This article was originally published on Domus 1083, September 2023.

The small astronomical observatory designed by Patrizio Cimmino for the Municipality of Rozzano and Gruppo Astrofili Rozzano is a curious, albeit not unique, case of architecture conceived around a single valuable object. Negotiations to obtain a proper facility from the municipality were resolved after the acquisition of a 19th-century Merz-Dallmeyer telescope. The chosen site is in the park of the Cascina Grande Cultural Centre, a fine public fragment of the city. Built starting in the 1980s by recovering the impressive buildings of the old Cascina Zanoletti, the centre now includes the civic and children’s libraries, a multipurpose hall, a cafe and large paved parterres, lawns and rows of monumental poplars.

The observatory’s position stands as the perspective vanishing point wedged between the two libraries and immediately accessible from the entrance. Conceived as a podium with a circular plan, it is white to minimise visual disturbances due to nocturnal heat dissipation. The ground floor houses the entrance, technical spaces, a small museum – which inherits the collection of astronomer Mentore Maggini – and a conference hall. 

The stars are admired from the upper floor where two telescopes, the second of which is contemporary, peer through a sophisticated dome with a petal-shaped opening, providing a 360° view of the sky. At seven metres in diameter, it is Europe’s largest and the second largest in the world with this configuration. The outdoor seating offers a “two-way” use, facing the civic library or the observatory. The latter is an exceptional place for a small to medium-sized town like Rozzano, and the only public service of its kind in southern Milan. The conference hall’s large double-height window overlooks the park. A white casket for the precious telescope, the building is also a micro-landmark and a night lantern facing the city.