Victor Emmanuel II Gallery in Milan

Description and history

Nicknamed the “Salon of Milan”, the magnificent Vittorio Emanuele II shopping gallery, dedicated to the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel II, is another emblematic place of the city, located at the heart of Milanese social life.
This covered street was the first work in Italy to combine iron and glass as a monumental structure.
The monumental arcades connect Piazza Duomo to Piazza della Scala and house luxury shops, cafes and restaurants.

Its construction began in 1865 based on a design by Giuseppe Mengoni, who won a competition pitting the ideas of 176 architects against one another. It was partially inaugurated in 1867, without the presence of the King of Italy Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, but shortly afterwards the architect died tragically after falling from a scaffold. It was officially inaugurated in 1877 by the King.

Neoclassical in style with Baroque elements, the gallery is cross-shaped, covered with glass roofs with metal structures, with a large dome in the center rising 47 meters from the ground. On the walls of the central octagon, paintings represent the four continents (Europe, America, Africa and Asia), and the signs of the zodiac decorate the floor.
It was imitated by the twin gallery built in Naples, the Umberto I Gallery, but also by shopping centers in other countries, such as the United States and Canada.

Gallery

Map

Information

• Wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org
• Tourism portals: www.yesmilano.it