Only a few weeks before travelling to Milan again for Milan Design week. Always looking forward to visit the many exhibitions and especially Alcova, which is always one of the first places we visit. Not only does Alcova host many interesting designers but also gives you the opportunity to view the most unique destinations around Milan! Every time it is so magical and unexpected!
I have covered Alcova over the last few years from their first 2018 and 2019 editions at Via Populi to last years amazing villa’s in Varedo. Both on my website as at social media saved in Instagram highlights, as sometimes it was just to much to cover it all on the blog. I digged in my picture archives to give you an impression of the first editions I joined and the latest after the pandemic gap and of course showing you the 2025 locations!
Alcova 2025 sites
This year Alcova will be back at the historic residences of Villa Borsani and Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, and Alcova introduces two new sites: the former SNIA Factory and the Pasino Glasshouses. These additions bring a raw, layered backdrop, where nature has begun to reclaim its space. Just as on the sites of some of the former editions like the former military hospital. Each location will offer a distinct atmosphere to guide visitors through one explorative and eclectic path, highlighting both prominent and emerging designers through site-specific installations and curated exhibitions that reflect the character and spatial qualities of each setting.
VILLA BORSANI
Villa Borsani will once again host cutting-edge collectible design pieces in dialogue with its 1945 modernist architecture. Designed by Osvaldo Borsani as a family home next to his furniture atelier, the villa stands as a rare and impeccably preserved example of his layered style, complete with distinctive artistic features, including a fireplace by Lucio Fontana.
→ BOOK YOUR VISIT TO VILLA BORSANI
Read my article on Villa Borsati: A modernist masterpiece – Villa Borsani at Alcova 2024
Discover more also in this Instagram highlight: Milano 2024
VILLA BAGATTI
Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, a 19th-century architectural gem built for the noble Milanese Bagatti Valsecchi family as a summer retreat to escape the city’s heat and entertain guests, will once again be reactivated this year. The venue invites spatial exploration—from grand halls and intimate rooms to expansive formal Italian and English-style gardens with hidden grottos.
Read my article on Villa Bagatti Valsecchi: This was Alcova 2024 | Villa Bagatti Valsecchi
Discover more also in this Instagram highlight:Milano 2024
PASINO GLASSHOUSES
The Pasino Glasshouses, nestled within the greenery of the outdoor gallop track adjacent to Villa Bagatti Valsecchi, were once home to one of Europe’s largest white orchid cultivations. Today, they offer a stunning natural backdrop, creating a space where vegetation interacts with the exhibited pieces. Pictured above and below by Piergiorgio Sorgetti
FORMER SNIA FACTORY
The former SNIA factory is a remarkable example of rationalist architecture — a sprawling industrial relic dating back to World War I, now abandoned for over 20 years. Overgrown with ivy and softened by moss, the site reveals an interplay of industrial decay and nature’s quiet reclamation, offering a glimpse into its layered history as a major global hub for synthetic fiber production.2018 and 19 via populi Uniti. Photo by Piergiorgio Sorgetti
Throwback to Alcova 2023 at the former never-before-seen spaces of Ex-Macello di Porta Vittoria. image vosgesparis
Discover more in this Instagram highlight: Milano 2023
For Milan Design week 2022 Alcova choose an abandoned military hospital and former mental institution, Centro Ospedaliero Militare di Baggio. Over different buildings, all connected by beautiful green and tall trees giving a bit of shadow at the sweltering hot location. 80 international exhibitors including independent designers, innovative brands, galleries, cultural institutions and companies showed their works. image above and below vosgesparis
Read my article about Alcova 2022: Spoken lines by Colin King for Beni Rugs at Alcova | Milan Design week 2022
Discover more also in this Instagram highlight: Milano 2022
In 2018 and 2019 Alcova was located at the former Fabrica Sassetti, a former panettone factory of G. Cova & Coat in the Isola neighborhood where I made these images, not sure if I covered anything on the blog and Instagram highlights only started that year right after the Salone. I am pretty sure there were also some old houses across the street where I went that year but not sure if these were part of alcova too. images vosgesparis
Het bericht Alcova introduces two new sites for their 2025 edition at Varedo verscheen eerst op vosgesparis.