A Michelangelo Pistoletto painting in the entrance to Tiffany & Co.’s new Milan flagship designed by Peter Marino.
Photo: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co. Debuts New Milan Flagship
Peter Marino brings an arty opulence to Via Montenapoleone in a breathtaking fusion of heritage and Italian flair
The windows feature Venini glass lunettes with a Gio Ponti design. Photo: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
When Peter Marino unveiled The Landmark, a historic building on New York’s Fifth Avenue reimagined as a monumental flagship for Tiffany & Co., the prolific architect pulled out all the stops to realize perhaps his most ambitious project yet. That’s quite the endorsement given how Marino’s repertoire of achievements encompasses dazzling flagships for Dior, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton, sumptuous hotels in Paris, and resplendent mountainside homes. Not only did the Tiffany flagship debut with his staggering art collection atop an airy two-floor gallery, but all of Marino’s signatures—sumptuous finishes, glamorous details, an array of collectible design artfully deployed throughout the 110,000-square-foot property—coalesced with gilded aplomb.
Much of Marino’s work on The Landmark informed his approach to the heritage jeweler’s newly opened home base in Milan. Prominently located in Palazzo Taverna, one of the Italian style capital’s most elegant aristocratic residences on Via Montenapoleone, the 12,900-square-foot store is Tiffany’s largest retail outpost in Europe. “I wanted the flagship to be as glamorous and art-filled as the New York landmark,” says Marino, who commingled Tiffany signatures, nods to New York City, and elements of Milanese panache throughout. Every room has a focal point, whether a historical 19th-century clock previously displayed in Grand Central Terminal or an Andy Warhol painting of Liza Minnelli sporting Tiffany robin’s-egg blue eyeshadow.
Digital displays backdrop a jewelry gallery. Photo: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Such gestures first appear on the facade, which features a quartet of gracefully arched windows crafted by storied Murano glassmaker Venini. Recreated from an original pattern by Gio Ponti, the lunettes sparkle in lustrous shades of sky blue—a slight deviation from the label’s iconic signature shade—with an intricate shape reminiscent of Louis Comfort Tiffany’s sought-after stained glass creations. Not only do the glimmering windows dramatically contrast the stately 19th-century Neoclassical landmark, they signal the bounty of unexpected treasures inside. Those span the heritage jeweler’s most coveted collections and exceptional displays of site-specific works that Marino commissioned from such blue-chip artists as Urs Fischer, Daniel Arsham, Nancy Lorenz, Julian Schnabel, and Michelangelo Pistoletto.
Immediately greeting guests is a canvas from Pistoletto’s Color and Light series rendered in on-brand shades of Tiffany blue. Meander further in to discover a triple-height interior patio illuminated by a skylight; sunshine practically shimmers off frosted glass treads designed by Hugh Dutton, evoking a diamond’s entrancing glint. Presiding within is Arsham’s Stratified Venus of Arles, which the prolific artist draped in silver and bronze. It slyly references The Landmark, where another one of Arsham’s Venus of Arles statues enjoys a similar placement. Ditto for a faceted mirror by Anish Kapoor on a second-floor gallery dedicated to engagement rings. “Everything we commissioned, the Pistoletto, the Fischer, the Not Vital portraits, the Kapoor,” Marino explains, “all relate to the sparkling diamonds of Tiffany.”
A pair of Julian Schnabel paintings face his own dining table and chairs in the homewares section. Photo: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
And there are many to behold. Visitors can explore the house’s definitive collections—Lock by Tiffany, HardWear by Tiffany, Knot by Tiffany—and a special gallery space dedicated to the late Elsa Peretti, whose fruitful four-decade partnership with the house yielded staples such as the Bone Cuff bracelet and Open Heart necklace. There’s also a remarkable trove of archival pieces, such as a platinum Tiffany High Jewelry necklace equipped with more than 3,060 diamonds and a Jean Schlumberger Fleur de Mer clip in platinum and 18k gold adorned with diamonds and sapphires. The flagship also contains a room dedicated to Tiffany’s home collection, which Marino outfitted with a colorful pair of Schnabel canvases facing an equally chromatic dining table and chairs. (Gaetano Pesce and Gio Ponti chairs also sit nearby.) The top floor, meanwhile, contains two uniquely designed private shopping salons.
“Our Montenapoleone store is a cultural hub filled with art, craftsmanship, hospitality, and the largest selection of exceptional pieces from The Tiffany Archives in the world,” says Anthony Ledru, the brand’s president and chief executive officer. “Setting a new bar for luxury retail in Milan, the store celebrates the house’s nearly 200-year legacy and Italian creativity.” As does the trio of LVMH-owned brands that now occupy Palazzo Taverna. Tiffany’s outpost neighbors both Bulgari and the recently inaugurated Louis Vuitton flagship, also designed by Marino, which debuted during Milan Design Week with the house’s robust new home collection. Transforming the townhouses took upwards of three years apiece, but for those with an eye for heritage and the unexpected, any time is worth the wait.
Reflective silver walls nod to Elsa Peretti. Photo: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
A glimpse inside the entryway. Photo: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Pieces by Jean Schlumberger. Photo: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
One of the two private shopping salons. Photo: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
The other private shopping salon. Photo: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
In the interior patio, a sculpture by Daniel Arsham sits underneath a frosted glass staircase. Photo: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
View of Andy Warhol’s painting of Liza Minnelli through the atrium. Photo: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Cover: A Michelangelo Pistoletto painting in the entrance to Tiffany & Co.’s new Milan flagship designed by Peter Marino.
Photo: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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