Sunday Escape - Albergo Diurno Venezia

Have you ever seen Midnight in Paris directed by Woody Allen?
In the movie, the character played by Owen Wilson strolls by night on the streets of Paris, at midnight take on a carriage and is catapulted in the 1920s among legendary figures like Francis Scott Fitzgerald with his wife Zelda and Ernest Hemingway.

Another time portal that leads to Belle Époque is located in Milan, in Piazza Oberdan, near the entrance to the metro station of Porta Venezia. Here, underground, only indicated on the surface by two tall columns and an old wrought iron art nouveau canopy covered with graffiti, there is the Albergo Diurno Venezia. Founded in 1925 to offer a class service to travelers, isn’t just a place where time has stopped but also an Art Deco jewel.

In fact, interior design is attributed to architects of the era Piero Portaluppi, the same one that has made the fascinating Villa Necchi Campiglio. The structure, however, is the work of Marcello Troiani.

Once you enter the front door you will find yourself in the middle of the main salon and you will immediately understand the multifunctional nature of Albergo Diurno Venezia. The center of the room was equipped with waiting sofas and typewriters with typists; the sides face many small separé, each with the sign indicating the type of service offered inside: private room for business negotiations, tourist agency, bicycle storage, post office, laundry, barber for man and hairdresser for lady, manicure and pedicure room. 

On the ground, 1930 Palladian with the design of Portaluppi, as its decorations and broken arches with ziggurat sprockets, which adorn the entrances of the service spaces once furnished with chairs original Thonet and showcases in dark walnut.

A bronze statue by Luigi Fabris depicting the goddess of health Igea with a snake twisted to the feet, a symbol of pharmaceuticals and body wellness, greet those who access those rooms. Here the doors are made of larch painted, the floor is in grès and the wall tiles are in the glass of the company Monti in Milan.

Are you ready to time travel?