Alcova announces the two locations of the Milan Design Week 2024

Two of the most beautiful historic villas in the Milan metropolitan area have been chosen by Alcova as venues for the next, seventh edition. Alcova - which during the Milanese Fuorisalone brings together independent brands, galleries, emerging designers - is the curatorial project started in 2018 by Valentina Ciuffi and Joseph Grima, and over the years it has been the powerful lever for the rediscovery of some of the abandoned and almost unknown places of the city - from the former panettone factory Cova in the Nolo neighborhood, to the Baggio military hospital, up to the area of the former Porta Vittoria slaughterhouse.

This year, however, it moves to two locations with a decidedly different atmosphere: from the post-industrial scenario we will immerse ourselves in two prestigious historical contexts in the municipality of Varedo, in Brianza, where Alcova's curated selection will be set up, featuring of experimental designers, institutions and companies investigating the future of living and doing - as well as an ambitious program of conferences and performances.


Villa Borsani. © Mary Gaudin

Villa Borsani
Built during World War II and completed in 1945, it is a masterpiece of modernist residential architecture designed and built by architect Osvaldo Borsani as a family home adjacent to the production facilities of the Borsani ABV (Arredamenti Borsani Varedo) furniture atelier. Surrounded by a lush garden, it is a rare and perfectly preserved example of the architect's richly layered modernist style, incorporating unique and distinctive artistic elements - such as a fireplace by Lucio Fontana. Today it is preserved as a private residence by the family's descendants and as the seat of the Osvaldo Borsani Archive.


Villa Bagatti Valsecchi

Villa Bagatti Valsecchi
Built for the noble Milanese Bagatti Valsecchi family, who used it as a summer retreat to escape the city heat and to entertain guests and friends, it is one of the most significant examples of nineteenth-century villa architecture in Lombardy. The architecture of the villa is characterized by a massive central block flanked by two lower wings with terraced roofs. A notable feature of the villa is its portico, supported by fifteenth-century columns from Milan's Lazzaretto (the historic plague hospital) when it was demolished. The villa is surrounded by large gardens, divided into two distinct styles: formal Italian garden at the back, along the charming avenue, and English gardens in the lateral areas. The Villa is today preserved and managed by the La Versiera 1718 Foundation.

The two locations, reachable on foot from each other, are connected to the center of Milan every 15 minutes by lines S2 and S4.