The Milan neighborhood where East meets West
Milan is primarily a glamour destination. But there is an alternative to the classic dolce vita; a hotspot to which young, savvy Milanese flock for weekends of cross-cultural enjoyment.
I jump on autobus 94 heading north from the exclusive Quadrilatero della Moda district, where Via Monte Napoleone and Via della Spiga are lined by the opulent showrooms of Gucci, Prada, Versace and Armani. Ten minutes later it arrives by the bustling Porta Garibaldi station, at one end of Via Paolo Sarpi, the heart of Milan's reborn Chinatown, a vibrant neighbourhood surrounded by bohemian cultural venues.
The street is narrow and now almost completely pedestrianised, with trees and greenery making for a pleasant stroll. There's a shop selling Borsalino hats, a store full of artists' supplies and a tobacconist, but instead of the traditional trattorie serving plates of risotto alla Milanese, I pass Chinese restaurants offering everything from dim sum to Hong Kong
bubble tea and spicy Chungking
hotpot . Deep-fried pork, octopus and vegetable skewers are devoured by customers sitting on tiny pavement stools. Even Milan's hallowed
early evening aperitif has been transformed in Chinatown, whose hip cafes offer aperitivo Cinese: a negroni accompanied by an assortment of wontons, bao buns, spring rolls and edamame beans – all for €10 (US$11) a serving.
Members of Centro Culturale Cinese on Via Paolo Sarpi prepare paper signs ahead of Lunar New Year in February 2024.
Members of the Chinese diaspora can be found across Italy; serving wine in a Venetian osteria, selling leather handbags on Florence's Ponte Vecchio, running clothes stalls in rural markets down south in Puglia. And while the biggest concentration may be in Tuscany's Prato, working in the textile industry, the most established Chinese community in Italy is right here, in Milan.
Dating back almost a century, Milan's Chinatown is markedly different from those in other European cities due to both the Italianisation of the younger generation of Chinese and the acceptance of this immigrant community by the Milanese, who have fallen in love with Chinese cuisine. Some 4,000 Chinese live in or around Via Paolo Sarpi – 40,000 in all Milan – and this kilometre-long street is lined on both sides by their restaurants and bars, and stores selling Asian comestibles. Although the neighbourhood is particularly animated during celebrations for Lunar New Year and the
Hungry Ghost Festival , there is a cosmopolitan feel here every day, the street thronged with crowds drawn by the cuisine as well as a significant number of Milanese-Chinese who switch between languages.
'I prefer to speak in Italian as I do at school and with all my friends, but my mamma insists that at home we must all speak Mandarin,' says Emily, the daughter of the recently arrived immigrants from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, who own Bar 99, as I sip on a cappuccino.
At the former Macelleria Sirtori butcher's shop, now Ravioleria Sarpi, Agie Zhou (right) poses with Walter Sirtori, the retired master butcher who still selects the meat for Zhou's Chinatown restaurant. Photo: John Brunton
I find out more about this duality after entering a shaded courtyard where red doors, hanging lanterns and delicate calligraphy announce the Centro Culturale Cinese, the cultural hub of the Quartiere Cinese.
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