Born in Gallarate, the son of a noble family, he graduated in his twenties from Modena Military Academy; then he served in East Africa in 1888-89.
It is named after the House of Panigarola, a family of notaries from Gallarate, that owned the building until 1741.
He made a monument for the fallen set up in Viggiù in 1919, another for Gallarate (set up in 1924) in Piazza Risorgimento, and finally one in Varese (1925).
Luigi Gnocchi (Gallarate, 14 January 1933) was an Italian sprinter, that won three gold medals in one single edition of Mediterranean Games.
In the same year he was enfeoffed with large estates in the Duchy of Milan (County of Vespolate 1524–1530, County of Gallarate 1530).
The latter station was also called the “Varesine” station" (after Varese) and was the terminus of lines to Gallarate, Novara and Varese.
Since December 2004 the section from Gallarate to Varese is used by the trains of the line S5 of Milan suburban railway service.