VIA MONTENAPOLEONE: FASHION, SHOPPING AND MADE IN ITALY IN THE FASHION QUADRILATERAL OF MILAN
Via Monte Napoleone is a street in the center of Milan, considered one of the most elegant areas and main high fashion centers in the world. Its name is often written as one word: Via Montenapoleone. There are the shops and the showrooms of the most important fashion designers, like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Dior, etc. Via Montenapoleone with Via della Spiga, Via Sant'Andrea and Via Pietro Verri form the so-called Fashion Quadrilateral. Via Montenapoleone is the symbol of Milan and of Italy in the world as fashion, shopping and made in Italy.
This street takes its name from the financial institution which under Napoleon’s government (formally it was an independent reign, with vice-king Eugenio de Beauharnais) managed the public debt.
The history of Via Montenapoleone is found not only in its shops and workshops, nor in its millions of euro turnover that establishes Via Montenapoleone as a world leader every year.
History is in the verbal traditions looking at this ancient district called El quartier de riverissi, where every man bowed and raised his hat when passing a lady. A place where boys cleaned their clothes before making a delivery. And they did this because “there” everything was done properly.
In this very great little street of Milan lived and died noblemen, the middle class, artists, intellectuals and patriots such as Carlo Porta and Tommaso Grossi, while Giuseppe Verdi composed his opera Nabucco in 1840. No other street in Milan had this level of celebrity.
The Tozzi, the Martinetti, the Carrà and the Boccioni, chose a book store in this Street as a place to meet and discover new trends in the 1920s.
When Milan rebelled against the Austrians, the volunteers of the city fought in this street on the 23rd March 1848.
The building on the corner between Via Montenapoleone, Via Matteotti and Via San Pietro all’Orto was home to the diligenze Franchetti. On the 27th April 1813 Prince Eugene entrusted them with the mail-coach service for Italy and Europe, which they operated until 1865. Each week two coaches left for Rome and Venice as well as daily coaches to all the smaller towns. Yet Milan was so important that a mail-coach also left for France from Via Montenapoleone three times a week.
Between the two world wars Via Montenapoleone remained a street of luxury residences, important and well-to-do families, and the antique shops, tailors and jewellers served this traditionally loyal clientele.
During the 1950s, the boom was felt everywhere and money began to make its presence felt even more strongly.
Ladies wore stockings (a woman without stockings was considered a certain type of woman) and a hat. The talk of the town was the miracle of the great tailor Biki who in a few months in 1955 transformed the plump and ungainly Maria Callas into a grand and elegant lady.
Then came the 1980s, when strolling up and down “Montenapo” became a must, like going to “Forte”(dei Marmi), “Santa” (Santa Margherita Ligure) or “Courmayeur”, Men preferably had heavy gold chains with a medal, women had solid gold cigarettes lighters, obviously bought in “Montenapo”. The wonderful extravagance of those years attracted famous names from show-business, sport and industry, as well as politicians, with an endless stream of galas, fashion shows, presentations and press conferences with the stars of the jet set.
It was the era of the first top international names, and Via Montenapoleone began to make a name for itself as the symbol of everything that was fashionable and trendy, becoming the central axis of that golden square in which you can find the highest concentration of the most prestigious Italian and foreign labels, displayed in the windows or in the upper floors of the showrooms.
And what about today? Today an unpretentious wealth predominate. Via Montenapoleone isn’t beautiful, nor decked in flowers. Via Montenapoleone is not wide, nor there are any trees or small tables outside. Not even at Christmas did it shine conspicuously. Its more visible magic is in that shared interest that Milanese ladies and those who come on purpose from far away have in common, the small bag. Often it isn’t particularly tidy either, but who knows why, it’s chic, and can give you a secret, overwhelming sensation, as if you were entering a huge open-air shop, a little detached from its surroundings, shot through with an international flavour yet pulsating with the spirit of Milan.
But wealth is also evident in two beautiful company museums: the rare collection of Lorenzi razors and jewellery by Mario Buccellati, pieces produced from 1700 to the 1950s, with a section dedicated to Gabriele D’Annunzio, 100 autograph letters sent by the poet to his friend jeweller and with many jewels given to his lovers.
The Hotel La Residenza is at 5 km far from Via Montenapoleone and it can be easily reached by the public means of transport: in Via Montenapoleone take the underground (M3 – yellow line) for 8 stops till Affori Centro.
