Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to MilanMilan is synonymous with design. Every April, the city hosts Milan Design Week — a festival that includes the Salone del Mobile furniture fair and other events where companies, designers, architects, buyers, and creatives from more than 150 countries showcase their vision of the future. The fair is held at the Fiera Milano exhibition complex in Rho, under the “sails” designed by architect Massimiliano Fuksas, and radiates across the city through countless events. But if you aren’t able to visit it, Milan is a treasure trove for design lovers year round, with world class museums, galleries, pioneering architecture and much more.Books For me, the Italian artist and designer Bruno Munari was a beacon — a brilliant friend of my family who helped to teach me about design. He was passionate about engaging children with art, and I was fortunate to take part in his workshops when I was young. So my first recommendation is to start with his book, Nella nebbia di Milano at Libreria Bocca, It can be found at Italy’s oldest bookstore, which has been in operation since 1775 in the heart of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele (itself an architectural icon). It stocks more than 5,000 art titles and dozens of artists’ publications, and one could spend hours perusing its shelves. Book lovers will also relish the meditative silence of the 18th-century Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, where I used to spend my afternoons studying scenic design at the Accademia di Brera, which is located in the same building. The library is one of the largest in Italy, and is now part of the Grande Brera, a network of cultural institutions in the stylish Brera district, which also includes the Pinacoteca di Brera (Brera Art Gallery) and Palazzo Citterio, a new gallery for 20th-century art that opened last year (and took more than 50 years to realise). Here you will find the Jesi and Vitali collections, as well as masterpieces by Umberto Boccioni (including his famous “La città che sale”), Giorgio Morandi, Picasso and Modigliani. MuseumsIn Brera, take a pause in the botanical garden before making your way west to Parco Sempione, where you’ll pass the 15th-century Castello Sforzesco en route to the Triennale Milano, the museum of art and design. A must-see space there is Cuore, a new gallery and research centre dedicated to the Triennale’s historical archives.Italy’s golden age of industrial and furniture design spanned the 1940s to the 1980s and was shaped by visionaries such as Gio Ponti, Vico Magistretti, Joe Colombo and Ettore Sottsass. The Achille Castiglioni Foundation is a spectacular place for those who want to explore the roots of Milanese design, which has long set the course for the culture of living beyond the confines of domestic space. The ADI Design Museum, home to the historical collection dedicated to the Compasso d’Oro — the prestigious industrial design award that originated in Italy in 1954 — also serves as a gateway to explore a city that thrives on radical design. The museum embodies Gio Ponti’s philosophy that design principles should apply universally — from the smallest objects to the grand scale of Milan. Over time, countless architectural episodes have transformed the city into a design “object” in itself.ArchitectureAmong the highlights is the Velasca Tower, built in the 1950s by BBPR. One of the the Milan skyline’s best-known landmarks and a prime example of first-wave modern Italian architecture, the 106m tower, with its prominent mushroom-like shape, has recently been restored and rejuvenated by Hines and Asti Architetti. North-west of the tower, the QT8 district (Quartiere Triennale 8) by architect Piero Bottoni, one of the great pioneers of Milan’s postwar reconstruction, is another bold design act. The experimental housing project was conceived during the 1947 Triennale di Milano exhibition, and also included the creation of Monte Stella — an artificial hill made of building debris from structures destroyed during the second world war.Art galleriesMilan is also home to a plethora of beautifully designed art spaces. Not to be missed is the Matta gallery, founded by three thirtysomethings who learnt the ropes at Massimo de Carlo and Pace Gallery, and which specialises in contemporary art. The Milan location of Massimo De Carlo at Casa Corbellini-Wassermann, designed in the 1930s by Piero Portaluppi is another gallery worth visiting, even just to view the space. It is one of Portaluppi’s most renowned projects, an exquisite example of Milanese rationalist architecture that features beautiful details and materials throughout, such as multicoloured marbles and rich woods. Other favourites include Lia Rumma’s stark and striking white-cube space designed by Locatelli Partners, and Pirelli HangarBicocca — a contemporary art space in what was once a Pirelli tyre factory.Salone del Mobile, Fiera Milano, April 8–13; DirectionsShare your Milan highlights in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter
