The bas-reliefs by Leone Lodi

The only decorative elements in the rationalist building designed by Giuseppe Pagano are the bas-reliefs along the external walls of the entrance of Via Sarfatti 25, sculpted by Leone Lodi (1900-1974) and commissioned by Pagano himself. 

Lodi had already worked with Pagano on the occasion of the 1936 Milano Triennale and his work on the façade of the Bocconi University building shows the sculptor had fully understood the values of the Istrian architect. He thus created a work that does not intrude into the space available, with reliefs having slightly different sizes but all laid out horizontally like clean, clear bands: two deliberately asymmetrical reliefs at the center, on the left high above the doors and on the lower right at pavement level. Two other pairs are visible on the lateral edges of the façade, extending across the corners of the walls like clamps. The bas-reliefs, sculpted out of the same stone as the cladding, seem to be emerging from the wall surface itself. 

This cycle of reliefs is entitled “Primordial Activities” and speaks of the origins of civil society by portraying scenes of work in a timeless world. Men and animals have the same weight in the composition and are represented in a symbolic space devoid of landscape elements. The narration takes place according to a rhythm based on the repetition of the curvilinear shape that gives balance and symmetry to the entire composition. The characters mark the space in a static position and do not communicate with each other. Five scenes follow one another with a narrative function on the two sides of the main entrance: on the left side, motherhood, the care of horses, faith, domestic life, shepherding and the rules of coexistence between people, and on the opposite side, the lighting of fire, animals feeding, a fountain quenching thirst, fishing and shipbuilding. At the center of the façade there is a scene that pays homage to Bocconi, a place of economic studies: one of the reliefs portrays ancient contractual practices, while at the foot of the façade a man reaps the fruits of labor and toil.