MILAN & SURROUNDINGS
MILAN’S TOUCH
SPECTACULAR CITY OF ARTS, DESIGN AND FASHION
The sprawling metropolis of Milan is recognized as Italy’s financial hub and a singular force in international design, art, and fashion. Beyond the flashy downtown fashion district, new cultural venues have positioned the city as a relevant presence in the contemporary art scene. We will visit a scruffy industrial corner of Milan, that has become one of the most dynamic cultural venues in Europe. The Prada Foundation, a dazzling art space, is a converted distillery with nearly 120,000 square feet of exhibition space. This place has the feel of a Hollywood set: Jeff Koons and Donald Judd artworks pepper the picturesque grounds, and the kitsch cafe boasts designs by Wes Anderson.
Next we will move on to the Hangar Bicocca, a huge contemporary art space in a former airplane hangar, featuring Anselm Kiefer’s grand “Seven Celestial Palaces”, a site-specific work from 2004 in which seven cement towers rise 46 to 60 feet into the air.
La Triennale di Milano, the 1930s building in Sempione Park, is devoted to exhibitions of decorative and industrial arts. Next, we will visit Castiglioni Foundation, a design studio set in an 18th-century palazzo beside Sempione Park where the great designer worked for almost 60 years. Brimming with his original designs, this gem is so inspiring because it is Castiglioni’s personal cosmos. We will be led through the estate by his daughter Giovanna, who will share memories of her father. She constantly works to raise awareness on Castiglioni’s impact and keep his designs in production through the Foundation.
Next, the legendary Villa Necchi Campiglio, designed by Architect Piero Portaluppi, is a rare example of a domestic space of the elegant industrial bourgeoisie of Milan in the ‘30s, with refined deco style.
The Gae Aulenti square is a rare fusion of structural innovation, sustainability and beauty, with architectonic pearls like Unicredit Pavillion and Vertical Wood, with elegant residential towers that are home to more than 900 species of trees. In a visit to CityLife Residence we will immerse ourselves in one of the city’s most daring urban redevelopment projects, whose new buildings were designed by archi-stars like Daniel Libeskind, Aarata Izosaki and Zaha Hadid, to name a few. A tour to Rossini Art Site, a huge sculpture park in the heart of the Lambro Valley, will provide a sanguine green oasis and an indepth journey into the history of Italian sculpture from World War II to the present.
Prominent private art collections, artists and designers’ studios will open their doors to us.
Art Highlights
PRADA FOUNDATION
The new arts complex designed by Rem Koolhaas on the site of an old distillery
VILLA NECCHI CAMPIGLIO
A sublime modernist masterpiece of Italian architecture of the inter-war period, which played host to Luca Guadagnino “I am love” movie
MORTERONE OPEN AIR MUSEUM
On the slope of Resegone mountain we discover a park with works by Tremlett, Staccioli and Morellet
Architectural Highlights
VERTICAL WOOD SKYSCRAPER
Stefano Boeri and Zaha Hadid architectural itinerary
GIORGIO ARMANI’s TEMPLE
The museum and the research center of one of the greatest Italian fashion designer
ARCHITECT, ARTIST & DESIGNER STUDIO VISITS
Discover the studios of some of the greatest personalties in the milanese contemporary creativity scene
DINNER WITH AN ARCHITECT
A milanese architect invite us for dinner in her elegant early xx century apartment