MILAN EXCELSIOR HOTEL GALLIA
If there’s a more fashionable reason to take a trip to Milan, then I can’t think of one, as the Fondazione Prada (fondazioneprada.org) has made the city a must-visit for art and style fans alike. A former distillery redesigned by star architect Rem Koolhaas, the Fondazione is spread across 10 buildings (including a cinema), housing designer Miuccia Prada’s considerable private art collection. Contemporary pieces are exhibited alongside important loans, such as Greek and Roman statues from major Italian museums.
With the exception of the permanent installations by Robert Gober and Louise Bourgeois, all of the exhibitions are rotating, so there is never a bad time to visit; when you do, make sure you stop at Bar Luce, the foundation’s cafe designed by film-maker Wes Anderson, where aperitivos are served by Ralph Fiennes lookalikes.
Not all of Milan’s sites are quite so visible as the Fondazione’s gleaming gold tower. Ask any Milanese what they love about their city, and the answer will be the same: its hidden charm. Aside from a couple of landmarks such as the Duomo, this isn’t a place that immediately blows you away with its beauty, like, say, Venice or Florence. As my Milanese guide tells me, you need to learn where to look.
Walking around the streets of the Quadrilatero del Silenzio, home to some of the city’s most expensive real estate, I understand what ‘hidden’ really means: the imposing facades might catch your initial attention, but a peek through the gates will reveal the beauty of luscious private gardens.
One of the best of these hidden treasures (and one of the very few open to the public) is Villa Necchi Campiglio (visitfai.it), which was the set for Tilda Swinton’s 2009 film
I Am Love. Built in the 1930s by a wealthy local couple, it was donated to the city along with all of its contents, which means you can step back in time while drooling over a giant walk-in closet full of vintage Chanel, and then sip cappuccino in the shady garden beside the villa’s picturesque outdoor swimming pool.
Excelsior Hotel Gallia makes the perfect base for a sleek city weekend. An extensive refurb by Italian architectural firm Studio Marco Piva has made it Milan’s coolest new place to stay. Tributes to the original Art Deco features are everywhere, from the black marble walls to the imposing chandeliers, but are jazzed up with generous touches of neon and a collection of quirky Italian design pieces from Flos and Alessi. A rooftop terrace is filled with Milan’s beautiful young things. Get to the Fondazione Prada before they do. LUCIA FERIGUTTI