ARCADES PROJECT

Milan’s Galeria Vittorio Emanuele is breathtaking in its beauty, and mind-blowing in its magnitude.

It surely can lay claim to being the most stunning arcade in the world (though I’m happy to hear counter-arguments if any readers don’t agree). Of course, it had the advantage over its prestigious predecessors in London and Paris by being built half a century later, when engineering progress allowed for a higher roof and larger expanse of glass and iron holding the ceiling together than was feasible when London’s Burlington, or Paris’s Vivienne were built.

The arcade is four storeys high, with a magnificent octagonal glass dome in the centre, and two arms forming a shape like a cross, so mirroring the cathedral which stands on the main square just beyond one end of the arcade.

Also high up in that central section are the coats of arms of four regional and national capitals of Italy: Rome, Milan, Florence, and Turin (I’m not sure why Naples doesn’t figure – again, if someone knows, please get in touch and put me right). Small balconies spill out over the arcade below from the third floor accommodation.

The arcade provides a covered walkway between Milan’s Cathedral and the Scala Opera House, so back in the day it would have been possible to attend your morning mass, stop in one of the cafes in the arcade (and a couple at least are still operating some 150 years on) before attending a matinee at the Opera.

The day I visited it was thronged with people. The longest queue was at the ice-cream shop, but I’m sure old favourites like Café Biffi and the Restaurant Savini are busiest in the evenings. Apart from the eateries and chocolate shops, there is a wonderful-looking book shop, but most of the shops are pretty high-end designer label places for luxury clothes, handbags and the like.

My pick of the arcade’s past

The King after whom the Gallery was named laid the foundation stone of the arcade in March 1865. It was funded by a London-based company, but designed by an Italian architect. The Galeria opened to the public in 1867, though building work was only completed a decade or so later.

When Edward VII was Prince of Wales he visited Milan in 1872. A little flower girl approached him to offer flowers – he called on his court doctor to do what he could to heal the girl’s disability (though press reports didn’t extend to recounting whether this actually helped the girl at all…).

One of the gallery’s architects met an untimely end just as the building neared completion in 1878. Signor Mengoni was up on scaffolding near the roof when he lost his balance and fell back onto the terrace floor four storeys below. He did not survive the fall.

Rioting in 1919 led to bullet holes strafing the walls of the arcade, with two people found shot dead on the floor after one violent night in December. And as civil war almost broke out in the early 1920s, there were days when even the Galeria cafes took in their tables and drew down the shutter – a fascist funeral in 1922 led to reports of this in the British press.

Many writers have been frequent visitors to the Galeria. Mark Twain said he would like to live here the rest of his life; Hemingway was a regular at the Grand Italia café; and the owner of the Savini Restaurant had a special area dedicated to penniless artists and writers: he would give favourable treatment to those he dubbed the ‘old coats.’

Many thanks to fellow arcade enthusiast Riccardo di Vincenzo for the story on writers in this arcade. Other stories sourced from press articles in www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

What memories do you have of visits in years gone by?

Have you got any good stories to add on the past of this arcade?

What’s your favourite shop in the arcade today?

Have you seen this arcade in any films or books?

This arcade in films or books

Milan’s Galeria has been the setting for so many films – and books. From 1960s classics like The Reunion (La Rimpatriata) to the 2021 movie House of Gucci. Which book have you read with scenes set in the Galeria?

Is there a website for this arcade?

Not that I could see. If anyone knows different, please put me right on this.