Latest news with #GioPonti
Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Boston Globe
It's theater season on the Cape, plus Art Deco dreams in Rome
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Bettoja Hotels' Hotel Mediterraneo in Rome, a masterpiece of Art Deco architecture, transports one to an earlier era of sophisticated hospitality. Bettoja Hotels Advertisement THERE: ART DECO DREAMING IN ROME Those making a pilgrimage to Rome this Jubilee year (or any year) will want to consider staying at Bettoja Hotels' Hotel Mediterraneo, where simply stepping inside transports one to an earlier era of sophisticated hospitality. A masterpiece of Art Deco architecture, designed by architect Mario Loreti for the 1942 Universal Exhibition in Rome, the building's rich history is on display in preserved original furnishings, including chandeliers designed by Gio Ponti, polished wood check-in desk, and colorful mosaics above the lobby elevators. The 242 spacious and bright rooms sport a high-class and retro style, mixing original Art Deco style wood furnishings and marble bathrooms with modern comforts such as plush robes and slippers, air conditioning, minibar, flat screen TV, and soundproof windows. Advertisement An ideal basecamp for exploring the Eternal City, Bettoja Hotels' Hotel Mediterraneo is within walking distance from historic landmarks. Bettoja Hotels An ideal basecamp for exploring the Eternal City, the hotel is within walking distance from historic landmarks including the Colosseum, Opera House, Forum, Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. Located steps from Termini rail station, the quickest way to arrive from the airport, means you don't need a cab to reach the hotel. On-site facilities include the Roof Garden Restaurant and Ligea Lounge Bar, a terrace with spectacular views of the capital and its surrounding hills, and Bar 21, serving a variety of fine cocktails and snacks in an elegant Art Deco atmosphere. Ristorante Massimo d'Azeglio, located at nearby sister property Hotel Massimo d'Azeglio, offers a menu mixing Piedmontese culinary tradition with Roman and Italian cuisine; and the Bettoja Cellar, a wine cellar located in Hotel Massimo d'Azeglio's basement, is perfect for private dinners and tastings. Bettoja Hotels' third hotel in the neighborhood, Hotel Atlantico, rounds out their Rome collection. Classic Deco room rates from $306, includes breakfast. +39-06-488-4051, Advertisement La Sportiva's Akyra II is the perfect shoe for packing when you're planning trail hikes one day and exploring cities with cobblestone streets the next. La Sportiva EVERYWHERE: STYLISH AND RUGGED SHOES FOR CITY AND MOUNTAIN When a sneaker or walking shoe isn't enough, and trekking boots are too much, there's La Sportiva's Akyra II. The perfect shoe for packing when you're planning trail hikes one day and exploring cities with cobblestone streets the next. Lightweight, rugged and durable, Akyra II features include 3-D Grid exoskeleton and mesh uppers to provide structure and breathability; shock absorbing MEMlex EVA midsole to cushion stride; Trail Rocker2 outsole to promote natural pronation support while hiking; and aggressive lugs combined with FriXion Rubber and Trail Bite Heels for all-terrain traction and maximum grip. Eco-friendly and washable insoles are made from breathable and durable PU foam cells and recycled rubber. Crafted without animal-derived materials. The company's state-of-the-art, 250-person factory is located in Ziano di Fiemme, a mountain village in the heart of the Italian Dolomites, continuing a tradition and heritage of handmade footwear in this picturesque alpine valley. Available for men and women. The company offers additional footwear geared for climbing, hiking, running, mountaineering, and more. $149. NECEE REGIS Necee Regis can be reached at
Associated Press
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
Horse trainer Christophe Clement dies at 59 from rare eye cancer
