A new permanent collection opened it’s doors in Milan. Italy has finally it’s own museum of Italian Design. It seemed odd for a country whose creativity and mission to make beautiful things that were also functional and accessible to the average person and simplified the life of millions of people in the past 70 years did not have a proper representation. It is important for Mid Century dealers like us to have a place to gather, to research, to discover and maybe that place is shaping up right in our country. 

Today we can all admire the most representative works of Mid Century Italian design at the Triennale Museum in Milan, a permanent exhibition showcasing objects designed between the 1940s and the 1980s by the biggest Italian architects of the period. The selection includes furniture, household appliances, and small objects from the 20th Century, products made for every day use, and it represents only a small fraction of the 1600 pieces owned by the Triennale Milan.

The Italian Design Museum debuted on the occasion of Milano Design Week 2019. The project has been developed by  Stefano Boeri, President of the Triennale Milano under the artistic direction of Joseph Grima, and it is housed in the ground floor. We can’t wait to see it growing even more, as President Mr Boeri said the Triennale Museum's goal is to become “the leading international centre dedicated to Italian Deisign”. Whether it will be centered on Mid Century or Modern Design, we are very excited about the future. 20th Century Design deserves to play a major role considering its’ comeback and it’s easy integration with modern design, yet after more than 50 years has passed. 

This exhibition, is like a time capsule through objects which some might recognize as familiar, we picked quite a few we could have had at home at a certain point in our life. The memories are brought back through the objects themselves and through several supporting media such as old catalogs and paper ads; Furthermore, you can hear directly from the designers voices the ideas behind most objects; they will talk to the audience through ‘Grillo’ telephones (designed in 1965 by Marco Zanuso and Richard Sapper), if you can still remember how to dia the numbers! 

Through this exhibition you can really walk through time and see how differen materials and designs changed through the years, you can also discover the intimate relationship theses 20th Century designers shared with their products and their sponsors, the difficult tasks they had to overcome through a series of highs and lows and rights and wrongs, and you can finally smile looking at the finished products proudly showcased on the page of a design magazine of that period.   

Triennale Milano is housed by Palazzo dell’Arte in Viale Emilio Alemagna no. 6  You can find all of the information by visiting their website at 

www.triennale.org