Villa Necchi Campiglio, a plunge into twentieth-century Milan

Villa Necchi Campiglio: elegance of the 1930s

The guided tour through the elegant halls of Villa Necchi Campiglio takes in the stunning Art Deco furnishings and art collections revealing the refined tastes of Lombardy’s industrial bourgeoisie in the 1930s. The jewel of a archi-star of the time, Piero Portaluppi, and the secrets and habits of its wealthy owners, are revealed as you stroll among the villa’s garden and its splendid rooms, in a guided itinerary Somewhere between art and gossip…

The villa: a masterpiece by Portaluppi

From room to room, we will gradually discover the story of this architectural jewel hidden in the center of Milan: Mr. and Mrs. Angelo Campiglio and Gigina Necchi, with their sister Nedda, entrepreneurs in the field of sewing machines, decided in those years to buy land in the city, but in an area that was then still verdant, between Via Mozart, Via Vivaio and Corso Monforte. Their friend and well-known architect Piero Portaluppi, one of the most successful designers of the time, thus succeeded in creating a villa that was closer in concept to country and holiday residences than to a city building. Still surrounded by a large and lush garden, Villa Necchi Campiglio offers its visitors an elegant façade over the swimming pool and tennis court with large windows that diffuse all-day light inside the spacious and elegant rooms, where nothing is out of place! In the garden, it will seem as if one can still hear the voices and laughter of the kind and generous hosts who used to welcome the many friends and acquaintances, Milanese and not… nobles, industrialists and figures of high prestige, always proving to be affable and naturally inclined to the art of hospitality.

Villa Necchi Campiglio: a concentration of curiosities

Villa Necchi Campiglio is now owned by the FAI and, with its marvelous interiors, never ceases to amaze us: from the entrance portal, to the refined furnishings of the time, from the prestigious 20th-century art collections donated by Claudia Gian Ferrari, Alighiero de’ Micheli and Guido Sforni, to the thousands of decorative details in each room. We mention some of them, but the fun is to unearth them yourself! For example, Portaluppi ‘s homage to the vault of the sky in the star-shaped windows or the iridescent plays of light punctuated by a sundial… Try to find them on the tour with our guides! If you feel like spending some time between art and culture, beyond the hustle and bustle of the city, enter the silent gardens of Villa Necchi Campiglio… this is the guided tour that is most suitable for you in Milan!