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 until 18 October 2026.

Following the transfer of the Foundation’s entire collection to FAI, the archive has been housed in newly designed spaces on the top floor of Villa Necchi Campiglio, renewing the historic connection between the celebrated architect and one of his most admired masterpieces. Designed by Portaluppi between 1930 and 1932 for the Necchi Campiglio family, the villa now offers visitors an enriched cultural experience, with three permanent galleries displaying 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 comprises 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, around 1,000 vintage photographs, sketchbooks, handwritten notes, caricatures, over 15,000 postcards, and 100 reels of 16 mm film (approximately eight hours of footage) recorded in Italy and abroad between 1931 and 1965.

The collection also reflects the architect’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.

In addition, visitors will find books from Portaluppi’s personal library, together with almost 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 not only be displayed but also made available for consultation and scholarly research.

The archive also includes nineteen pieces of furniture and personal objects designed and used by Portaluppi himself. These have been transferred from the Foundation’s former headquarters and carefully installed in the villa’s attic rooms, originally intended for domestic staff.

The new display, designed by architect Piero Castellini Baldissera, Portaluppi’s grandson, recreates the atmosphere of the architect’s original studio through carefully selected materials and furnishings inspired by the historic workspace. Visitors are introduced to the collection through a multimedia presentation on Portaluppi’s life and career, complemented by interpretive panels and audio guides.

Piero Portaluppi: The Art of Drawing

To mark the opening of the new galleries, FAI presents the first in a series of annual exhibitions dedicated to exploring Portaluppi’s work and legacy.

Running from 21 May to 18 October 2026, Piero Portaluppi: The Art of Drawing, curated by Roberto Dulio, brings together 44 original drawings that reveal Portaluppi’s exceptional talent as a draughtsman. Far more than a technical tool, drawing became for him a way of thinking and a means of observing—and often humorously reimagining—the world.

While studying at the Politecnico di Milano between 1905 and 1910, Portaluppi worked as a caricaturist for satirical magazines, developing a remarkable ability to capture character with just a few expressive lines. This playful visual language later found its way into his architectural work.

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 design has been created by Angelo Gramegna.