Fab 40: Villa Necchi

Italy

One of the finest twentieth century villas in Milan, the Casa Villa Necchi was finished in 1935, at the height of the Italian Rationalist movement. The architect Piero Portaluppi was Milan personified, a designer for whom the rapidly industrialising city provided endless opportunity.

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His clients at Villa Necchi, the Campiglio family, were local industrialists eager to demonstrate their artistic patronage to the city at large. Austere, neo-classical details are combined with rich materials; the sumptuous interior is filled with art, ancient and modern, and period ambience to die for.

Later modernized by long-term Gio Ponti collaborator Tomaso Buzzi, the family gave the house to the Italian National Trust at the turn of the century. Following a six million euro restoration it has now opened its doors to the city once again. A new coffee house, named after the original family, has been designed by Piero Castellini Baldissera to complement the original structure, creating a stylish eatery with a historic pedigree.

16 October 2009 | Architecture