Fornasetti

In central, sophisticated via Senato in Milan sits a place where art and design meet across every shape and colour, creating pieces that bring new life to even the simplest, most traditional setting. The Fornasetti boutique is the world’s only flagship store for a truly unique brand, managed since 1988 by Barnaba Fornasetti and founded by his father Piero, an eclectic, refined artist among the most prolific of the ‘900, in the ’50s right here in the Lombard capital.

photocredit@LudovicBalay

Much more than a shop, this is what Barnaba Fornasetti considers a boutique, gallery, studio and home all at once, while offering visitors a space to imagine and reinvent their own interiors. Completely renovated, with its entrance now on via Senato, the setting — whose restyling was overseen in partnership with international design studio Tutto Bene — spans three floors to explore at a leisurely pace. A true flagship store, it immerses guests in a spatial narrative rooted in the Fornasetti archive, weaving together artistic heritage, imagination and daily life.

photocredit@LudovicBalay

The essence of Fornasetti is evident right away in the colour palette: black and white are layered with shades of green and metallic accents in gold and silver. Materials have been kept natural so the objects can take centre stage. Even as digital habits increasingly shape our daily routines, the Fornasetti store invites guests to engage visually, tactilely and emotionally with each creation, reminding us that imagination belongs in everyday life.

photocredit@LudovicBalay

The experience begins on the ground floor, the Fornasetti Space, where a concierge desk leaves the city behind and welcomes visitors into the Atelier. The three floors are connected by a staircase lined with Nuvolette by Cole and Son wallpaper, turning it into a graphic, almost surreal passage. This leads up to the first floor, The Living Archive, where the Fornasetti universe takes shape through a display of trays, ceramics and decorative objects inspired by museum and archival layouts, arranged in vitrines and display cases to highlight variation and repetition.

photocredit@LudovicBalay

It is impossible not to notice the recurring presence across countless pieces: Lina Cavalieri, the opera singer blessed with classical, enigmatic beauty. Piero Fornasetti first spotted her in a late-19th-century magazine and became so fascinated that he dedicated an extensive series of portraits to her face — portraying her surprised, seductive, sporting a moustache, glasses, a crown or even a balaclava. The soprano thus became both muse and icon of Fornasetti and his art.

photocredit@LudovicBalay

The second floor houses The Apartment: a contemporary space divided into four distinct rooms, each mirroring domestic interiors while exploring core Fornasetti themes such as astronomy, architecture, metaphysics and identity. All furnishings blend seamlessly into their surroundings, showing visitors how each Fornasetti piece naturally finds its place in a real home.

An inspiring design journey right in the heart of Milan by one of the 20th century’s most original and prolific creators, ready to be discovered and brought into your home.