Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

An elegant glass-covered arcade, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II connects Piazza della Scala and Piazza Duomo.

Designed by architect Giuseppe Mengoni it was commenced in 1865 and built with grotesques, caryatid, lunettes and pilasters, according to the eclectic architecture style, peculiar to Milan in the second half of the 19th century. In Galleria The arcade is home to many luxury shops, wonderful bars and restaurants - including a fast food brand as well. Along with Via Montenapoleone and Via della Spiga, it is considered an ultimate luxury shopping venue in Milan.In the first half of the 19th century, Milan was modelling itself after London or Paris seen as urbanization models. As Milan was discovering its industrial character, the technological innovations symbolized the second industrial revolution and, a consequence, the social change process. The Crystal Palace in London, or the Ironbridge spanning over the River Severn, showed how technology was at the service of architecture, also aesthetically. With its in-view iron structures, this arcade was one of the models that gave Gustave Eiffel the idea for its tower a few years later. The idea of creating a covered passageway to connect Piazza Duomo to Piazza della Scala took root just in the year 1859 it had to be like Galleria de Cristoforis (in San Babila area, still in Milan) but larger and smarter and had to be named after Vittorio Emanuele II, the first King of Italy. An area on the left of the Duomo was chosen because the buildings there did not reflect the new town image. Then the City Council called for a tender and awarded the contract to a young architect, Giuseppe Mengoni,who won over 176 designers. He designed a long gallery crossed by an arm and having a wide octagonal space in its centre. He designed a dome consisting of an iron frame topped with glass. He designed two large triumphal arches over the main gates. A company (the same that manufactured the iron frame and shipped it to Paris for assembly) was established in England to finance the construction of the arcade. As this company crashed, the Milan Council became the owner and went on providing the required funds. The construction works started in 1865. King Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy laid the first stone and opened the arcade (still uncompleted) two years later. The arcade was completed about 12 years later. Architect Giuseppe Mengoni died by falling down from the dome while making a survey on December 30, 1877 (they rumoured that he had committed suicide as he was disappointed at the King’s absence on the official opening day). Actually the King was in bad physical conditions (which was kept secret) and died just a few days after the arcade opening. During second world war, the arcade was severely damaged by an Allied bombing at night on August 13 and 15, 1943.