Milano 1957/1973

As Milan emerged from the wreckage of bombings in the aftermath of the Second World War, it had two key symbolic buildings: Torre Velasca by BBPR and the Pirelli skyscraper designed by Gio Ponti. A new city sprang up around them, thanks above all to the construction of the metro network. The gaps left by the war were quickly filled. The drive towards modernisation also affected the main train stations, which were used every day by workers living in the suburbs. This was the golden age of Milanese architecture, when professionals such as Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Vico Magistretti, Luigi Moretti and Vittoriano Viganò created an aesthetic of modernity that is still admired and studied to this day. Paolo Monti was perhaps the greatest chronicler of that era: he explored its most obvious aspects, yet without overlooking the quality of construction details, as viewed against the backdrop of a city changing decade after decade.