Portrait of Bruno Granelli

Bruno Granelli (1915-1930) is not a benefactor of the Ospedale Maggiore: at seventeen he drowns in Lake Maggiore with his 13-year-old cousin Piero Marone. Ezio's father in memory of his son benefits the Hospital, financing the construction of the pavilion which houses the University Medical Pathology Clinic that bears his name and also commemorates his cousin with a tombstone. Ezio Granelli is induced to this donative act in favor of Ca 'Granda by Domenico Cesa-Bianchi, director of the Clinic for several years and, according to what the well-known doctor Ambrogio Binda recalled in 1931, directly from Benito Mussolini. The project is entrusted to Enrico A. Griffini, assisted by Ambrogio Gadola, who separates clinical, didactic and laboratory services, giving the pavilion "by express desire of the Donor, an imprint of distinction, property and for certain environments even of elegance ", so much so that, due to the use of valuable but expensive materials, criticisms were made against the organization. Granelli, accompanied by his family, laid the first stone during a "sad ceremony" on September 27, 1931, on the anniversary of the death of the two young men. The construction company of Luigi Gadola quickly completes the building, consisting of two "T" shaped buildings, destined respectively for clinical services and teaching. The innovations of the new pavilion, inaugurated on October 23, 1933 and almost entirely made with national materials and instruments according to the directives of the fascist regime, were noted and illustrated by some specialized press publications, such as the Roman "Architettura" or the Milanese "Avvenire Sanitario "and" Rational Lighting ". Starting from the reconstruction, made necessary by the very serious damage of the 1943 bombings, the Pavilion has undergone numerous renovations and changes in use. The commission of the portrait of Bruno is entrusted to Alberto Salietti. The boy's mother declares herself satisfied with the work, even though she proposes eliminating the vase of flowers depicted on the windowsill, a modification that the artist does not perform. The painter was in a period in which his fame was consolidated, after setting up an important personal exhibition at the Galleria Pesaro and entering the Superior Council for the Ancient and Fine Arts. The photo on the piece of furniture represents cousin Piero .