Christophe Clement, who trained longshot Tonalist to victory in the 2014 Belmont Stakes and won a Breeders' Cup race in 2021, has died. He was 59. Clement announced his own death in a prepared statement that was posted to his stable's X account on Sunday. 'Unfortunately, if you are reading this, it means I was unable to beat my cancer,' it said. 'As many of you know, I have been fighting an incurable disease, metastatic uveal melanoma.' It's a type of cancer that affects the uvea, the middle layer of the eye. It accounts for just 5% of all melanoma cases in the U.S., however, it can be aggressive and spread to other parts of the body in up to 50% of cases, according to the Melanoma Research Alliance's website. The Paris-born Clement has been one of the top trainers in the U.S. over the last 34 years. He learned under his father, Miguel, who was a leading trainer in France. Clement later worked for the prominent French racing family of Alec Head. In the U.S., he first worked for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. Clement went out on his own in 1991, winning with the first horse he saddled at Belmont Park in New York. He had 2,576 career victories and purse earnings of over $184 million, according to Equibase. 'I am very proud that for over 30 years in this industry, we have operated every single day with the highest integrity, always putting the horses' wellbeing first,' Clement wrote in his farewell message. One of his best-known horses was Gio Ponti, winner of Eclipse Awards as champion male turf horse in 2009 and 2010. He finished second to Zenyatta in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic. In the 2014 Belmont, Tonalist spoiled the Triple Crown bid of California Chrome, who tied for fourth. Tonalist won by a head, after not having competed in the Kentucky Derby or Preakness that year. Steve Coburn, co-owner of California Chrome, caused controversy when he said afterward the horses that hadn't run in the other two races took 'the coward's way out.' He later apologized and congratulated the connections of Tonalist. Clement's lone Breeders' Cup victory was with Pizza Bianca, owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay, in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Clement had seven seconds and six thirds in other Cup races. Clement's statement said he would leave his stable in the hands of his son and longtime assistant, Miguel. 'As I reflect on my journey, I realize I never worked a day in my life,' Clement's statement said. 'Every morning, I woke up and did what I loved most surrounded by so much love.' Besides his son, he is survived by wife Valerie, daughter Charlotte Clement Collins and grandson Hugo Collins. ___ AP horse racing:
Times
29-04-2025
- Times
The Orient Express brings glamour to the Italian countryside
In the Orient Express lounge at Ostiense station in Rome, my train leaves in an hour but the high living is already under way. There are glasses of iced Veuve Clicquot and Italian mid-morning snacks, alongside gorgeous marble bathrooms that invite one to linger over the artisan soaps, the soft towels, the fresh flowers. A trio of piano, saxophone and double bass serenades passengers with a medley of cool jazz standards, among which I recognise a Duke Ellington classic, Take the 'A' Train. What I'm about to take is an A train in another sense altogether. Unveiled with great ceremony, La Dolce Vita is a new iteration of the Orient Express marque, raising the bar for rail travel to heights rarely scaled even in the splendiferous 140-year history of the brand. In the humdrum surroundings of this suburban-line station, the newly refurbished carriages, gleaming in their smart blue-and-brown livery, give off alpha waves of sophistication. At 12.07pm precisely the train pulls out of Ostiense to embark on a 24-hour round-trip journey entitled Tastes of Tuscan Vineyards — one of eight La Dolce Vita routes (all within Italy) that will be available by the end of this year. We cross the Tiber, slinking through Trastevere station where a group of locals gawp open-mouthed as the train glides by. I settle into my suite, a substantial cabin incorporating a double bed with crisp cotton sheets, a small sofa, a lacquered table and leather-upholstered swivel chairs, a miniature bar and a bathroom with a power shower. The train's interior, designed by the Milan-based masters Dimorestudio, avoids the chintzy maximalism of the brand's fin-de-siècle origins in favour of a sleek, chic evocation of mid-20th-century Italian style, the curvy retro shapes and glossy surfaces channelling designers such as Gio Ponti and Gae Aulenti. The references are telling: in the low-lit corridor outside my cabin, black-and-white photographs by the society snapper Marcello Geppetti (the original