Milan neighbourhoods
Tortona and Porta Genova
The old factories behind Porta Genova, now Milan's design district.
- Market
- None on the street
- Transport
- M2 Porta Genova FS; Milano Porta Genova station; trams 2, 9, 14; buses 47, 74
- District
- 6
What it's like
Via Tortona and via Savona run parallel behind Porta Genova station, in an area that until the 1980s was full of factories: Nestlé, Ansaldo, print works and workshops.
With deindustrialisation the sheds were converted into photo studios, agencies, fashion and design showrooms.
Today the area is home to MUDEC, the Museum of Cultures in a former Ansaldo works, Armani/Silos with the designer's archive, the Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro and BASE Milano, a hybrid cultural space in the former Ansaldo workshops.
During the April Design Week the Tortona district is one of the busiest hubs of the Fuorisalone, with events, installations and queues along the two streets.
The rest of the year it is a zone of creative work, less residential than the others, with its evenings concentrated around Porta Genova and the Darsena just next door.
The market
This neighbourhood has no weekly open-air street market. The nearest ones are in the neighbourhoods below.
Green space and the outdoors
Dog areas
- parco Robert Baden Powell · 550 m²
- parco Giussani Don Luigi · 1092 m²
- via Argelati · 1755 m²
- giardino Vincenzo Muccioli · 1292 m²
- piazza delle Milizie · 714 m²
- via Dezza · 309 m²
Playgrounds
- via Savona · 31 m²
- via Bergognone · 509 m²
- parco Robert Baden Powell · 363 m²
- giardino Bazzega Sergio e Padovani Vittorio · 126 m²
- via Argelati · 100 m²
- giardino Vincenzo Muccioli · 1353 m²
Where to eat and drink
The area has restaurants, bars and cafés tied to the creative-work world, many inside courtyards and former factories; MUDEC and BASE have in-house bistros.
For a street market the nearest is Papiniano, Tuesday and Saturday, one of the largest in Milan, towards Sant'Ambrogio; or the Fiera di Sinigaglia at the Darsena, on Saturday.
Getting there
The area revolves around Porta Genova station, with the Porta Genova FS stop on the M2 and regional trains to Mortara and the west.
On the surface there are trams 2, 9 and 14. A pedestrian and cycle bridge crosses the tracks and links via Tortona to the via Bergognone area and the Naviglio Grande.
M2 Porta Genova FS; Milano Porta Genova station; trams 2, 9, 14; buses 47, 74
Frequently asked questions
What to see in the Tortona area in Milan?
MUDEC - the Museum of Cultures, Armani/Silos with the designer's archive, the Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro and BASE Milano. In April the area is one of the main Fuorisalone districts.
Why is the Tortona area famous for design?
Because since the 1990s the former factories of via Tortona and via Savona have been taken over by studios, showrooms and agencies tied to fashion and design. That is where the Fuorisalone district came from, drawing exhibitors from around the world every April.
Nearby neighbourhoods
Data: City of Milan — weekly open-air markets (DS291), CC-BY. Reviewed .