Via Montenapoleone
Encyclopedia
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, famous for its ready-to-wear
Ready-to-wear
Ready-to-wear or prêt-à-porter is the term for factory-made clothing, sold in finished condition, in standardized sizes, as distinct from made to measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a particular person's frame. Off-the-peg is sometimes used for items which are not clothing.Ready-to-wear has...
fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
and jewelry shops. It is the most important street of the Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
Fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
District known as the Quadrilatero della moda
Quadrilatero della moda
The quadrilatero della moda , or Via Montenapoleone fashion district, is a high-class shopping district in the centre of the Italian city of Milan, characterised by the presence of numerous boutiques and related retail outlets which represent most of the world’s major fashion houses.The sides of...
where many well-known fashion designers have their high-end boutiques and stores from Italian designers to all the world famous brands. The most exclusive Italian shoemakers maintain boutiques on this street.
Via Montenapoleone is also regarded as one of the most important 'streets in fashion', as Milan is recognized as one of the major fashion capitals in the world. Today, several of the world's top fashion houses have their headquarters, major offices or large emporia in the street.
History
The street traces the Roman city walls erected by Emperor MaximianMaximian
Maximian was Roman Emperor from 286 to 305. He was Caesar from 285 to 286, then Augustus from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian established his residence at Trier but spent...
. In 1783 a financial institution known as the Monte Camerale di Santa Teresa opened here in Palazzo Marliani, with the function of managing the public debt. In 1786 the street itself was named after the monte. The bank was closed in 1796 but re-opened in 1804, when Milan was capital of the Napoleonic Italian Republic
Italian Republic (Napoleonic)
The Italian Republic was a short-lived republic located in Northern Italy. It was a vassal state of the First French Republic of Napoleon.-The republic:...
, as the Monte Napoleone: from this the street derived its current name. During the first part of the nineteenth century the street was almost entirely rebuilt in the Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
manner with palaces inhabited by the highest of the aristocracy. Notable buildings from this period are the Palazzo Melzi di Cusano, the Palazzo Gavazzi, the Casa Carcassola, and the Palazzetta Tarverna. The much earlier Palazzo Marliani however, regarded as one of the finest houses to survive from the era of the Sforza, was preserved until its destruction during the Allied bombing campaign of 1943.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Via Monte Napoleone became one of the leading streets in international fashion, somewhat equivalent to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
' Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
's Via Condotti
Via Condotti
Via Condotti is a busy and fashionable street of Rome, Italy. In Roman times it was one of the streets that crossed the ancient Via Flaminia and enabled people who transversed the Tiber to reach the Pincio hill. It begins at the foot of the Spanish steps and is named after conduits or channels...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Bond Street
Bond Street
Bond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London that runs north-south through Mayfair between Oxford Street and Piccadilly. It has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century and is currently the home of many high price fashion shops...
or Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
, and Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
's Via de' Tornabuoni
Via de' Tornabuoni
Via de' Tornabuoni, or Via Tornabuoni, is a streets of the center of Florence, Italy, that goes from Antinori square to ponte Santa Trinita, across Santa Trinita square, characterized by the presence of fashion boutiques....
.
Caffè Cova
Caffè Cova
The Caffè Cova is one of Milan, Italy's oldest pasticcerie, or delicatessens and coffeehouses. Founded in 1817 by a soldier, Antonio Cova near the Teatro alla Scala, since 1950 situated in the fashionable Via Montenapoleone, part of Milan's quadrilatero della moda or fashion...
, founded in 1817 and one of the city’s oldest café
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
s and confectioner's, relocated to Via Monte Napoleone in 1950 from its original premisses next to the Teatro alla Scala.
| List of brands in Montenapoleone |
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See also
- List of upscale shopping districts