paparazzo) reflect the gilded 1960s world of Federico Fellini and Marcello Mastroianni, of Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren and Claudia Cardinale. Lunch, served in the all-white dining car, is a multicourse affair created by the chef Heinz Beck, whose restaurant, La Pergola, holds Rome's only trio of Michelin stars. Banish all thought of regular rail food: this is by some way the most lavish, but also the most delicious, collation I've eaten on board a train, nimbly served by uniformed waiters (no overspilling soup bowls here) and accompanied by fine Italian wines. Beyond the window, postwar housing blocks gradually give way to a landscape of open fields, stone farmhouses, vineyards and umbrella pines. The original Orient Express made its maiden voyage in 1883, linking European cities from Paris to Istanbul in a service that, especially after being immortalised as a crime scene by Agatha Christie, became a byword for glamour and intrigue. This route ran until 1977, then the service petered out in 2009, having become a series of shorter routes operated by Belmond under the name Venice Simplon-Orient-Express. Somewhat confusingly, the French hotel giant Accor has reactivated the Orient Express brand per se, using it as an umbrella for high-end hospitality projects that include the Italy-based La Dolce Vita train and the historic La Minerva hotel in Rome, which has recently been given a stunning new lease of life. (Slated for later this year are a Venice hotel, the 15th-century Palazzo Dona Giovannelli, and a sailing yacht, the Corinthian, said to be the largest in the world.) • The makeover of the Orient Express and its glorious new suites Halfway through the afternoon we pull into a country station serving the hill town of Montalcino, where the programme features a visit to the aristocratic wine estate at Argiano. (La Dolce Vita journeys are the closest thing on land to a kind of hyper-exclusive cruise, with bespoke gastronomic and cultural visits instead of harbour stops.) The visit begins with a private tour of the Renaissance art collection amassed by Argiano's owner, the Brazilian magnate André Santos Esteves, followed by a tasting in the estate's 16th-century cellars and a magnificent dinner in the grand hall. Probably a higher degree of railway luxe exists somewhere in the world, but it's hard to imagine where or how. A detail that impresses me are La Dolce Vita's next-level guest amenities: the bathroom soap from heritage soap makers Eredi Zucca in Milan comes neatly wrapped in tissue paper and tucked inside a cobalt-blue box; a leatherbound notebook from the Florentine stationers Pineider is monogrammed in gold with my initials. A highlight of this Tuscan trip is returning from a night-time negroni in the bar to discover a pair of pointy-toed velvet Friulane slippers (made in Venice) waiting for me on the down-turned bed, along with a saffron-scented macaron, should I feel peckish before snuggling down into those cool cotton sheets. • Aboard the Royal Scotsman — Belmond's epicurean journey Life aboard the Orient Express is a heady experience of contemporary travel at a level of opulence that feels almost surreal. But for me the best thing about La Dolce Vita is the dolce far niente — the sweetness of doing nothing. Simply to lounge on the big white bed in a post-breakfast glow, idly watching the spring-green Tuscan countryside slide by, soothed by the motion of the train as it rolls back to Rome and reality, is genuinely as good as it gets. This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue The two-day, one-night Tastes of Tuscan Vineyards journey by Orient Express costs €4,160pp,
Forbes
10-04-2025
- Automotive
- Forbes
The best of Milan Design Week 2025 including exhibitions at Fuorisalone
