THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2020
www.italoamericano.org
20
L'Italo-Americano
Improve your
Italian right
here at home!
Summer session at
Mills College in Oakland
• Language Pledge to speak only Italian 24/7
• Beginner to graduate-level courses
• Special 3-week course for adults
• Cocurricular activities, workshops, and field trips in language
• 3 courses (earn 9 college credit-hours)
• Need-based financial aid
www.middlebury.edu/ls/italian
Teaching Italian language and culture since 1932
never we'll all be able to tra-
v e l f r e e l y a g a i n : V i a
Montenapoleone 1 was the
f i r s t r e s i d e n c e G i u s e p p e
Verdi bought in Milan; he
l a t e r s o l d i t t o m o v e t o
another iconic spot in the
city, the Hotel et de Milan,
in the famous room 108,
w h i c h y o u c a n s t i l l v i s i t
today. Just opposite, in Via
Montenapoleone 2, you'll
find the palazzo where, in
t h e e a r l y 1 9 5 0 s , f a s h i o n
designer Mila Schön ope-
ned her show room, virtual-
ly inaugurating the season of
Via Montenapoleone as the
home of haute couture shop-
ping. If it's time for a coffee,
check out Caffé Cova. The
c a f é u s e d t o b e n e a r L a
S c a l a t h e a t r e , b u t i n t h e
1 9 5 0 s i t m o v e d i n V i a
Montenapoleone, after its
o l d l o c a t i o n w a s e n t i r e l y
d e s t r o y e d b y b o m b i n g s
d u r i n g t h e w a r . O n e l a s t
stop for you should be Via
Montenapoleone 14, where
f a m o u s 1 8 3 0 s ' s o p r a n o
G i u d i t t a P a s t a l i v e d a n d
w h e r e F r e n c h a u t h o r
Stendhal resided for a while.
born.
Via Montenapoleone star-
t e d b e i n g c a l l e d V i a
Montenapoleone after the
Unification of Italy, in
1861. By then, its fame as a
hub for well crafted, quality
and expensive accessories
a n d a n t i q u i t i e s w a s w e l l
established, just as its aura
of a place that attracts arti-
sts: legends say that here
Giuseppe Verdi composed
his Nabucco.
B u t t h e V i a
M o n t e n a p o l e o n e w e
know and love today is truly
a product of the economic
boom and of La Dolce Vita.
In the 1950s, some of the
m o s t e x c l u s i v e n a m e s o f
M a d e i n I t a l y , a s w e l l a s
p l e n t y o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l
luxury brands, decided to
open their flagship stores
and showrooms at the heart
o f t h e Q u a d r i l a t e r o d e l l a
Moda, in the old Contrada di
S a n t ' A n d r e a , o u r V i a
Montenapoleone.
T o c o n c l u d e , s o m e
addresses to check out, whe-
Continued from page 18
Windows and passerby in Via Montenapoleone (Photo: Dreamstime)
