In 1859, the Town Council held an international competition in which 176 architects took part. Giuseppe Mengoni won the competition, who proposed a long gallery crossed by an arm, with a large octagonal "hall" in the middle of the intersection: the roof had an iron frame and the rest in glass. The two main entrances, those of the longer arm, also provided for two large triumphal arches. In 1865 work began with the laying of the first stone by King Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy and two years later the gallery was inaugurated, although not completely finished. In 1885 the Edison Company began the modernisation of Milan with the distribution of electricity: the city was illuminated with arched lamps, giving the citizens the pride of claiming the world record for the use of electricity for public lighting.
The Gallery with its cafés soon became the living room of Milan, and in 1910 the Futurist painter Umberto Boccioni painted the movement of the people who animated it in the painting Rissa in the gallery. During the Second World War, on the nights of 13 and 15 August 1943, the Gallery was hit by Allied aerial bombardments that caused devastating destruction, the Gallery was seriously damaged: the post-war reconstruction maintains its previous appearance, the original incandescent chandeliers that were destroyed are replaced by a series of projectors hidden in the balcony that runs along the perimeter in the upper part of the Gallery.
The “2000 urban lighting plan” included the re-development and aesthetic and functional upgrading of various areas of the historic city centre to meet regulations. A careful study of the original architectural and lighting projects, together with technological developments introduced over the years, led to the decision to retain the overall design conceived by Mengoni some 150 years ago and carried out using the most advanced technique available at the time: gas! The wall-mounted globes used for the general lighting of the promenade and of the lower part of the Galleria were retained, as well as the existing system for the general lighting of the upper parts of the façades, the central dome and the vaults. New generation 150W metal halide lamps, fitted with ceramic burners, were installed into the 148 new small-sized projectors, featuring asymmetric optics, used to light the upper parts of the façades by aiming the light directly from the balcony towards the façades opposite. This highlighted the structure of the central dome, the decorations of the lunettes and the clock.
In Milan Architect Piero Castglioni has given the right light to many architectural spaces of historical and cultural importance, including the Sala Alessi in Marino Palace, Cadorna Railway Station, Brera Bookshop, Arcimboldi Theatre with Architect Vittorio Gregotti, Portello District, Garibaldi Complex - Porta Nuova and City Life .
Project:
Lighting Design Piero Castiglioni
Collaborations:
A.E.M.
Photo Courtesy:
Simion
Year:
2000
In 1859, the Town Council held an international competition in which 176 architects took part. Giuseppe Mengoni won the competition, who proposed a long gallery crossed by an arm, with a large octagonal "hall" in the middle of the intersection: the roof had an iron frame and the rest in glass. The two main entrances, those of the longer arm, also provided for two large triumphal arches. In 1865 work began with the laying of the first stone by King Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy and two years later the gallery was inaugurated, although not completely finished. In 1885 the Edison Company began the modernisation of Milan with the distribution of electricity: the city was illuminated with arched lamps, giving the citizens the pride of claiming the world record for the use of electricity for public lighting.
The Gallery with its cafés soon became the living room of Milan, and in 1910 the Futurist painter Umberto Boccioni painted the movement of the people who animated it in the painting Rissa in the gallery. During the Second World War, on the nights of 13 and 15 August 1943, the Gallery was hit by Allied aerial bombardments that caused devastating destruction, the Gallery was seriously damaged: the post-war reconstruction maintains its previous appearance, the original incandescent chandeliers that were destroyed are replaced by a series of projectors hidden in the balcony that runs along the perimeter in the upper part of the Gallery.
The “2000 urban lighting plan” included the re-development and aesthetic and functional upgrading of various areas of the historic city centre to meet regulations. A careful study of the original architectural and lighting projects, together with technological developments introduced over the years, led to the decision to retain the overall design conceived by Mengoni some 150 years ago and carried out using the most advanced technique available at the time: gas! The wall-mounted globes used for the general lighting of the promenade and of the lower part of the Galleria were retained, as well as the existing system for the general lighting of the upper parts of the façades, the central dome and the vaults. New generation 150W metal halide lamps, fitted with ceramic burners, were installed into the 148 new small-sized projectors, featuring asymmetric optics, used to light the upper parts of the façades by aiming the light directly from the balcony towards the façades opposite. This highlighted the structure of the central dome, the decorations of the lunettes and the clock.
In Milan Architect Piero Castglioni has given the right light to many architectural spaces of historical and cultural importance, including the Sala Alessi in Marino Palace, Cadorna Railway Station, Brera Bookshop, Arcimboldi Theatre with Architect Vittorio Gregotti, Portello District, Garibaldi Complex - Porta Nuova and City Life .
Project:
Lighting Design Piero Castiglioni
Collaborations:
A.E.M.
Photo Courtesy:
Simion
Year:
2000
Other Projects
This section presents a representative selection of lighting design projects by Piero Castiglioni, developed across architectural, museum, urban, cultural, retail, hospitality, and infrastructural contexts, both in Italy and internationally. The gallery documents a range of interventions differing in scale, function, and context, united by an approach to light as a tool for interpreting space—capable of engaging with architecture, artworks, landscape, and contemporary use.
The featured projects span museums, foundations, and temporary exhibitions, as well as historic buildings, places of worship, public spaces, and urban complexes, extending to corporate headquarters, private residences, yachts, and lighting masterplans. In each project, light is conceived as a design material—carefully controlled and calibrated in relation to the specific characteristics of the site, functional requirements, and the perceptual quality of the experience.
Taken together, these works outline a vision of lighting design as an integrated process, where technical rigor, cultural sensitivity, and contextual awareness contribute to shaping identity, orientation, and spatial value. The gallery thus becomes a design map, illustrating how light can assume different roles—subtle or expressive—while consistently maintaining coherence, precision, and design awareness.
Other Projects
This section presents a representative selection of lighting design projects by Piero Castiglioni, developed across architectural, museum, urban, cultural, retail, hospitality, and infrastructural contexts, both in Italy and internationally. The gallery documents a range of interventions differing in scale, function, and context, united by an approach to light as a tool for interpreting space—capable of engaging with architecture, artworks, landscape, and contemporary use.
The featured projects span museums, foundations, and temporary exhibitions, as well as historic buildings, places of worship, public spaces, and urban complexes, extending to corporate headquarters, private residences, yachts, and lighting masterplans. In each project, light is conceived as a design material—carefully controlled and calibrated in relation to the specific characteristics of the site, functional requirements, and the perceptual quality of the experience.
Taken together, these works outline a vision of lighting design as an integrated process, where technical rigor, cultural sensitivity, and contextual awareness contribute to shaping identity, orientation, and spatial value. The gallery thus becomes a design map, illustrating how light can assume different roles—subtle or expressive—while consistently maintaining coherence, precision, and design awareness.
