The archive of the Piero Portaluppi Foundation has found its permanent home at Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan. Furniture, drawings, documents and books are now displayed in a new permanent installation, alongside the temporary exhibition Piero Portaluppi: The Art of Drawing, on view through October 18, 2026.
Following the transfer of the Foundation’s entire collection to FAI, the archive has been housed in newly designed galleries on the top floor of Villa Necchi Campiglio, renewing the historic connection between the celebrated architect and one of his most iconic masterpieces. Designed by Portaluppi between 1930 and 1932 for the Necchi Campiglio family, the villa now offers visitors an even richer cultural experience, with three permanent galleries showcasing furniture and original drawings from the archive, complemented by an annual temporary exhibition exploring different aspects of Portaluppi’s extraordinary legacy.
The Portaluppi Archive
The archive includes thousands of original documents that reveal Portaluppi’s remarkable creativity, versatility, and intellectual curiosity. Highlights include more than 1,000 architectural drawings dating from 1909 to 1967, approximately 1,000 vintage photographs, sketchbooks, handwritten notes, caricatures, more than 15,000 postcards, and 100 reels of 16 mm film (about eight hours of footage) recorded in Italy and abroad between 1931 and 1965.
The collection also reflects Portaluppi’s close relationships with many of the leading cultural figures of the twentieth century, including Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Fortunato Depero, Marcello Piacentini, Gio Ponti, and the BBPR group.
Visitors will also find books from Portaluppi’s personal library, together with nearly 3,000 volumes and journals on architectural history collected by the Foundation over the years. In collaboration with the Lombardy Archival and Bibliographic Superintendency and the Politecnico di Milano, these materials will be available not only for display but also for research and scholarly consultation.
The archive also includes nineteen pieces of furniture and personal objects designed and used by Portaluppi himself. Transferred from the Foundation’s former headquarters, they have been carefully installed in the villa’s attic rooms, originally intended for the household staff.
Designed by architect Piero Castellini Baldissera, Portaluppi’s grandson, the new installation recreates the atmosphere of the architect’s original studio through carefully selected materials and furnishings inspired by the historic space. Visitors are introduced to the collection through a multimedia presentation on Portaluppi’s life and career, complemented by interpretive displays and audio guides.
Piero Portaluppi: The Art of Drawing
To celebrate the opening of the new galleries, FAI presents the first in a series of annual exhibitions dedicated to exploring Portaluppi’s work and legacy.
On view from May 21 through October 18, 2026, Piero Portaluppi: The Art of Drawing, curated by Roberto Dulio, features 44 original drawings that showcase Portaluppi’s exceptional talent as a draftsman. More than a technical skill, drawing became for him a way of thinking—a means of observing and, often, playfully reimagining the world.
While studying at the Politecnico di Milano between 1905 and 1910, Portaluppi worked as a caricaturist for satirical magazines, developing an extraordinary ability to capture character with just a few expressive lines. That playful visual language later found its way into his architecture.
The exhibition traces this creative journey through two complementary gallery spaces, where visitors encounter drawings that combine impeccable technical precision with wit, irony, and subtle social commentary. Beneath their flawless perspective and meticulous execution lies an imaginative vision of architecture that gently challenges conventional ideas of modernity.
The exhibition is designed by Angelo Gramegna.