Lexus Designer Team's 'Discover Together' encouraged us to create and release our own unique virtual butterfly to illustrate the transformative power of small actions Milan Design Week is an exuberant celebration that transforms every nook and cranny of this vibrant Italian city, renowned for its design, style and fashion. Originating in 1961 as the Salone del Mobile—a fair aimed at promoting Italian furniture exports—it has since blossomed into a global beacon of creativity. Complementing the main fair, the Fuorisalone emerged spontaneously in the 1980s, extending the festivities beyond the exhibition halls into boutiques, showrooms and pop-up spaces throughout Milan. This dynamic duo not only showcases innovations from furniture to fashion but also effectively kick-starts the global creative season, drawing design aficionados from around the world. The vast scale of Milan Design Week makes it simply impossible to experience everything. Yet, being on the ground in person offers a unique flavor of the global design discourse. This year, the festival chimed with the theme 'Thought for Humans,' exploring our identity in this ever-accelerating machine age (although as a side note, I couldn't help but reflect on how we're faring on a human-to-human scale.) Through various installations, exhibitions and talks, the event examined how design can navigate the man-machine relationship through human-centered approaches that prioritize well-being and sensory engagement. This naturally led to numerous thoughtful, sustainable and innovative designs in almost every gallery and showroom I had the chance to visit. 'Prada Frames: In Transit' is curated by Formafantasma and held quirkily abroad Gio Ponti's ultra cool Arlecchino train 'Prada Frames: In Transit' encapsulated the theme well. Launched in 2022 by the design duo behind Formafantasma, Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, the symposium is an antidote to the sheer speed and (at times) lightness of Fuorisalone, instead fostering interdisciplinary conversations that challenge and expand our understanding of the infrastructures shaping contemporary life. This year, academics, artists and designers gathered at the Padiglione Reale, the former waiting room of the Italian royal family at Milano Centrale station, and aboard Arlecchino, the ultra-cool 1950s Gio Ponti train. The choice of venues added urgency (and a touch of stylish theatre—this is Milan after all) to discussions on how generative AI is shaping the environment, the infrastructure of borders, and the complex choreography of global systems and exchange. In one session, artist Hito Steyerl and curator Natalia Grabowska explored the nuanced ways surveillance technologies are embedded in modern infrastructure, and what this means for personal freedoms. Elsewhere, MoMA senior curator Paola Antonelli and journalist Nicola Twilley reviewed the sensory aspects of infrastructure, and how design and food systems intersect to influence our human experience. A favourite at Milan has to be Nilufar Gallery and founder Nina Yashar's commitment to championing emerging designers as well as pushing the boundaries of contemporary design. This year, 'Repertorio' explored the relationship between art and craft, nature and artifice, and history and the present across the gallery's two venues: Nilufar Depot on the city's edge and Nilufar Gallery in Milan. At the former, celebrating metal's aesthetic qualities, 'Atto I: Silver Lining,' conceived by Fosbury Architecture, transformed the space into an environment inspired by 1970s aesthetics. Benjamin Hubert's design studio, LAYER, presented '101010' at 10 Corso Como Meanwhile, addressing pressing global challenges such as urban density, resource scarcity, and environmental resilience, Benjamin Hubert's design studio, LAYER, presented '101010' at 10 Corso Como. The exhibition unveiled a collection of six prototypes developed in collaboration with brands like Andreu World, Bitossi Ceramiche, Kvadrat, MDF Italia, Muuto, RÆBURN and Orrefors, each reflecting the studio's commitment to human-centered, sustainable design. Highlights included 'Host,' a modular bee home created with Andreu World to promote urban biodiversity, and the algae-powered oil lamps 'Lights' with Muuto, offering renewable, off-grid illumination. Another highlight was at Lexus, where the Japanese carmaker took over Superstudio to showcase two exhibitions, both aiming to explore how design can ease the tension between man and machine. The main installation, 'A-Un,' by Tokyo-based creative agency Six and design studio Studeo, delves into the Japanese concept of A-Un no Kokyū or harmonized breath—a traditional notion where two entities instinctively synchronize their movements and emotions. Using the Black Butterfly motif from the latest Lexus LF-ZC concept car, it featured a vast butterfly-shaped screen crafted by hand over three months using woven threads made from about 35 kilometers of bamboo fiber. As we approach the installation, the