Handbags’ paradise

September 10th, 2008

I recently took a stroll in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the only covered gallery in Milan that connects the Duomo Square to the La Scala Square. It was built in the second half of the nineteenth century and traditionally it was considered Milan’s ‘good sitting room’. It used to be lined with luxury boutiques and nice cafés, and they all had black signs with gold writing. Then in the 1980s the quality of the shops fell and the Galleria wasn’t a shopping destination anymore. The central octagon still hosts a MacDonalds (with a very sober black sign!), but now the wind has changed and in the space of 50 meters, under the same glass volts, you can find Tod’s, Prada, Gucci and Luis Vuitton. So if you need a handbag you know where to go!
Prada has been there for ages, Tod’s and Gucci for a few years and Luis Vuitton has opened quite recently. The Gucci store sells only accessories but they also have a small café with a terrace in the gallery where pastries and pralines come engraved with the double G!
Another pleasant addition is the reopened Savini restaurant. It is probably the most famous of the traditional restaurants in Milan and it was closed for over a year for refurbishment. The ground floor is now a regular café with a bistro, and if you have your cappuccino at the counter it will not even cost you much!

-Michela

Entry Filed under: Fashion, For Ourselves, Restaurants