There is no such thing as neutral architecture. Every part of a building’s design, from its layout to the texture of its materials and the balance of natural and artificial light, has a profound effect on us. Studies have…
It’s not just what you learn; it’s also where you learn it. From a school that’s open to the elements to a curvaceous nursery, architecture can help to give children a head start in life. We visit three educational insti…
Launched in 1960 during a wave of postwar, pre-Olympics optimism in Rome, the ETR 252 train was the height of ambitious rail travel. Designed by leading architects, L’Arlecchino boasted jet-age levels of onboard luxury with…
Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo has embarked on a mergers and acquisition programme with cultural clout, turning prestigious buildings in Milan, Turin and Vicenza into the Gallerie d’Italia – public art museums displaying the…
Clad in white coats and working with a surgeon’s precision, these Rome-based fine-art restorers are on a mission to preserve the city’s cultural heritage.
For decades the Belice Valley was a byword for bureaucratic bungling in the face of disaster. Now, 50 years after a devastating earthquake struck the region, the bold aesthetic legacy that bloomed in its wake is finally…
Oscar Niemeyer’s modernist citadel near Milan was designed for publishing giant Mondadori, a powerful Italian brand whose identity and culture has been shaped by the building for decades
Italy is a land of print. One such publication is the punchy periodical ‘Internazionale’ that, since the 1990s, has been selecting what it considers to be the best of international journalism and translating it into Italian…
With its central-European soul and Italian accent, this Adriatic port could easily have an identity crisis. Trieste, however, is used to occupying the space between one culture and another, as its unique film festival…
Olympic branding is a hot topic and graphic designer Lance Wyman’s seminal work for the 1968 Mexico Games changed the way we see them. Monocle catches up with him to talk wayfinding and the future of fonts in our cities.
