Visit to the new Museum of Design at the Triennale

Discovering the Milan of Design

A guided tour of the new Museum of Design at the Triennale is certainly a must in a Milan that, in recent years, has made Design one of the reasons for maximum attraction at the international level, starting with the now unavoidable appointment of Milan Design Week. How many times have you strolled through the avenues of Sempione Park, in the shadow of the Branca Tower and not far from the Palazzo dell’Arte, the historic home of the Milan Triennale? Yet, not all among you will know that from 2019 this important building of twentieth-century Milan (built between 1931 and 1933 to a design by architect Giovanni Muzio) will house the very rich collections of the Design Museum at the Triennale.

The Milan Triennale and the new museum of design

Thepermanent exhibition on view today at the Triennale, marked by a simple and linear layout, chronologically retraces the main stages in the history of Italian design, bringing to life masterpieces and protagonists through their precise historical contextualization. As you follow our guides, you will see how the collection on display, a selection of the 200 most iconic pieces among the 1,600 objects belonging to the Triennale’s vast heritage, tells the story of this important international cultural institution, committed to restoring the complexity of the contemporary through a plurality of languages: design, architecture, visual, scenic and performing arts. Founded in 1923, on the occasion of the First International Exhibition of Decorative Arts, held in Monza, the Triennale soon found its natural home in the city of Milan: from 1933 the Monza exhibition moved to the Palazzo dell’Arte, created thanks to the generous contribution of the Bernocchi family, textile entrepreneurs well aware of the growing role that design would play for Italian industries. A piece of the creative and technological history of Milan and Italy, the Triennale is today one of the most dynamic cultural hubs in the city.

A visit to the halls of its new Design Museum is bound to surprise you: from Olivetti machines to the futuristic lights of Achille Castiglioni to Vico Magistretti, from Giò Ponti ‘s designs to Ettore Sottsass‘s colorful furnishings, it will be a real journey of discovery of contemporary experimentation, in an endless kaleidoscope of shapes, colors and functional solutions.
Last stop, not to be missed, to complete the visit? We suggest you enjoy an aperitif at the Triennale Café, to breathe in all the modern creativity of this magical place in contemporary Milan.

Photo Credits: Pasquale Formisano