Bulgari Opens New Retailer in Milan’s Montenapoleone, Sponsors Museo del Novecento

MILAN — Bulgari is famend for its experience in gold and fascinating combos of colourful gem stones. It took the jewellery home itself to problem its valuable creations with an equally compelling inside design for its new flagship right here, which was unveiled Monday.

Housed contained in the 1835 Taverna Radice Fossati neo-classical constructing designed by Ferdinando Albertolli and nestled in tony By way of Montenapoleone, the unit is the brand new jewel within the (retail) crown of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton-controlled jeweler, which aimed to bridge its Roman roots with nods to Milanese structure within the 8,072-square-foot house spanning three flooring.

“We dreamt about having an area like this and we realized it precisely how we imagined it,” mentioned Bulgari’s deputy chief govt officer Laura Burdese on the opening, underscoring that the retailer was three years within the making, two of which had been devoted solely to finish the renovation works. 

“We conceived it as an area which may narrate a narrative, our story, which is in between the previous and our Roman identification and the longer term, at this time represented by Milan, a metropolis we needed to pay tribute to with a flagship that’s greater than a mere retailer however an experiential place that spotlights the very best of Made-in-Italy craftsmanship,” mentioned Burdese.

She listed an array of firms concerned in growing the light-hued inside idea, together with Rubelli for textiles; Venini and Barovier & Toso for glass items and chandeliers; Damiani and Musiva for marble, and Mangiarotti for furnishing that includes particulars impressed by Milan landmarks comparable to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Villa Necchi Campiglio and the Palazzo dell’Arengario constructing.

A collection of artists developed works particularly for the shop. These embody Fabio Viale, whose trendy tackle the “Venere di Milo” statue of Venus — one coming with tattooed jewellery — stands in the principle corridor on the entrance.

This space is devoted to Bulgari’s key strains, such because the Tubogas, Serpenti and Divas’ Dream collections, displayed in a round counter crafted from travertine marble. Additionally featured on this house are the model’s signature snake image and the eight-pointed star motif on the flooring that nods to the corporate’s By way of dei Condotti 10 retailer in Rome. Golden-hued carpeting, travertine marble columns and painted by hand murals representing the maps of Milan and Rome additional outline the house. 

By means of arched openings, this space results in the so-called Infinity Gallery on the left and a grand spiral staircase on the correct coated in white vegan leather-based that remembers the form of Bulgari Tubogas creations. 

The gallery nods to Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II buying arcade and spotlights the model’s watches and B.zero1 line, in addition to its leather-based items designed by Mary Katrantzou. It ends with a big LED display projecting the generative digital art work “Sundown in Rome” by Stefano Contiero.

The steps result in the second flooring, an space devoted to Bulgari’s excessive jewellery collections, replete with two rooms for VIC appointments which include three work created particularly for the situation by Milanese artist Luca Pignatelli. The house is stuffed with delicate particulars linking to the model’s historical past, comparable to a bicolor marble flooring that winks to Divas’ form, which transitions into one other puzzle-like geometric sample impressed by a Bulgari necklace from the ‘70s unearthed within the model’s archive. A separate room overlooking the luxurious buying avenue comes with mosaic flooring that remembers the traditional Roman baths and a domed ceiling coated in gold leaves.

To additional categorical its ties to the humanities, Bulgari marked the shop opening with the announcement of a brand new sponsorship settlement to help the town’s Museo del Novecento museum by way of its Fondazione Bulgari, which was established final 12 months.

Opened in 2010 and showcasing greater than 300 artworks of the 20^th and 21^st centuries, Museo del Novecento is predicted to double its exhibition house by mid-2027. Bulgari pledged 900,000 euros to again the venture.

Burdese, who was joined by Milan’s Mayor Giuseppe Sala on the retailer’s ribbon-cutting ceremony and patronage announcement, underscored such sponsorship is Bulgari’s first in Milan. “In Rome, we now have at all times supported the renovation works of historic landmarks — from the Spanish Steps to the Baths of Caracalla — so right here we needed to focus extra on trendy and up to date artwork,” mentioned Burdese, highlighting the establishment’s relevance. “The doubling of the museum will make it much more culturally necessary on a world scale.”

Within the meantime, Bulgari has arrange its personal exhibition space on the highest flooring of the brand new retailer, conceived as a comfortable lounge designed by architect Giuliano Andrea dell’Uva. For the primary time in Milan, the Roman jeweler displayed a number of 24 items from its Heritage assortment in a showcase dubbed “Tubogas & Past” and centered on spotlighting its signature Tubogas method.

“There are some items by no means proven earlier than and very uncommon,” Burdese mentioned proudly. These embody the primary Tubogas bracelet from 1941, paired with a 1972 reinterpretation with yellow and inexperienced enameled particulars for a extra Pop take, in addition to the primary Tubogas watch tracing again to 1948 and spotlighting how the clock face initially sat in the midst of its wrapping form quite than on the tip, like in more moderen iterations.

Along with necklaces and bracelets that includes one, two or extra gold spirals, studded with diamonds or set with colourful gem stones, in addition to uncommon rings and earrings, the showcase included a 1974 three-toned gold Monete Tubogas choker that includes historic Greek cash, which as soon as belonged to the personal assortment of Barbara and Frank Sinatra.

The showcase will run by way of June 29, then “the house will turn out to be a multifunctional lounge we’ll use for various experiences,” mentioned Burdese. “We are going to carry artwork collections or use it as exhibition house and sooner or later we’ll show different choices of our Heritage assortment.”