With new transport links, luxury hotels and Europe’s largest convention facilities on the way, Milan is set for a renaissance, says Sara Turner
All roads lead to Rome, but you’re more likely to meet in Milan. The ancient Romans called it Mediolanum, meaning “central place”, and it was at the heart of their great connecting roads.
While Rome is home to the political personalities of the Italian government, Milan is an economic powerhouse – in 2004 it had the fourth-biggest gross regional product in Europe, after Paris, London and the Rhine-Ruhr area. It’s also home to the Italian stock exchange as well as ten universities, and a quarter of all research in Italy is carried out here.
With the ambitious expansion of its convention centre and plans for Expo 2015 under way, Milan is repositioning itself as a reference point for Europe, aided by its location in the centre of the continent. The extension to the Milano Convention Centre is set to be completed in 2011 and will add 12,500 seats to the existing 5,500. Currently the biggest in Italy, once the 73-room development opens it will be the largest convention centre in Europe. It will also be a stunning addition to Milan’s skyline, with a futuristic design by architect Mario Bellini.
Another recent addition to the city’s meetings offering is Stella Polare, the futuristic convention centre that opened in 2006 in the Fiera Milano trade fair complex, with space-age meeting pods and a state-of-the-art auditorium. Both venues will play an important part in Expo 2015, which will attract an estimated 30 million people to the city.
Meanwhile, improved transport links – the new Lufthansa Italia offshoot is now operating out of its Milan hub, while the privately owned high-speed rail service Italo is due to start competing with the state-run Eurostar Italia Alta Velocita in 2011 – will also help to attract visitors to Italy’s second-largest city.
For now, the economic crisis has hit Milan like anywhere else in Europe. Ezio Indiani, general manager of the five-star Principe di Savoia hotel, reports an overall drop in occupancy of about 15 per cent. “Milan is a business city and it has been hit badly,” he says.
Nevertheless, the hotel scene continues to develop, with building work on new Intercontinental and Sheraton properties under way. Scheduled to open next year, the 137-room Intercontinental Milan Grand Hotel Duomo is located on the north side of Milan’s most visited square, Piazza Duomo. The Sheraton Malpensa Airport hotel at Malpensa is due to open in June next year. Designed by architect King Rosselli, the 450-room hotel will be constructed in curved steel and glass to resemble an aeroplane.
One of the newest hotels to open, in October last year, is the Doubletree by Hilton Milan. Situated in the Viale Certosa business district, it’s in easy access of the two fair districts – one of the property’s main selling points, according to general manager Gregorio Pecoraro. “There are many businesses with headquarters in the area, one of the main reasons we chose this location,” he says. He, too, has noticed the impact of the recession, although he says the hotel’s meeting facilities are in demand.
Laurence Bristow-Smith, director-general for trade and investment at the city’s British Consulate General, says Milan is an ideal base from which to discover the commercial possibilities of Italy, as the majority of business decisions are made here. “Depending on which week we’re looking at, Italy is the seventh or eighth biggest trading partner with the UK and accounts for €26 billion-plus of two-way trade,” he says. “You can do anything here – at the moment we’re manufacturing a lot of aircraft parts and ladies’ underwear.”
Fashion continues to be a major industry in the city, which is home to leading lights such as Dolce and Gabbana, Prada, Versace and Armani. According to David Crackett, president of the British Chamber of Commerce for Italy, it’s this creative side that gives Milan its edge, and contributes to its strong UK ties.
“The UK doesn’t have a reputation of being top in the world in terms of fashion, but from a design point of view it does. Milan tends to be at the leading edge of design on the artistic side, while the UK leads on the technical side,” he says. “There’s a lot of synergy between them.”
Events to remember
As well as its forthcoming super-size convention centre, Milan’s meetings venues have much to offer
Palazzo Giureconsulti
This congress centre is run by Promos, a special agency of the Milan Chamber of Commerce. Located just off Piazza Duomo, it couldn’t be more central and has some great meeting spaces. Housed in a grand 16th-century palazzo, the 4,000 sqm property was sensitively renovated and refurbished in 2007, leaving it with a combination of original medieval architecture, carefully conserved frescoes and state-of-the-art technology, including video-conferencing, simultaneous translation, and digital video and audio recording.
