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Italian Design - From Turin to Milan: a century of architecture, artefact and industry
7
days
from
A$7,240
Book today with a deposit from
A$1,086
14th - 20th June 2027
Tour highlights
- Trace the evolution of Italian design and architecture across the 20th century, from Stile Liberty to Futurism, Rationalism, Pop Art and the Radical.
- Private access to the Fondazione Franco Albini and Fondazione Achille Castiglioni, plus lunch inside Olivetti’s UNESCO-listed factory at Ivrea.
- Turin and Milan: one shaped by Fiat and Nervi’s automobile-age reinvention; the other home to the furniture houses and museums that define Italian design today.
- See the painters who shared this world of ideas – De Chirico, Boccioni, Modigliani, Sironi – at the Museo del Novecento and Villa Necchi Campiglio.
In the 1950s and 60s, Italian design epitomised head-turning, sophisticated chic the world over. However, its origins can be traced back to the turn of the 20th century and even earlier, when Art Nouveau began sweeping through Europe’s most fashionable cities. Turin, the first capital of the fledgling Italian state following unification in 1861, was at the vanguard of the flamboyant new style. The city has countless Stile Liberty (as it was dubbed in Italy) cafés, houses, pavilions and restaurants, which continue to lend it an elegance and modernity quite unlike that of any other Italian city.
Futurism followed from 1909, with its emphasis on energy and speed. Turin, the heart of Italy’s burgeoning automobile industry, was again at the forefront of this dynamic new movement. Architecturally, Futurism is best symbolised by Fiat’s Lingotto factory (1926), with a test track on its roof. Italy was soon in the thrall of International Modernism in architecture, and developed its own version, Rationalism, exemplified by Giuseppe Terragni’s Casa del Fascio in Como (1936).
Italy’s postwar reconstruction was encapsulated by architect Ernesto Rogers, who famously stated that he and his colleagues should be prepared to design everything ‘from the spoon to the city’. In the decades that followed, Italy produced innumerable beautiful and often innovative buildings, cars, furniture and industrial designs, including the Vespa scooter (1946), the Fiat 500 (1957), and Olivetti’s Lettera 22 (1949), the favourite portable typewriter of the world’s writers. Olivetti combined design excellence with corporate beneficence, and its headquarters at Ivrea, north of Turin, had bright, modern factories surrounded by open green space, workers’ housing and enhanced employee benefits that won world renown.
Milan and its environs are still home to many important furniture firms, and since the 1930s has held the famous international design fair, the Triennale di Milano. It is now also home to the recently re-opened Museo del Design Italiano, whose extensive collection provides illuminating insight into ground-breaking Italian innovation and products, including works by Italy’s Radical design collectives, who from the late 1960s sought to challenge established concepts of good taste and bourgeois society.
Itinerary
A number of the visits are by special arrangement. It may not be possible to visit everything listed, and there may need to be changes to the order.
Fly at c. 8.00am (British Airways) from London Gatwick to Turin. Visit the Heritage Hub in the afternoon. Based within part of the former Mirafiori car manufacturing plant, this fascinating collection includes road, race, and rally cars tracing the history of the Fiat, Lancia and Abarth brands. The day continues with a Stile Liberty walking tour. First of three nights in Turin.
Much survives from the Italy Expo 61, and we visit the amazing gravity-defying trade fair pavilions designed by the brilliant civil engineer Pier Luigi Nervi. In the afternoon, visit the famous testing track on the roof of Lingotto, the former Fiat factory, an architectural homage to Futurism opened in 1926. Before returning at the hotel, stop at the Teatro Regio, originally designed by Benedetto Alfieri and inaugurated in 1740, then rebuilt after a devastating 1936 fire to a strikingly modern design by the influential if enigmatic architect, designer and sportsman, Carlo Mollino (1905–73).
