Villa Necchi Campiglio

Villa Necchi Campiglio is a historic house museum at via Mozart, 14, in central Milan, Italy. Built between 1932 and 1935 by the Rationalist architect Piero Portaluppi for the Necchi Campiglio family, it stands as a rare preserved example of an independent single-family villa in a city dominated by palazzi and apartments. Its significance lies in its architectural pedigree, its intact Art Deco and Rationalist interiors, and its exceptional technological modernity for the period, including Milan's first private swimming pool. Since 2008 it has been owned and operated by FAI, the Italian Environmental Fund, and forms part of the Case Museo di Milano circuit.

The villa arose in a district that remained verdant and undeveloped until the late nineteenth century. The area around via Mozart was opened up after an 1907 agreement between the Milan Municipality and Countess Antonietta Sola-Busca, owner of the Serbelloni palace and garden, with actual construction beginning from 1926 according to a subdivision plan by architect Aldo Andreani. Angelo Campiglio and the Necchi sisters acquired land around 1930 and commissioned Portaluppi; the Gadola Firm carried out construction between 1932 and 1935. The house was conceived as an elegant yet comfortable modern dwelling, equipped with elevator, dumbwaiter, intercoms, telephones, and a heated swimming pool. From 1938 for roughly two decades, architect Tomaso Buzzi was engaged to redesign the garden and refurnish certain rooms in an eighteenth-century-inspired style, softer and more elaborate than Portaluppi's original minimalism. During World War II the family evacuated to their villa at Barasso, Varese, while the Milan house was requisitioned as headquarters-residence of fascist minister Alessandro Pavolini. After the fall of the Salò Republic it was occupied by British forces, then served as residence of the Dutch consul, before the family regained possession. Angelo Campiglio died in 1984; Nedda Necchi died in 1993 and Gigina in 2001. Without heirs, the sisters bequeathed the property to FAI. Restoration directed by architect Piero Castellini, a grandson of Portaluppi, required over three years and approximately six million Euros. The villa opened to the public in May 2008.

The villa's holdings consist of multiple integrated collections that complement the house's original furnishings. The core is the villa's own Art Deco and later eighteenth-century-style interiors, largely preserved. To these have been added the collection of Claudia Gian Ferrari, comprising early twentieth-century works, on permanent loan to FAI; an example cited is Mario Sironi's La famiglia del pastore. The collection of paintings and art objects of the eighteenth century assembled by Alighiero and Emilietta de' Micheli was bequeathed to FAI and is displayed here. The French source also notes works by Umberto Boccioni, Adolfo Wildt, Giorgio De Chirico, Filippo De Pisis, and Arturo Martini. The overall character thus spans avant-garde and modernist art, eighteenth-century decorative arts, and the applied arts of the villa itself.

Specific named works include Mario Sironi's La famiglia del pastore from the Claudia Gian Ferrari collection. The eighteenth-century paintings and objects from the Alighiero and Emilietta de' Micheli collection form another significant holding. The French source lists works by Umberto Boccioni, Adolfo Wildt, Giorgio De Chirico, Filippo De Pisis, and Arturo Martini as being present in the villa. Beyond individual artworks, the villa retains notable period rooms: the Prince's Room, named for Henry of Hesse (Enrico d'Assia), set designer for the Teatro alla Scala, who was regularly housed there; and the Princess's Chamber, reserved for Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, a close friend of the Necchi sisters. The interior also preserves Angelo Campiglio's office with contemporary furnishings, and a billiard room in the basement level.

The villa is an independent single-family house set back from the street, unusual among Milan's house museums, which are typically palazzi or apartments. A small separate building on the street serves as porter's lodge and garage, connected to the main house by an underground passage. Portaluppi's design displays rigorous lines and surfaces characteristic of nascent Italian Rationalism, while interiors incorporate Art Deco elements. The raised ground floor contains reception and representational rooms; the first floor holds bedrooms; the attic houses servants' quarters; and the basement contains service rooms and spaces for the owners' leisure, including the kitchen, pantry, servants' dining room with original furnishings, changing rooms and showers for the tennis court, and a billiard room. The garden originally featured modern amenities including a heated swimming pool, Milan's first on private land and only the second in the city after the municipal pool, as well as a tennis court. Under Buzzi's intervention from 1938, the garden was transformed toward a baroque appearance.

Villa Necchi Campiglio is located at via Mozart, 14, in central Milan. It is owned by Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano (FAI) and has been open to the public since May 2008 through guided tours. The villa is part of the Case Museo di Milano museum network. It is accessible from basement to attic, including the garden. The villa also serves as an event location; during Milan Fashion Week it is used by the fashion house Tod's as a representative space and exhibition venue. The property has gained wider public recognition through its use as a filming location: Luca Guadagnino's 2009 film I Am Love (Io sono l'amore) was shot there, featuring a fictional wealthy Milanese family whose name, Recchi, was evidently inspired by the original owners. It also appears in Ridley Scott's 2021 film House of Gucci as the residence of Rodolfo Gucci, played by Jeremy Irons, and in the film Der gezähmte Widerspenstige with Adriano Celentano and Ornella Muti.