Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II Milan is a commercial gallery in Milan which, in the form of a covered pedestrian street, connects Piazza Duomo to Piazza della Scala. Due to the presence of elegant shops and clubs, since its inauguration it was the meeting place of the Milanese bourgeoisie, so much so that it was nicknamed the living room of Milan. Built in a Neo-Renaissance style, it is one of the most famous examples of European iron architecture and represents the archetype of the nineteenth-century shopping arcade. Simply called the Galleria by the Milanese, it is often regarded as one of the first examples of a shopping center in the world.
The presence of covered passages in Milan intended as arcades dates back to the medieval city. In the thirteenth century Bonvesin de la Riva noted in his Wonders of Milan the presence of about sixty arcades in the city. With the advent of the Sforza, the arcades were progressively demolished. Milan was the first city in Italy, with the De Cristoforis gallery, to be equipped with a passage. The De Cristoforis gallery was an isolated case and for thirty years it was the only gallery in Milan.
The idea of a street connecting Piazza Duomo and Piazza della Scala was promoted in 1839 by Carlo Cattaneo. The road system in the area was winding and tangled. Based on narrow streets of medieval origin. It became less and less manageable as city traffic grew. The idea of dedicating this new street to King Vittorio Emanuele II came on the one hand as a consequence of the enthusiasm for an independence regained by Austria. On the other hand, the municipal council hoped to more easily obtain the permits for the expropriation of the buildings necessary for the work. On April 3, 1860, the Municipality of Milan announced the construction competition for the new road.
The construction contract awarded to the English company City of Milan Improvements Company Limited. The ceremony for the laying of the first stone by King Vittorio Emanuele II took place on 7 March 1865. The actual conclusion of the works dates back to 1876 when the entrance arch and the northern arcades of Piazza Duomo were completed.
From March 2014 to April 2015, the Gallery underwent the most profound restoration since the Second World War, in view of Expo 2015. The restoration made it possible to restore the plaster of the Gallery to its original colors. Further cleaning of the stone and decorative concrete surfaces followed. The restoration involved personnel for a total of 35,000 hours of work on 14,000 square meters of surfaces involved. To protect commercial activities and for limited time requirements, the restorations were carried out without the use of fixed scaffolding, but with a self-propelled portal inspired by the scaffolding used by Brunelleschi in the construction of the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore.
.svg)
