Panigarola House (Casa Panigarola) or, as it is also called, the Palace of the Notaries (Palazzo dei Notai) is located on the western side of Piazza Mercanti, which serves as a kind of medieval heart of Milan.
This beautiful Gothic building was erected as early as the 15th century and is a typical example of civil architecture of that time. The facade of the house was designed in 1466 by the architect Giovanni Solari and, during the reconstruction of 1899, was restored by Luca Beltrami.
The ground floor of Panigarola House is decorated with pointed arches, and in the floor of the portico there has even been preserved a noticeable relief of the Biscione, the emblem of Milan. On the wall of the building you can still see a ceramic plaque signed by the 15th-century jurist Tommaso Caponago, where he warns fellow citizens against conflicts with the law.
For several centuries, this building housed the notarial office of the Panigarola family. That is how the house came to bear this family name. And since the middle of the last century, Casa Panigarola has been home to the Al Mercante restaurant.