Of particular note is Sala Colonne, which has a maximum capacity of 100 people. Minimalist in feel, it has contemporary light features, a gently curved ceiling and original Renaissance-style columns from the days when lawyers held their meetings here (Palazzo Giureconsulti means “palace of lawyers”). Sala Parlamentino, which holds up to 65 people, is striking for its solid wooden benches arranged in a hemisphere, and its fresco on the ceiling dating from 1700. Sala Terrazzo takes its name from the terrace outside, which has fantastic views of the duomo (cathedral).
Piazza Mercanti 2; tel +39 02 8515 5873; palazzogiureconsulti.it
City trams
For a more unusual setting, Milan’s transport agency has started hiring out its trams for events. Dating from the 1930s, the trams, many of which are still in service, are an iconic symbol of the city and a few are now reserved for special duties. Most have the original wooden seating, while a few have been turned into Atmosfera restaurant trams, complete with a chef’s kitchen, dining tables and chairs.
A standard route will take you past sights such as Castello Sforzesco, Arco della Pace and the duomo, but it can be changed on request, and your group can be picked up and dropped off at a location of your choice. The historic trams seat between 29 and 47 people, depending on the model, and can be used for presentations, dinners or cocktails, but you can book for smaller groups on the Atmosfera trams.
Atmosfera trams: tel +39 800 080 8181.
Other events: tel +44 02 4803 9528; atm-mi.it/atm/eng
Hotel Principe di Savoia
With opulent furnishings and a team of highly trained staff and top chefs, any event held at the Principe di Savoia, part of the Dorchester Collection, is likely to go off with a bang. This grand old hotel, originally built as a luxury stop-off point for rail passengers, has the largest meeting facilities of all the five-star hotels in Milan, with 13 rooms of varying sizes – the largest is 700 sqm, while the smallest is 35 sqm. The Galilei ballroom can host up to 450 people and has wood panelling and original 1920s crystal chandeliers.
The venue can host everything from executive meetings for ten to banquets for 1,000 – however, not all of the rooms have natural light, so it’s worth checking before you book. Acanto restaurant is a good option for a business lunch as it has an area that can be closed off.
Piazza della Repubblica 17; tel +39 0262 301; hotelprincipedisavoia.com
Park Hyatt Milan
The boutique Park Hyatt Milan, a chic address in the heart of the city, has four meeting rooms available on the first floor, all with natural light. The Sala Duomo is the biggest room, at 96 sqm, and can host up to 100 people. With wooden parquet flooring, clever use of mirrors and a seductive silver ceiling, this room, like the rest of the hotel, oozes style.
There are also three boardrooms ranging from 33 sqm to 47 sqm in size, for up to 35 people, and two of them can be joined together for larger events. All rooms have wifi internet access, with projectors and LCD screens available on request.
La Cupola lobby lounge, on the ground floor, is perfect for a light lunch, afternoon coffee or informal meeting. It features contemporary artwork by Lucio Fontano, distinctive travertine marble and a high glass dome with views of the heavens above. Even the flowers have that special feeling, with stunning creations by Armani Fiore.
Via Tommaso Grossi 1; +39 02 8821 1234; milan.park.hyatt.com
Saloni Royali at Town house 8
Milan-based hotel brand Town House opened the seven-star Galleria in 2006 in the much-photographed Vittorio Emanuele gallery, just next to the duomo. Earlier this year, the top floor of the property became the 11-bedroom, four-star Town House 8, and three new meeting rooms were added, which can be used by guests at both hotels as well as non-residents. The Saloni Royali meeting rooms have stunning views of the inside of the gallery from a vantage point rarely seen by most people.
The Vittorio Emanuele II ballroom, named after the illustrious first king of united Italy, is 12 metres high and can host up to 140 people. It’s decorated with 15th-century paintings, including a striking portrait of the king himself. The smaller La Scala meeting room can hold up to 75 people.
Via Silvio Pellico 8; tel +39 02 8905 8297; townhouse.it/th8
