Streets of Art Nouveau

Industrial revolution started in Britain in the 18th century. The economy changed from agriculture and handicraft to industry and machine manufacturing.  It gradually spread to the other parts of the world.  In the 20th century, The Novecento ('new century), the middle class of entrepreneurs and industrial families emerged.  It marked the beginning of a new era in the country's history.  Milan rose as the capital of Italian finance.  The new class challenged the tradition by erecting imaginative, eclectic and bizarre new residences in the heart of the old city.

The area of Porta Venezia, near Via Malpighi is where a handful of art Nouveau / Liberty style houses have been standing for close to/exceeding  a century.  Our eyes are easily trapped with inlaid with floral friezes, polychrome majolica tiles, wrought iron and reliefs of all kinds. In the new era, rules were cast aside. Neoclassical forms were combined with Baroque eccentricity and modern rationality. Leading architects setting the trend of the time were Giuseppe Sommuruga and Giovan Battista Bossi.  They had big teams of artisans with one purpose: win the the competition with the most imaginative presentation.

Walking along Via Malpighi made me feel that I was back to Prague which Liberty style art architecture is popular.

You won't feel alone when walking in the area of art Nouveau because windows and balconies are flanked with elegant male and female figures watching the street amid trees and grapevines.  The bold provocations were common for this new entrepreneurial class that was not bound by the tradition but creative, unconventional.