structure comes to life, responding to our heartbeats; as the heartbeat synchronizes with fluctuations sampled from nature, we witness the seamless connection between people, society and the world. When I spoke with the creators, Takeshi Nozoe of Six and Tatsuki Ikezawa of Studeo, they offered this explanation: 'Big Data is not living. It's inorganic. We are expressing it as if it's a living thing: sensing the visitors' heartbeat, the color changes from blue to yellow, and then red for fast. We wanted to express A-Un no Kokyū, one of the very important Japanese aesthetic philosophies about human-to-human connection. In Japan, we find beauty in that connection—something that is invisible.' Lexus "A-Un" installation created in collaboration with creative agency Six and design studio Studeo introduced emotion to technology Elsewhere on the stand, three installations invited visitors to participate in creating their own butterfly. In 'Earthspective' by Bascule Inc, participants' spoken words became imprints on a digital Earth, emphasizing our collective impact on the planet. Northeastern University's 'Our Energy Nexus' visualized real-time air pollution data, with visitors' interactions symbolically contributing to environmental change. My favorite though was from the Lexus Designer Team and their 'Discover Together' which encouraged us to create and release our own unique virtual butterfly as a way of illustrating the transformative power of small actions. 'A-Un,' by Tokyo-based creative agency Six and design studio Studeo, delves into the Japanese concept of A-Un no Kokyū or harmonized breath And finally, this being Milan, it would be remiss not to mention fashion's contributions to Fuorisalone. All the big Italian names were naturally present. Gucci's 'Bamboo Encounters' in the Cloisters of San Simpliciano explored the material's legacy and contemporary relevance through designs by several outside creatives. Jil Sander collaborated with heritage furniture maker Thonet to introduce at Galleria Il Castello, a minimalist reinterpretation of Marcel Breuer's timeless S64 chair. Loewe's 'Teapots' was all about championing the art of craft, featuring 25 artists and their interpretations of the classic teapot to blur the line between function and art. Louis Vuitton unveiled its latest products and furnishings from the 'Objets Nomades' series at Palazzo Serbelloni—a more straightforward presentation compared to its peers. Charlotte Perriand, La Banquette de la Résidence de l'Ambassadeur du Japon à Paris, 1967 by Saint Laurent More interestingly perhaps was Saint Laurent's exhibition on via Tortona which spotlighted the legendary designer Charlotte Perriand. It featured four of her creations from 1943 to 1967 which had previously existed only as prototypes or sketches. Under the creative direction of Anthony Vaccarello, Saint Laurent has meticulously reproduced and reissued these pieces in limited editions, offering a rare glimpse into Perriand's visionary work. Saint Laurent and Charlotte Perriand's 'La Bibliothèque Rio de Janeiro' made in 1962 for her husband Jacques Martin The collection includes 'La Banquette de la Résidence de l'Ambassadeur du Japon à Paris,' a striking monolithic five-seat sofa of rosewood, cane and Thai silk that gives the impression of floating on air which Perriand designed originally in 1967 for the Japanese ambassador in Paris. Also reproduced is 'La Bibliothèque Rio de Janeiro', conceived to display works of art alongside books and originally made in the 60s for her husband Jacques Martin from solid Brazilian rosewood. And finally, a favorite concept from the fashion crowd comes via Prada, a designer with an impeccable eye for art, architecture and design (a visit to Milan is incomplete without at least half a day lost and found in Fondazione Prada). At Miu Miu, the designer hosted a salon-style event as part of the fashion house's Literary Club. Titled 'A Woman's Education,' it explored girlhood and love through the works of Simone de Beauvoir and Fumiko Enchi and featuring performances and discussions with authors Lauren Elkin and Naoise Dolan. The Salone del Mobile and Fuorisalone 2025 take place throughout Milan from April 7 to April 13, 2025. See what's happening at the 24th Triennale Milano starting in May here, and read my 2024 year in art. For more articles on art and design, visit my page here.
