This exquisitely restored 1930s villa was designed by rationalist architect Piero Portaluppi for Pavian heiresses Nedda and Gigina Necchi, and Gigina's husband Angelo Campiglio. The trio were proud owners of one of Milan's only swimming pools, as well as terrarium-faced sunrooms and streamlined electronic shuttering. Portaluppi's commingling of art deco and rationalist styles powerfully evokes Milan's modernist imaginings while at the same time remaining anchored to a past that was rapidly slipping away.
Quotidian details – Bauhaus-influenced monograms on hair brushes, silk evening frocks hanging at the ready, luggage packed for the sisters' many overseas jaunts and kitchen cupboards full of monogrammed linen – are as enthralling as the sleek architectural lines and big-ticket artworks by Morandi and de Chirico.
