Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II of Milan...What Does It Take for a Mall to Be a Monument?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ย. 2020
- Every self-respecting shopping mall in the world wants to be the Galleria. That is why we find this word in the name of so many…The word ‘Galleria’ is a sign that marks a certain aspiration, a commercial structure imbued with a sense of grandeur, generosity, opulence and nobility. 'I am a Galleria!' the mall loudly proclaims and hopes that the word will be enough to manifest these qualities with its walls.
But the high-minded aspirations are easily lost in the lazy logic of profit and practicality that strips the name Galleria of its meaning leaving behind an empty word suspended above the revolving glass doors on the threshold where the city becomes mall.
This film is about a structure that, more than any other, infused the word Galleria with that sense of wonder monumentality, glamour and affluence that so many commercial structures are striving for in vain. Milan’s majestic shopping arcade built during the 1860s brought into being the ideal of ‘the Galleria’, a reminder of what a commercial structure can do for it’s city when a proper balance between the public and the private is achieved.
The word ‘Galleria’ would be superfluous on the monumental arch that marks its entrance. Instead, we find here an inscription ‘A Vittorio Emanuele II. I Milanesi’ - The people of Milan dedicating their shopping arcade to Vittorio Emanuele II, the king of Piedmont-Sardinia who in 1961 became the first king of unified Italy.
The dedication was a strategic choice aimed not only to express commitment to the new nation state but, more importantly to flatter the new king and ensure his support for this big construction project for the center of Milan.
The king did end up backing the project but still the vast amounts of demolition and construction required were well beyond what the local authorities could afford.
Milan’s Galleria was therefore financed by a method well known to us today - a Public Private Partnership. British capital was lured in by the prospect of profits to be gleaned in the process of tuning the old fabric of Milan to its highest and best use.
The contract was drawn between the British Company and Milan’s Municipality and the hybrid character of the Galleria as ‘a path a building and a piazza all at once’ helped to strike a balance between the public and private interests.
British Investors would provide the bulk of the financing and as a result take ownership of all the buildings making up the Galleria and piazza Duomo, the private sphere of the project that could be rented out for profit. The public sphere of the project, the paths and the piazzas will be in the hands of the City of Milan, who will share the cost of their construction with the British Investors.
Most Importantly, the plan, a clear vision for the new galleria as an instrument for transforming the heart of Milan was provided by the Municipality. It took years and years of laborious discussions, competitions and negotiations to finally gave rise to this plan as well as the right man to carry it out.
The Milanese elites weren’t all that trilled that the Bolognese, Megnoni, an outsider to Milanese and Lombard architectural culture had obtained the most prestigious commission of the period. But Megoni was exactly the man for the job, a type of architect that turns plans into reality, able to skillfully navigate, coordinate and give shape to a complex vortex of conflicting interests and forces from legislative issues, political choices, public and private interests, symbolic intentionality, structural problems, functional needs, logistical challenges…
As the General Director of all the construction work, including artistic, technical and management aspects, for years, Megnoni gave his blood sweat and tears, to realize the Galleria and the transformation Milan’s heart for the modern age. He died by falling from the scaffolding of the Galleria’s Entrance Arch just a few days before it’s inauguration.
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This short film was written edited, narrated and animated by myself, the creator of Spatial Snowflakes and a dedicated disciple of the spatial arts.
However, the creation of this film would not be possible without me freely using and modifying content created by others.
At 7:15 and 7:24 I used footage from these two videos:
• Galleria Vittorio Eman...
• Milan - Galleria Vitto...
Much gratitude to the creators, I needed some contemporary footage of the Galleria but was unable to travel to Milan and film it myself.
The source for the majority of images used in the film is Wikimedia Commons.
The music in the film is taken from these pieces by Giuseppe Verdi:
• Verdi: Nabucco - Overture
• Verdi: La forza del de...
• Verdi: Un ballo in mas...
The quality of the architecture is nearly matched by the quality of the editing & explanations! Very much enjoyed!
Very glad you enjoyed it and thanks for letting me know, it means a lot!
Omg this video is so elegantly made, so detailed, impeccable transition. I can watch these types of videos endlessly
I just found you. And honestly wish you come back. This channel is so interesting.
Best quality video .....👍👍👍🤩
Wow! I'm Milanese and I can say this is an outstanding documentary about Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Descriptions, imagies and Verdi's music are perfectly united and narrated. Thanks!
Ponos, moja vera i ljubav! Sve je GALA što ti radiš!
Poštovana Ljiljana, potpuno se slažem da je ovo GALA i voleo bih da znam ko je autor.
B e l l i s s i m o.
It is a delight to see this video, great editing work, transitions are perfect, the collages are magnificent and the voice is spectacular. It is a gem of storytelling.
Cheers.
You are so kind! :) Thank you so much for letting me know that you enjoyed the video, means so much to read your kind words of appreciation.
Beautiful editing and great insights! Hope unlike me, people see this video before visiting this place.
Absolutely love the style of these videos!!!
Very glad you like it...and thanks for letting me know!! :)
These videos are underrated 😫😍 Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much...really needed some encouragement today (: it is much appreciated!
Lovely, lovely editing and video, thank you! subbed!
Just gorgeous
Please make more videos like this!
Really enjoyed watching this video! Great work 😍
This is excellent work! Subbed! Thank you for these beautiful reports. Any chance you could do one on the Galleria Umberto I in Napoli?
Good job
very well explained, loved it. i couldn't take enough pictures of la Galleria. xD
Yes!! :D So glad you liked the video Ishan!
Beautiful video 💕
what a great video, thanks!!!!
What occupy the upper floor above the shops ?
The Galleria, like most 19th-century shopping arcades, and unlike most contemporary malls was meant to be a mixed-use structure. While the most lucrative ground-floors and mezzanines (behind the vast glazed arches) were meant for shops, cafes, and restaurants, the tall floor above (with elongated windows) was meant to be occupied by clubrooms, offices, and studios. The uppermost floors (behind the balustrade, square windows, roof...) were meant to be apartments for people to live in. Of course, the Galleria turned out not to be the most practical place to live in, not least because of the constant noise.
The upper floors are accessible from square courtyards on the backside of the Galleria so that the visual unity of the inner facades is not interrupted.
Nowadays, there are some luxury hotels on the upper floors instead of apartments.
One of the old apartments has been converted into a sort of museum that can be visited by those who want to get a glimpse of how it was to live in the Galleria.
@@SpatialSnowflake Thanx a lot... I thought they were tailoring workshops for fashion brands.... for people to make custom clothes. LOL
Dear , I am writing to inquire about your permission to use your video clip. This is , the Korean TV show which is broadcasted on JTBC (Korean TV channel). With your permission, I'd like to use your video to introduce the Galleria. It will be broadcasted at 9PM on 31 July 2023. Thank you for your kind attention and look forward to hearing from you.
Me, a milanese: 🤤🤤😍