New York Times
09-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
These Are the Buildings You Need to See in Milan
Milan is among Italy's largest and most influential cities: Founded in 590 B.C., it eventually became the capital of the Lombardy region. Yet for centuries, it was somewhat overlooked as a cultural hub; while Rome, Florence and Venice were widely viewed as Italy's seats of intellectual and artistic production, Milan was seen mainly as a gray, unromantic city of industry and finance. However, during the so-called Italian economic miracle, the boom that followed World War II, Milan emerged as a design center. Large companies like Pirelli, Olivetti and Fiat — manufacturers of tires, office equipment and automobiles, respectively — began to provide patronage to designers such as Gio Ponti and Ettore Sottsass, resulting in enduring examples of Italian design such as the former's 1958 Pirelli Tower skyscraper and the latter's 1969 Valentine typewriter. Milan's rise to a fashion capital in the 1980s added to its prestige, and many of the architecturally significant buildings constructed since then were created for and financed by its leading brands in manufacturing, publishing and, especially, fashion. Below are 10 sights, listed in the order in which they were built, that showcase the diversity of Milan's centuries of architecture. 1. Duomo of Milan Construction on the Duomo of Milan, the city's cathedral, began in the 14th century, but the building wasn't officially completed until 1965. The project was led by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the first Duke of Milan, who imagined a church made from the unique pinkish white marble of the Candoglia quarry, north of the city, and brought on the French architect-engineers Nicolas de Bonaventure and Jean Mignot to realize his vision according to the latest Gothic fashions. They erected a tall, light-filled nave supported by flying buttresses. For reasons including shifts in funding and political leadership, work on the cathedral continued in fits and starts over the course of centuries — although there was notable progress in the early 1800s, when Napoleon, who was crowned king of Italy at the Duomo, ordered that the city finish the building's facade. 2. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II This grand four-story shopping arcade was designed by the architect Giuseppe Mengoni in the neo-Renaissance style, with imposing arched entrances, ornately carved pilasters and a large glass dome at its center. Finished in 1877, three decades before Paris's flagship Galeries Lafayette department store, to which it's sometimes compared, it's widely considered the world's oldest shopping center and has hosted some of Milan's most storied brands — including Prada, which has sold luggage and leather goods in the arcade since 1913. 3. Villa Necchi Campiglio The Quadrilatero del Silenzio in central Milan is one of the city's most exclusive neighborhoods, filled with grand homes in the stile Liberty, Italy's version of Art Nouveau. At the center is the Villa Necchi Campiglio, built between 1932 and 1935 for the prominent industrialist family after which it's named. The architect, Piero Portaluppi, was known for combining geometric Bauhaus forms with sumptuous materials — rare marbles, such as jade-green Verde Prato, were a favorite — and the latest technologies. At the two-story Villa Necchi Campiglio, built of stone with a marble trim, he incorporated intercoms, an elevator and a heated pool as well as walnut and rosewood floors and silk-covered walls. Famously the backdrop for Luca Guadagnino's film 'I Am Love' (2009), the house is also the setting for T Magazine's annual party during the Salone del Mobile design fair. 4. Villa Borsani Milan didn't have a design school until the 1980s; before then, the architects of a home would often also design the furniture, decorative objects and even flatware. The Villa Borsani, located in the Varedo municipality north of Milan, is a prime example of this approach. The architect Osvaldo Borsani completed the house for his family in 1945 in the prevailing Rationalist style, which has much in common with Bauhaus design: He emphasized geometric shapes and functional touches, like concrete loggias suited to the sunny climate. Alongside bent plywood and industrial rubber pieces from Tecno, the experimental furniture company co-founded by Borsani and his brother, the residence contains finishes that were novel at the time, including glass railings for the foyer staircase; abstract mosaics in the bathroom; and a sculptural ceramic fireplace by the artist Lucio Fontana, a close family friend. 5. Castello Sforzesco Named after the Sforza family, who ruled Milan during the 15th and 16th centuries, the Castello Sforzesco is one of the largest fortified buildings in Europe. Initially constructed from brick in the mid-14th century and protected by battlements and a central watchtower, the castle was the residence for Milan's ruling families until Italy's unification in the 1800s. In 1948, after the castle — which was being used as a civic library and museum — had been heavily damaged by Allied bombing during World War II, the Milanese government hired the prominent architecture firm BBPR to revitalize the site. In addition to incorporating distinctive modern entrances and new staircases throughout, the firm designed oversize exhibition cases made of steel, glass and wood to help mediate between the large scale of the castle's halls and the variety of historical objects in the collection, including life-size wooden statues and early 20th-century decorative bowls and vases. 