Olivetti was Italy’s most important postwar company, and in 2018 their offices and factories at Ivrea became a UNESCO listed site (Patrimonio dell’Umanità). We see several iconic buildings and Olivetti product designs, and have lunch in the factory.
In the morning, travel by business class rail to Milan. Visit the Grattacielo Pirelli, the city’s iconic skyscraper (completed in 1960), designed by a team including Gio Ponti, Alberto Rosselli and Pier Luigi Nervi. The Palazzo dell’Arte, home to the Triennale, was designed by Giovanni Muzio in the 1930s. It houses the Museo del Design Italiano, a collection from the 1930s to the 1990s. First of three nights in Milan.
In the morning, special visit to the Fondazione Franco Albini, dedicated to the creator, with Franca Helg, of numerous classic furniture designs. Continue to the Fondazione Achille Castiglioni for a rare insight into his design methodology and inspiration. Founded in 1949, Kartell is a furniture company famous for some of the most memorable plastic furniture from the Pop Art era.
Furniture is central to the history of Italian design, and in the area of Brianza – just north of Monza – there are scores of important companies, including Bonacina 1889, manufacturer of cane and rattan furniture, including designs by Gae Aulenti, Joe Colombo and Gio Ponti. Giuseppe Terragni’s Casa del Fascio in Como was built between 1932 and 1936 and is probably the most famous Rationalist building in Italy.
The Museo del Novecento houses important 20th-century art, including works by Metaphysical and Futurist artists and sculptors (De Chirico, Salvini, Boccioni, Marinetti and Russolo). Villa Necchi Campiglio is a beautiful Modernist/Art Deco house designed by Piero Portaluppi for the heirs to the Necchi sewing machine company. It also has a small but exquisite art collection which includes paintings by Boccioni, de Chirico, Modigliani, and Sironi. Fly from Milan Linate to London Heathrow, arriving at c. 8.45pm.
Expert speaker
Dr Philippa Joseph
An art, architectural, and design historian whose research covers artistic and cultural exchange across Europe, especially between Andalucía and Sicily, and the wider Mediterranean basin. Philippa also has an academic interest in, and teaches on, 20th-century Italian architecture and design, about which she is currently writing a book for Reaktion Books. She is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research, a tutor at the Oxford University Department for Continuing Education, and is a member of the editorial advisory board for History Today.
More tours led by Dr Philippa Joseph
Practicalities
Price, per person. Two sharing: A$7,600 or A$7,240 without flights. Single occupancy: A$8,830 or A$8,470 without flights.
Hotel accommodation as described below, with breakfasts; 1 lunch and 4 dinners with wine, water, coffee; travel by private coach; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.
Please note that this tour has different departure and arrival airports in London.
Grand Hotel Sitea, Turin: 5-star hotel, comfortable, elegantly furnished and very central. Rosa Grand Hotel, Milan: a smart 4-star hotel excellently located directly behind the Duomo. Single rooms are doubles for sole use.
There is inevitably quite a lot of walking as well as standing around in museums and other sites, and it would not be suitable for anyone who manages everyday walking and stair-climbing with difficulty. Average distance by coach per day: 44 miles.
Typically between 10 and 24 participants.
Before booking, please refer to Smartraveller to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting. As a British company we follow the advice of the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
Dates & prices
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2027
Date
Speaker
Price
Date:
14th - 20th June 2027
Speaker:
Dr Philippa Joseph
Price:
from A$7,240
(Based on two sharing)Testimonials
“Outstanding selection of experiences and places, selected by and expert with deep interest and passion, very coherent and balanced in terms of variety, full day experience and complete.
”
“Dr Philippa Josep is outstanding, deep subject matter expert on wide range of topics, with passion, interest and charisma; on tour - a truly caring and interested in the group; transmitting exceptional positive energy
”
“An outstanding experience; very special, very unique and planned with great expertise and attention to detail and perfectly executed; the outcome of the overall experience is bigger that the individual aspect; life and culture enriching experience that will last.
”
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