Milan Re-Designed

The historic home of fashion and design is now a fresh capital of business, finance and education with global appeal.

Milan has long held the international crown as the home of fashion and style, and its rich culture and history including the Duomo, La Scala and Leonardo’s The Last Supper, remains a strong appeal the world over.  Today, it is the fastest growing city in Italy and has become recognised as one of Europe’s financial capitals. It has the highest density of wealth of all Italian cities (based on the population of UHNWIs*). And it’s not hard to see why.  

Accompanying its rich history and dolce vita (the sweet life) is a combination of low property prices, competitive interest rates and a flat tax regime, which has prompted a vast and consistent increase in interest from across the globe over recent years. Setting Italy apart from other Southern European counterparts that have adopted Golden Visa schemes is its €100,000 flat rate tax initiative which has cast the country in a new light – as a potential permanent base for the world’s wealthy. While there are a number of other locations with attractive tax regimes, few offer the accessibility, culture, history, climate and overall quality of life that Italy does.  

On a global scale, property prices remain competitive. Like all cities, the market was impacted by the pandemic, but it is recovering positively according to Italy Sotheby’s International Realty. While transactions in 2020 dipped 15% compared to the previous year, they were already up by 14.5% in the first quarter of 2021 indicating a speedy rate of return. Milan has long been known as Italy’s economic powerhouse and since the Expo of Milan of 2015, the city has added to its reputation for good living and home to the country’s main stock exchange and Bocconi University, along with Fortune 500 and Forbes 2000 companies and global brands including Unicredit, Pirelli, Armani, Prada, and Mediobanca.  

Much of this growth has been focused on Porta Nuova; a contemporary new district which is now the wealthiest of any city in Europe by its GDP. The regeneration of a former disused railway yard by Italian real estate company, COIMA, Porta Nuova has boomed over the last decade, now a modern quarter of business, property and leisure. It is home to some 34,000 residents, 30 global companies such as Google, IBM, Versace, Accenture and Amazon, 65 shops, restaurants and cafes, and attracts some 10 million visitors every year.  

And there is more to come. Emerging strongly from the pandemic, the city has big plans for its future and continued growth as a sustainable global destination. Just this year alone, new ambitious regeneration projects have been unveiled including a new commercial and residential complex in Porta Nuova, to introduce the city’s second vertical forest, together with the regeneration of Porta Romana railway yard along the lines of what happened for Porta Nuova, that will see the construction of the Olympic Village for the 2026 Milano – Cortina winter games, that will later become an innovative new student district for the city.  

*those with net assets over US$30m – and number of households with incomes above US$250,000). 

Residenze Porta Nuova

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