For three decades, the Milanese at Corso Venezia 11 have seen only a large closed door, which will open its doors on December 1st, discovering the redevelopment of the former archiepiscopal seminary converted into a hotel and luxury pole. The Ferragamo group will open Portrait Milano here, a hotel with 73 rooms, including 20 suites, spas, restaurants, bars and boutiques. The majestic internal courtyard, which you meet after the baroque portal of Francesco Maria Richini, will also be opened on via Sant’Andrea 10 to form the square of the Quadrilatero – this is the name chosen as a tribute to fashion -, which with its over 2,800 meters square will become a meeting place for citizens and tourists.
The palace was the oldest seminary in Europe, second in the world, built in 1564 with a strategic and central position in the fashion district of the Lombard capital. Over the centuries it has been a boarding school during the empire of Maria Theresa of Austria, a prison in the time of Napoleon, a hospital for Radetsky’s soldiers. Then it was renovated by Piero Portaluppi in 1967 and became the architect Mario Bellini’s atelier in the 1980s.
Portrait is the young luxury hospitality brand of the Lungarno group, which belongs to the Ferragamo family, with two active structures in Florence and Rome. «We wanted to find a unique location and at the same time return this place to Milan as a new destination – said Leonardo Ferragamo, president of Lungarno Collection visibly excited -. It was a complex and ambitious operation, in a place rich in history that projects from the deep past into the future ». Thanks to the support of the municipal administration and the Curia. And he adds: «Hospitality has inspired our family for many years, because we felt this sector was close to fashion. Portrait was born from a vision that aims to enhance the characteristics, quality and historical aspects of the chosen places ». Leonardo Ferragamo and Valeriano Antonioli, CEO of the group, do not unbutton themselves on the numbers. The building is for rent and has required huge investments in renovation. But the budget is not yet final, thanks to the recent increases in the prices of raw materials and labor.
The project is curated by Michele De Lucchi and for the interiors by Michele Bönan. Chef Andrea Ribaldone’s Identità Golose will conceive the experience offered in the restaurant business, who will directly manage the bars and restaurants on the north side, which also include a garden.
«We will bring contemporary life into an ancient place – said architect De Lucchi – to bring together the past with the present. We live in a country extraordinarily rich in history that offers great opportunities to transform ancient buildings into contemporary places ».