Type:

Luoghi della cultura; Ente/Istituzione

Category:

Art museums

The residential complex on Via Mozart was designed in the early 1930s by the Milanese architect Piero Portaluppi for Angelo Campiglio, his wife Gigina Necchi and her sister Nedda, typical figures in the upper middle class of the Lombardy region. In addition to the villa itself and its grounds, the luxurious residential complex designed by Portaluppi down to the smallest detail in complete architectural freedom include the porter's lodge, conservatory, garages, swimming pool and tennis court. What makes the Villa Necchi Campiglio so extraordinary in the history of Lombard architecture is above all the coherent harmony established between the exterior of the building, the architectural elements of the garden and even the smallest decorative details of the interior, from the mouldings of the ceilings to the gate of the tennis courts and the radiator covers. The house on Via Mozart still bears faithful witness to this privileged lifestyle both in its intact architectural structure and in the history of its furnishings, collections and utensils, which have been handed down over the generations unchanged and are extraordinarily well preserved. Two important donations make a visit still more rewarding, namely Claudia Gian Ferrari's collection of early 20th-century works of art and the collection of 18th-century paintings and decorative art of Alighiero and Emilietta de' Micheli. The quantity and quality of the works of art in the Villa Necchi Campiglio make it an authentic museum of decorative art. We refer in particular to the outstanding Louis XV furniture, 19th-century English silverware, Brussels tapestries and numerous objects of Eastern art in bronze and porcelain. Everything in the house today has remained as its owners wished and left it. Alongside the architectural structures and furnishings, the objects of everyday use play a very important part in preserving the domestic atmosphere intact almost seventy years on.