architecture -Holy Mountains, religious buildings that are located all across the alpine region, fortifications and strongholds, noble dwellings, civil architecture, "pleasure villas" and vacuous constructions for feasts and triumphal celebrations - but this is also makes the history of the decorative arts, in particular the marvellous work of goldsmiths, from cutting precious stones to decorating pottery, and the history of art told through the detailed analysis of personalities, paintings and sculptures, including ornamental stuccos and carved wood, which reached their high point in the rich language of the baroque and the more elegant styles of the Rococo.
The volume, which follows the preceding volumes on medieval and renaissance Lombardy, comprises the critical essays of Raffaella Ausenda, Paola Bassani, Chiara Basta, Simonetta Coppa, Filippo Maria Ferro, Michela Fior, Marica Forni, Francesco Repishti, Luca Rinaldi, Valerio Terraroli, Franca Varallo, Paola Venturelli, Marino Viganò.