Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II : Milan, Italy : 1655-1877

Patrick Lee Lucas

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II : Milan, Italy : 1655-1877

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shown from the front. Two glass and iron curved roofs connect Classical style buildings below in this shopping arcade. — “Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – Milano” by Pablo Fernández is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Principles + Elements

The design of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II has a lot of symmetry in the design of the gallery. This comes from having balance on the inside like in the photo where the two large hallways are seemingly the same but on alternate sides. There are lines on the glass arcades that go throughout. In this photo there is an eye-catching painting where emphasis is focused on that also incorporates different colors that we don’t normally see throughout the gallery.

Building with arched entrance beside a cathedral with spires and people walking outside — “Entrance and Milan Cathedral” by Kuhnmi is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Scale

The height of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II compared to the human body is quite different. The total height of the gallery is 47.08 meters. It is also in the middle of the town situated between two large main monuments in Milan. The entrance of the gallery is eye catching on its own because of the scale.

A large circular skylight shown from below at the crossing of two streets in the shopping arcade. — “Detail of the roof of the Galleria” by Marco Pagani is licensed under CC BY 3.0.

Materials

300 plus tons of iron and 7 million plus striped glass sheets were used to form the dome. The building is covered in marble, stucco, and mosaics. There are also features of bronze in statues in the interior. Inside each store there is a variety of materials as well. For example, in Bottega Veneta there is glass, green marble, and Italian walnut wood.

A multi-story arched entrance to a building at night showing lighting and signs to attract shoppers inward. — “Entrance arch” by FRS Milan is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Light + Color

A lot of natural light floods through the arcades but there is also artificial lighting throughout the gallery when it starts getting darker. The artificial lighting is warm and accents the definition of the building. Each shopping store also has different lighting that corresponds to their materials. There is color used in the mosaics and paintings that help draw people in since the base color of the building is neutral.

The cupola of a building filled with strings of blue lights at holiday time celebrate the domed interior space. — “Milano – Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – Cupola” by Gabriele Costetti is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Experience

In the gallery there is a main purpose, which is shopping. But the atmosphere creates much more of an experience. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is known as the “living room of the city” because it’s always crowded and full of people. It also connects to the Piazza Della Scala. It can also be known as the first shopping center in the world. The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is full of luxury stores and luxurious decorations that cover all the walls.

Black and white historic photograph of a partially constructed dome and roofs, showing the steel framing. — “Milan, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele” is in the public domain.

Technology

The creation of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II at the time was very impressive, and still is. The ceiling has four-barrel vaults that are crowned with a large dome. The iron work and glass work were done very intricately, and a lot of pieces were shipped, manufactured, and installed from other places.

A person in a skirt shown from the waist down, standing on a mosaic floor depicting a bull. — “This is what happens to the bull” by Luca Vanzella is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Finishes

There are four paintings that resemble Europe, Asia, America, and Africa. They are all 15 meters wide and 7 meters tall and are meant to represent the continents. There is also tile on the floor that creates a mosaic pattern. It is very intricate and adds something to the floor that needs to compare to the luxurious arcades.

A courtyard with people walking through. In the background is a McDonalds inside a multi-story building. — “Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II mcD” by Thue is in the public domain.

Furnishings

There aren’t a lot of standard furnishings in Galleria Emanuele Vittorio II because it is a public space meant to be walked through. There are, however, stores that carry furnishings. Places like restaurants as well have seating areas that give the illusion of an outside patio even though they are covered mostly.

Line drawing by the chapter author of an arch with symbols over mountains and palm trees — Drawing by the chapter author.

Telling Stories

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is known to be a center point in the middle of Milan. Hence the name “the living room of the city”. It connects a lot of people and brings them together. It also connects the other continents with the displayed paintings and their representation of each continent.

Diagram by chapter author of four hallways convening at a central space, shown from above. — Drawing by the chapter author.

Theories

Since Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is said to be one of the first shopping malls it created a whole revolution for shopping malls after it was created. It is the oldest active shopping spot in Milan and is still a central part of Milan. When it was built it separated the old city that was dirty and unpaved. This helped to reduce the chaos that occurred in the 19th century in Milan.