Reflected glory: bringing the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II’s many facets to light

Among Milan’s grandest landmarks, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II reopened with much fanfare in March following a yearlong restoration led by fashion superpowers Prada and Versace. And now the architectural icon has received another boost in the form of a striking mirror installation to inaugurate the rejuvenated space.

Conceived by creative agency Wishbone Farm, the installation – entitled ‘Kaleidoscope’ – takes pride of place in the octagonal atrium where the mirrored surfaces offers a gleaming vision of the architectural and ornamental details of the Galleria. Inside, visitors are immersed further courtesy of six LED walls featuring pictures, videos, stories and data collected during the many months of renovation.

Four stations equipped with benches and Vellardi binoculars encourage visitors to take a seat and enjoy close-up views of the building’s majestic architectural details, transforming the Galleria into an urban landscape to explore.

The installation, funded by Versace, Prada and Feltrinelli, is a natural extension of the interactive website created to document the restoration, and will be on view until 23 May, giving visitors plenty of time to reflect on the building’s storied past, and its bright new future. God is certainly in the detail.

ADDRESS

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Piazza Duomo
20123 Milan
Italy

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