Piazza Gae Aulenti, Milan, Guida per visitatori e cosa fare nei dintorni

Piazza Gae Aulenti is a raised, circular public square in the Porta Nuova district of Milan, ringed by glass towers and named after the Italian architect and designer Gae Aulenti. It is the centre of Milan's modern skyline and the base of the UniCredit Tower, the tallest building in Italy.

The story behind it

Until the early 2000s, this part of Milan was a patchwork of railway yards and disused land between Porta Garibaldi station and the Isola neighbourhood. Porta Nuova redevelopment turned it into a business and residential district, and the piazza became its public heart, a pedestrian space lifted above street level and kept free of traffic.

The square honours Gaetana Aulenti, known as Gae, who was among the most celebrated Italian architects of the twentieth century. She is best remembered for converting a Paris railway station into the Musée d'Orsay. The UniCredit Tower, designed by the architect Cesar Pelli, rises beside the square and its spire dominates the view from many points in the city.

What to look for

• The curve of the circular piazza itself, with its fountains and wide steps, which pulls the eye toward the tower rising at its edge.
• The UniCredit Tower and its tall spire, best appreciated when you stand in the middle of the square and look straight up.
• The contrast between this glass and steel skyline and the low, human-scale streets of Isola just to the north.
• The reflections of the surrounding towers in the glass facades, which change with the weather and the light.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 20 to 30 minutes to walk around the square, longer if you want to sit, people-watch or visit the shops and cafes around its edge.
• Go in the early evening, when the towers light up and the square fills with locals, or in the morning for fewer people and cleaner photos.
• It is an open public space, so you can walk in at any time. Check current opening hours for individual shops and restaurants.
• The Porta Garibaldi station, Corso Como and the Bosco Verticale towers are all within a short walk, so it pairs easily with a wider stroll through Porta Nuova.

See it on a quest

The quest Street Art in Milan brings you here on foot as one stop of a longer route that also passes through the Isola neighbourhood. The app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle on the spot, so you look at the piazza and its surroundings far more closely than on a quick photo stop. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.