Nice atmosfere, cool staff, opened from the first time in the morning til late night... Iter is a good choice for breakfast with coffee and brioche (the way Italians call the croissant), working days lunch (the have a fixed menu) and also for drinks - the menu changes seasonally and has always interesting options. Thanks to its location in a small street between the naviglio grande and pavese, the tourists somehow don't find it.

1990, SEPTEMBER: CARLA SOZZANI, FORMER FASHION EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, OPENS GALLERIA CARLA SOZZANI FOR PHOTOGRAPHY, ART AND DESIGN IN A CONVERTED GARAGE N° 10 OF CORSO COMO IN MILANO. SINCE THE OPENING,OVER 250 EXHIBITIONS HAVE OFFERED AN INTENSE VARIETY OF CULTURES AND GENRES IN THE WORLDS OF CONTEMPORARY CULTURE. THE GALLERY HAS ITS OWN PUBLISHING COMPANY ALSO DEDICATED TO ART, PHOTOGRAPHY, FASHION AND DESIGN. THE SAME YEAR THE GALLERIA CARLA SOZZANI IS GRADUALLY JOINED BY A GARDEN CAFÈ AND A BOOKSHOP. NEW AND CLASSIC PUBLICATIONS ON ART, ARCHITECTURE, LITERATURE, DESIGN, GRAPHICS AND FASHION, WITH A STRONG EMPHASIS ON PHOTOGRAPHY AND A SELECTION OF MUSIC FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD CAN BE FOUND HERE. BROWSING IS ENCOURAGED...

The Spirit is a cocktail bar in the hearth of Porta Romana, in Milano. An hidden gem, they say. At first sight you might not see the door. You need to be curious and adventurous to get in. But it’s worth it! Once inside, custom made velvet sofas, extravagant mirrors and games of sparkling lights will lure you down in a world of illusion and magic, where the perception of time and the world outside fades away. Surrounded by rare bottles from all over the world, you can savor the unusual mixed ingredients of our crafted cocktails, have a sip of long aged spirits from exotic lands or just have the barman tailor your perfect serve. Experience The Spirit!

The owners were an industrial family of the XX century. We’ve been there a couple of times and we suggest it to every friend who is coming to town. You walk through the villa in the exact way they left it. You can see their personal pictures framed in the living room, their wardrobes and drawers full of stuff, like a pair of silk scarves especially designed by Monsieur Christian Dior for the sisters Gigina and Nedda Necchi, even the big marble’s bathrooms designed, like the entire house, by the architect Piero Portaluppi are inspiring.

The Milan venue of Fondazione Prada, conceived by architecture firm OMA—led by Rem Koolhaas—expands the repertoire of spatial typologies in which art can be exhibited and shared with the public. Characterized by an articulated architectural configuration which combines seven existing buildings with three new structures (Podium, Cinema and Torre), the venue is the result of the transformation of a distillery dating back to the 1910’s. In the project conceived by OMA, two conditions coexist: preservation and the creation of a new architecture which, although separate, confront each other in a state of permanent interaction. Located in Largo Isarco, in the south of Milan, the compound develops on an overall surface of 19.000 m2/205,000 ft2. Torre marks the completion of the Milan venue. The 60-meters high building is realized in exposed white concrete. Each of the nine floors of Torre offers an original perception of the internal environments thanks to a specific combination of three spatial parameters: plan dimension, clear height and orientation. Half of the levels is in fact developed on a rectangular floor plan, while the other half displays a trapezoid one. The clear height of the ceilings increases from bottom to top, varying from 2,7 meters on the first floor to 8 meters on the top level. The external façades are characterized by an alternation of concrete and glass surfaces, which allows exposure from a northern, eastern or western side on the different floors, whereas the top gallery space is exposed to zenithal light. The southern side of Torre presents a diagonal structure inside which a panoramic elevator is integrated. As stated by Rem Koolhaas: “The Fondazione is not a preservation project and not a new architecture. Two conditions that are usually kept separate here confront each other in a state of permanent interaction–offering an ensemble of fragments that will not congeal into a single image, or allow any part to dominate the others. New, old, horizontal, vertical, wide, narrow, white, black, open, enclosed – all these contrasts establish the range of oppositions that define the new Fondazione. By introducing so many spatial variables, the complexity of the architecture will promote an unstable, open programming, where art and architecture will benefit from each other’s challenges”.