Unneutral Ground
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine|July 2019

Born in Milan’s troubling Fascist period, one classic Piero Portaluppi villa gets a second life as a contemporary art gallery.

Nancy Hass
Unneutral Ground

Fascism proved cataclysmic for Italy’s economy and its soul, but it was excellent for its architecture. In the United States, the onset of the Great Depression began a fallow period for good buildings (with the notable exception of those by Frank Lloyd Wright), but the rise of Benito Mussolini between the two world wars had an electrifying effect on Italian design; Mussolini developed strong ties with the burgeoning industrial class, which meant money abounded for both private villas and monumental public works.

As a former Socialist Party functionary, Mussolini knew little of art or edifice. What he had instead was good timing: While he was first gaining power in the 1920s, loyalist journalists like Margherita Sarfatti, who was also one of his mistresses, dreamed up the Modernist-cum- Classical Novecento movement to refresh the style of imperial Rome, envisioning the dictator as a new emperor. Then there was Rationalism, with its uncluttered geometries and robust indigenous materials (locally quarried stone and hand-forged metals) that reflected Mussolini’s Italy-first ethos. At the same time, the International Style was overtaking Europe, its steel-and-glass swagger aligning with the dictator’s muscular nationalism.

Not all Italian architects of the era were Fascist sympathisers, of course, but the movement did herald an unprecedented era of building; corporations, including Pirelli and Fiat, commissioned new headquarters or palazzos. Until the mid-30s at least, when the more grotesque sides of Fascism could no longer be ignored, politics seemed beside the point: Architects knew such creative freedom would not soon come again.

Esta historia es de la edición July 2019 de T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición July 2019 de T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE T SINGAPORE: THE NEW YORK TIMES STYLE MAGAZINEVer todo
Look At Us
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

Look At Us

As public memorials face a public reckoning, there’s still too little thought paid to how women are represented — as bodies and as selves.

time-read
6 minutos  |
March 2021
Two New Jewellery Collections Find Their Inspiration In The Human Anatomy
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

Two New Jewellery Collections Find Their Inspiration In The Human Anatomy

Two new jewellery collections find their inspiration in the human anatomy.

time-read
2 minutos  |
March 2021
She For She
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

She For She

We speak to three women in Singapore who are trying to improve the lives of women — and all other gender identities — through their work.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
March 2021
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

Over The Rainbow

How the bright colours and lively prints created by illustrator Donald Robertson brought the latest Weekend Max Mara Flutterflies capsule collection to life.

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 2021
What Is Love?
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

What Is Love?

The artist Hank Willis Thomas discusses his partnership with the Japanese fashion label Sacai and the idea of fashion in the context of the art world.

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 2021
The Luxury Hotel For New Mums
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

The Luxury Hotel For New Mums

Singapore’s first luxury confinement facility, Kai Suites, aims to provide much more than plush beds and 24-hour infant care: It wants to help mothers with their mental and emotional wellbeing as well.

time-read
7 minutos  |
March 2021
Who Gets To Eat?
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

Who Gets To Eat?

As recent food movements have focused on buying local or organic, a deeper and different conversation is happening among America’s food activists: one that demands not just better meals for everyone but a dismantling of the structures that have failed to nourish us all along.

time-read
10+ minutos  |
March 2021
Reimagining The Future Of Fashion
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

Reimagining The Future Of Fashion

What do women want from their clothes and accessories, and does luxury still have a place in this post-pandemic era? The iconic designer Alber Elbaz thinks he has the answers with his new label, AZ Factory.

time-read
10 minutos  |
March 2021
A Holiday At Home
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

A Holiday At Home

Once seen as the less exciting alternative to an exotic destination holiday, the staycation takes on new importance.

time-read
6 minutos  |
March 2021
T Singapore: The New York Times Style Magazine

All Dressed Up, Nowhere To Go

Chinese supermodel He Sui talks about the unseen pressures of being an international star, being a trailblazer for East Asian models in the fashion world, and why, at the end of the day, she is content with being known as just a regular girl from Wenzhou.

time-read
7 minutos  |
March 2021