6. Torre Velasca When skyscrapers began to crop up in Milan after World War II, as part of Italy's wider push to update its cities, many locals were resistant to the idea of the modern towers interrupting the landscape of traditional low-rise buildings. The Torre Velasca, located in Milan's city center, offered a compromise. Built in 1958 by BBPR, the 26-floor skyscraper is reminiscent of a medieval watchtower, with dark stone cladding, deep-set windows and a mushroom-like top supported by visible struts. In front is an open plaza — another riff on a medieval tradition that provides precious outdoor space in Milan's increasingly dense urban center. Still primarily an office building, the Torre Velasca now houses short- and medium-term rental apartments and restaurants. 7. Church of Santa Maria Annunciata During his nearly 60-year career, the polymathic architect and designer Gio Ponti developed several signature styles, including his versions of neo-Classicism and Rationalism, but one constant was his use of diamonds as a motif. The faceted shape informed everything from the silhouette of his cutlery to the form of his 1958 skyscraper the Pirelli Tower, for years Milan's tallest tower. It also appears throughout the Church of Santa Maria Annunciata, which Ponti built between 1964 and 1969 as a place of solace for visitors and patients of the adjacent San Carlo Borromeo Hospital, after which the church was originally named. Here, not just the footprint but the doorways, windows and altar are fashioned in diamondlike shapes. Even the thousands of tiles that cover the facade are faceted like cut stones. Though the church is one of Ponti's lesser-known buildings in Milan, it's one of the most striking examples of his exuberant modernist architecture. 8. Da Giacomo With its green-painted, delicate boiserie, handmade lace curtains and antique wooden cafe chairs, the restaurant Da Giacomo, at the edge of Milan's historic center, looks as if it's been operating since the height of the stile Liberty, at the end of the 19th century. In fact, it's been open in this location only since 1989; its interiors are a sleight of hand dreamed up by the interior designer Renzo Mongiardino, who created flamboyant theater and film sets as well as homes for Milan's elite before his death in 1998. Today, the restaurant serves simple, mostly fish dishes using the highest-quality ingredients, in a space filled with antiques. Because most of Mongiardino's creations were either ephemeral stage designs or private apartments — he designed homes for several of Truman Capote's Swans, including Marella Agnelli and Lee Radziwill — Da Giacomo offers a rare chance to see his work in person. 9. Bosco Verticale Built by the architect Stefano Boeri in 2014, in the then newly developed Porta Nuova district north of Milan's center, the experimental Bosco Verticale was envisioned as a new model for sustainable design. Conceived by Boeri as an alternative to traditional glass or stone skyscrapers, the innovative complex of 111 apartments comprises two towers (which have 19 and 27 floors, respectively) with steel-reinforced concrete balconies that display over 90 species of plants, including over 700 trees. Inspired by various historical sites, such as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Casa nel Bosco — a midcentury house surrounded by a dense forest in Varese that was designed by Boeri's mother, the celebrated architect Cini Boeri — the Bosco Verticale contains so much flora that the building has its own microclimate, which cools the apartments during Milan's hot and humid summers. 10. Fondazione Prada In 2010, about three decades after taking over and transforming her family's leather accessories business, the fashion designer Miuccia Prada decided to open a contemporary art center in Milan that would house her sprawling art collection. She chose an abandoned former gin distillery in the Largo Isarco neighborhood at the edge of the city as a site and brought on the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and his avant-garde firm OMA to renovate and expand it. The resulting complex of 10 buildings, which provides a venue for both temporary and permanent exhibitions, juxtaposes industrial materials with surprising details. For example, Koolhaas covered the exterior and interior surfaces of the Podium building, one of the new structures, in a flame-resistant metallic foam that's made by injecting air into molten aluminum. Nearby is the Haunted House — named by Koolhaas when he first saw the then-neglected building — which he coated entirely in 20-karat gold leaf. With its idiosyncratic use of materials and innovative exhibition spaces, the Fondazione Prada has become a model for displaying art in the 21st century.
