Castelfranchi Cirano

Cirano Castelfranchi 1952 oil painting on poplar plywood depicting a view of old Milan, a Milanese landscape painted with confident,  quick  brushstrokes. The painting is in good condition within a modern ivory lacquered frame with gilded corner profiles. The romantic Ponte delle Sirenette, Bridge of Mermaids is portrayed in the foreground; the bridge by Francesco Tettamanzi was inaugurated in 1842 on the Naviglio Canal on the San Damiano road, now called via Visconti di Modrone in Milano.   Originally installed as a bridge across the Naviglio canal, the Ponte delle Sirenette was part of the city life until the canal will filled in and converted to a street.  The bridge was moved to the heart of Parco Sempione in 1930 as part of a larger preservation effort. In the new location, just over a mile from the original one, the Bridge of Mermaids is under a canopy of trees and spans a narrow section of lake inside the Sempione park.  It is a beautiful setting for the bridge and its four mermaid statues, known as the Ghislini Sisters.   After 170 years of watching life in Milano, they must have some stories to tell.
On the parapets were two Latin inscriptions commemorating the construction of the first iron bridge in Milan in 1841 during the rule of Ferdinand I of Austria. On each of the piers at the ends was placed a mermaid with an oar in her hand. Originally, the pillars were decorated with cast-iron friezes, anchors and swans holding festoons at the top, lion heads at the bottom.

Born in Genoa on 2 July 1912, Cirano Castelfranchi has always lived in Milan. He painted in oil and watercolour as a self-taught artist. He attended the Brera School of Drawing. Since 1934 he has exhibited in regional and national exhibitions; in 1942 he was awarded a prize at the exhibition of Italian Painters in Arms in Palermo. He has works in private collections