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    • Design

    Italian furniture brand Edra opens the iconic Palazzo Durini, Milan with Vaishali S taking the venue as her debut runway

    MAR 16, 2022 | By Twinkle Tolani
    The “Dido and Aeneas” Hall by Melchiorre Gherardini (1646 -1648) flaunts Grande Soffice, Ines, Brasilia by Edra Collection; Photographs courtesy Edra
    Achilles Hall, “The Life of Achilles” by Stefano Danedi, known as Montalto (1646-1648) sports Edra Collection's Boa, Cipria, Ella Gold, Ines, Egeo, Scrigno; Photographs courtesy Edra
    Edra Collection's Grande Soffice, Ines, and Brasilia make an appearance in “Dido and Aeneas” Hall by Melchiorre Gherardini (1646 -1648); Photographs courtesy Edra
    Edra's collection at Palazzo Durini coalesces heritage with present day sensibilities; Photographs courtesy Edra
    Palazzo Durini houses statement-making furniture from Edra Collection; Photographs courtesy Edra
    “Wedding of Heracles and Hebe” Gallery by Pietro Maggi (1714)provides an intriguing backdrop to Getsuen, Grinza, Rose Chair, Vermelha, Blue Velvet, Ella, Ella Anthracite, Ella Gold, Gilda B, Gina, Jenette from Edra Collection; Photographs courtesy Edra
    Creating an anomalous juxtaposition between the yesteryears and present day Edra's furniture evokes life into the venue; Photographs courtesy Edra
    The curation of the furniture inside the dingy venue brings out details of the contemporary pieces; Photographs courtesy
    Contemporary work placed inside a cultural context creates a visit honed by creative nuances; Photographs courtesy Edra
    Edra Collection's Pack, Flap Diamond, Chiara with pouf, Ines, Cicladi, Scrigno strike a balance with the intricacies in Bacchanal Hall also known as “camera del bosco” or wood room, by Storer (1646-1648), the Gian Giacomo II’s mother, Margherita Visconti Durini's bedroom; Photographs courtesy Edra
    Mood lighting at Palazzo Durini brings out the details of the artwork on the ceilings and walls; Photographs courtesy Edra
    Hercules Hall, “The Tragedy of Hercules and Deianira” by Ercole Procaccini (1646-1648) shines brighter with On the Rocks, Margherita, Brasilia, Cicladi, Scrigno from Edra Collection; Photograph credits Edra

    Heritage and history are pivotal contributors to culture and by extension, to design—making architecture the only medium to time-travel to the past through the lens of today. Recently, the mosaic-tiled floor of the venue was the ramp to Vaishali Shadangule, India’s first female designer to showcase at Milan Fashion Week. In the collision of the former with the current, the gates to discourse about timelessness, history, culture and existing contrasts are pushed open. 

    The Palazzo Durini Caproni di Taliedo in Cantarana district at Porta Tosa of Milan, currently acquired by luxury Italian furniture brands—Edra and Vago Forniture—houses collections of sofas, armchairs and furnishing accessories from Edra under its frescoed ceilings and baroque-style arches.

    The Palazzo Durini Caproni di Taliedo, Milan, has been fostering art ever since it was built in 1648 by Francesco Maria Richini, who attributed innumerable marvels to Milan’s architecture, starting with the Cathedral of Milan in 1605. Gian Giacomo II, the successor of an affluent silk and gold merchant, commissioned Palazzo Durini and also the painted decorations of the piano nobile to up-and-coming Milanese painters, which is now home to Edra’s pieces.

    Tatlin, a low-height, midnight blue sofa from Edra makes for a stellar entrance amongst “Triumph of Bacchus” and Arianne by Pietro Maggi, commissioned by Gian Giacomo III; Photographs courtesy Edra

    While the grand 18th-century staircase, to the piano nobile, was relocated from the Palazzo Arnaboldi in 1939, the ceiling’s “The Chariot of Apollo” was sculpted by Emilio Monti in the Thirties. Inspired by Greek and Latin literature, such as Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Sophocles’ Trachiniae, the frescoes on the piano nobile tackle subjects of love, fate, heroism, reason and instinct.

    At the very entrance, Tatlin, a low-height, midnight blue sofa from Edra stands as an anti-thesis to the muted tones of “Triumph of Bacchus” and Arianne by Pietro Maggi, commissioned by Gian Giacomo III to renovate the space in 1714. G.Gallinari’s trompe l’oeil, a hand at revamping 18th-century figures of Apollo, Mercury, Ceres and Diana, add cheekiness to the installed free-standing mirrors of the vestibule. 

    Following the vestibule, a lingering corridor called the “Wedding of Heracles and Hebe” Gallery by Pietro Maggi, a paradigm of late baroque conceived during the renovation, intrigues with will-o’-the-wisp cornices and the double-barrel vaults. Edra’s Getsuen, Grinza, Rose Chair, Vermelha, Blue Velvet, Ella, Ella Anthracite, Ella Gold, Gilda B, Gina, and Jenette make up for the tangibility in the space.

    Furniture from Edra creates an alternate reality within defining late baroque interiors of the Palazzo Durini; Photographs courtesy Edra

    Gian Giacomo II’s mother, Margherita Visconti Durini‘s bedroom, called the Bacchanal Hall or wood room by Storer, stars a ceiling by Legnanino done in 1711. From Edra—Pack, Flap Diamond, Chiara with pouffe, Ines, Cicladi, and Scrigno establish a neutral palette, which doesn’t take away from the intricate ceiling, as the furniture’s dynamic form brings out the potential of the space. 

    Grande Soffice and Brasilia from Edra grace the “Dido and Aeneas” Hall by Melchiorre Gherardini, while Standard from the collection marks its presence in the  “Meleager Cycle” Main Hall by Storer. Christened after “The Tragedy of Hercules and Deianira” painted in its interiors by Ercole Procaccini, the Herculean Hall is populated by On the Rocks and Margherita, and the Achilles Hall, named after “The Life of Achilles” by Stefano Danedi, etched in its walls, sports Boa, Cipria, and Egeo from Edra. 

    The 18th-century ornamental panels on and over the doors throughout the venue were the last intervention the family could afford before selling it in 1922. Following this, the building saw numerous owners and refurbishments, including reconstruction by architect Attilio Spaccarelli, after severe damage in the Second World War. Giuseppe Caproni di Taliedo, an aeronautical pioneer and avid collector of futurist arts, and his family steadily secured funds to restore the palace to its former glory between 1994 and 2010, and today in 2022, courtesy of Edra the venue is open to the public who can now feel the pang of the historical events.

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