Casa Galimberti: Liberty in Milan

A short walk from Hotel City takes you to the lively Porta Venezia area, renowned for its bars, cafes and some famous examples of Milanese Art Nouveau.

Located at Via Malpighi 3, Casa Galimberti is a must-see for anyone seeking a fascinating glimpse into the architectural style that was the pride of the Milanese bourgeoisie in the early decades of the 20th century. With its naturalistic and zoomorphic decorations and soft, vigorous lines, the Art Nouveau style embodied the dynamism and modernity of the emerging class, offering it a clear identity in contrast to the Baroque and Neoclassical styles typical of the aristocratic residences on nearby Corso Venezia.

Born as Art Nouveau in France, Modern Style in England, Jungenstile in Germany, Stile Liberty in Italy, this vast artistic movement, despite the variety of its expressions, looked to nature as the source of every creative, vital and dynamic act, seeking to reproduce its forms and movements.

Hence some of the typical elements of Italian Art Nouveau: sinuous lines, floral and zoomorphic motifs that in architecture translate into balconies with wrought iron or decorative concrete volutes, façade decorations with ceramic tiles, and the juxtaposition of different architectural elements. All of this was intended to evoke that sense of nature, freshness, novelty and freedom that the early artists, led by Edmond Picard, sought to convey.

Architect Giovanni Battista Bossi achieved this with the construction of Casa Galimberti, inaugurated in Milan in 1905.

Let yourself be enchanted by the lush decorations of the façade, the festive hues of the dresses, the sinuous figures framing the windows, perhaps savoring a line from D’Annunzio (“The breeze moves the flowing tunic that fervently swirls, like foam on the seashore where the olive tree smiles without seeing it…”). Finally, let yourself be transported by the lively, retro atmosphere of Milan’s Art Nouveau district, just minutes from the Hotel City.