Spazio Rossana Orlandi travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises, spa and resorts

Spazio Rossana Orlandi gallery opened in 2002 in a former tie factory in the Magenta Neighbour in Milan. The spaces wind around a green courtyard and they are  divided between the 2-floor store, where you can find contemporary and vintage furnitures and the gallery, established in 2008 , a space dedicated to limited editions and unique pieces. Since from the start the aim was to forecast and promote young and upcoming designers, discovered all around the world.

I am telling you this story, about this quirky gallery, because most of the people who once had been to this place, usually went there twice. And that really says something considering how much there is to do and see in Milan. Rossana is a true innovator. She is famous for scooping up exclusive lines from small designers with big talent. It is so easy to see why her Spazio has become a must on the Milan design circuit. This former factory is so much more then just a showcase for everything from high-end sofas to plastic forks and coloured toilet paper. It is also a laboratory for emerging designers.

The main courtyard is a storage of found objects, iconic and vintage furniture and good food. This year there was an old Volkswagen near the entry which was transformed by the design studio Bokja with an international patchwork of brightly coloured fabrics. Courtyard’s entire back wall was covered with an installation of 3D old embroidery by the French artist Frederique Morrel, who made an effort to highlight the dying art of needlework.

There is a maze of spaces which lead off the central courtyard that play host to installations by emerging and established designers. Around every corner there was yet another surprise in this visual wonderland. {You will fell a little bit like Alice!}. If you climb up a narrow steel stair all the way to the top floor and there it was… *queue angelic “laaaah” sound*….The most incredible, visually arresting retail space full to the brim with the most amazing things you could ever imagine. It was a riot of texture and colour. Never miss this place, never, this is a must see one before you die….Getting there: Via Matteo Bandello 14/16, 20123 Milan, Italy.