Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1545128
The Discreet Charm of Four Palazzi That Meld Old World and Modern Milan M ilan is one of the great design capitals of the world, if not the greatest of them all. It's apparent t h r o u g h o u t the city, from the Gothic splendors of the Duomo at its center to the showrooms and art galleries in the Brera Design District and the luxury arcades of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, where Prada and the historic pastry shop Marchesi 1824 sit beneath a soaring glass- and-iron dome. Yet much of Milan's design culture remains famously discreet, its riches concealed behind broad iron gates and plaster façades. Those lucky enough to be invited inside the private homes of Milan discover worlds of exquisitely displayed treasures, inherited and accumulated over generations. Usually, such invitations are extended only to close friends and family. But, once a year during Salone del Mobile and Milan Design Week, the city opens from the inside out. A whispered address leads to an ornate and carved-wood door of monumental scale. Beyond it, an interior courtyard — invisible from the street — opens onto a marble staircase. Upstairs are rooms glowing with lacquer and lamplight. There's a theatricality to the decor, with patterns and textiles adding a sense of opulence and richness, but there is warmth and comfort, here too: a feeling that real lives have been lived within these spaces, and that each room has evolved over time under the watchful eye of inhabitants who understand and appreciate their design legacy. Milan, after all, was the epicenter of 20th- century Italian modernism — the home of figures such as Piero Portaluppi, Gio Ponti, and Gae Aulenti, who created interiors that reinterpreted classicism through a fresh lens and conceived domestic interiors remarkable for their ability to evolve with the times. By Ingrid Abramovitch Opposite page: Palazzo Olivazzi