For months, whispers had been circulating through Milan’s tight-knit luxury real estate circles: a wealthy South American investor was quietly circling one of the city’s most storied addresses, a prominent figure tied to the Berlusconi era was preparing to vacate his residence, and an aristocratic owner was ready to sell at a price few buyers could match. The rumors have now crystallized into a confirmed transaction. José Auriemo Neto, the 49-year-old chief executive of Brazilian luxury real estate holding company JHSF Capital, has acquired Palazzo Taverna Medici del Vascello on Via Bigli, a narrow street tucked between Via Montenapoleone and Via Manzoni in the heart of Milan’s fashion quadrilateral. The deal closed at 52.5 million euros, translating to more than 22,000 euros per square meter including garages and cellars, making it one of the most significant private palace transactions in the city in recent memory.
The building itself carries a weight that goes far beyond its stone facades and granite-columned courtyard. Dating back centuries, with its current Renaissance appearance shaped largely by 16th-century interventions, the three-story palazzo contains just eight apartments arranged around a porticoed interior courtyard. During the historic Five Days of Milan in March 1848, the building served as the operational nerve center of the anti-Austrian uprising, housing first the insurgents’ War Committee and later the Provisional Government of Milan after rebels rejected the armistice offered by Field Marshal Radetzky. The property passed through the hands of various noble families over the centuries before being inherited in 2023 by Marchesa Rossella Manzone, who ultimately agreed to sell in 2025. Given its status as a protected historic and artistic landmark, the Italian state held the right of first refusal on the sale but chose not to exercise it, clearing the path for Auriemo Neto to proceed.
For JHSF Capital, the Milan acquisition marks the company’s first foray into the city, though not its first investment on Italian soil. The São Paulo-listed group, founded by Auriemo Neto’s father and now generating roughly 280 million euros in annual revenue with net profits of approximately 136 million euros, has already staked out a position in Sardinia with an ambitious 50-hectare luxury development near Porto San Paolo, opposite the island of Tavolara, encompassing a high-end hotel, private villas, a spa, beach club, and marina. Minority investors in that project include developer Davide Bizzi and Ezio Simonelli, the current president of Serie A. The ultimate plans for Palazzo Taverna remain unconfirmed, though conversion into a boutique luxury hotel is widely considered the most likely outcome. In the meantime, the palazzo’s most recognizable tenant, Adriano Galliani, the longtime AC Milan executive and current Monza chief, will remain in his apartment through June 30, 2026, under a private agreement reached after the previous owner declined to renew his lease. What happens after that date rests entirely with the new owner.
Source: Idealista
