5 areas to check out during design week in Milan

The area around Via Tortona is the district where the Fuorisalone was first organised almost twenty years ago. The event takes place in industrial spaces and is mainly attended by those companies that could not afford to participate in the fair. This spawned a whole series of ‘off’ events, which are very fashionable today. Many venues host presentations and installations. Keep an eye on Base.

NoLo (North of Loreto), between Trotter Park and the Martesana Canal, has many unconventional spaces. The large tunnels under the railway tracks of Via Ferrante Aporti – where the Ventura Centrale Project established a temporary location – as well as the former factories, markets, and modern antique stores coordinated by NoLo Creative Network are especially worth checking out.

The area where most events take place, due to the many showrooms in the district. Some locations are only open to the public just for the occasion. Or transformed for the Salone, such as Piazzetta San Marco and the patio of the Brera Academy. The buildings on Via Palermo are beautiful and very different from each other: one has medieval interiors, the other a Pelota game room.

The dialogue between art and design becomes more intimate in Milan’s oldest neighbourhood, among strange workshops, fashion shops and an old garage. A walk in Via Santa Marta includes many stops, with courtyard installations, visits to studios, a chat in the doorways of old shops. Do stop at the Cloister of the Humiliated (Chiostre delle Umiliate).

Even the New York Times wrote about this neighbourhood. Thanks to the Porta Nuova architecture and the new access, it has emerged from its isolation and is becoming increasingly hip. It is home to young designers and emerging international brands, opening its doors to hidden locations including private courtyards and, above all, the many artisan shops.