Portrait of Francesco Ponti

Francesco Ponti (1832-1895), belonging to a family of Lombard textile entrepreneurship in the area of Gallarate (Varese), patriot in the wars of Independence and a Garibaldian in the expedition of the Thousand, art collector, passionate traveler in Europe, Asia and Africa, in the will leaves its artistic collections to the City of Milan, provides numerous related benefits for the municipality of Gallarate and to the grandchildren Ettore, Emilio and Amerigo allocates the sum of 600,000 liras in favor of "an already existing charitable institution or founding a new".