1873-1878: cronaca del Museo d'Arte Industriale di Milano

The experience of the Museum of Industrial Art in Milan, a private initiative born in the wake of the major European and national exhibitions, began and ended within the few years between 1873 and 1878. During this short period, the Italian Industrial Association worked to ensure that Italian products, which were not sufficiently competitive in the European market, underwent studied aesthetic updates, the impulses for which were to be found in the nation's glorious artistic past. Drawing inspiration from the experience of the South Kensington Museum in London, the new Milanese museum sought promotion through the major event of the Historical Exhibition of Industrial Art in 1874, held at the Salone dei Giardini in Porta Venezia. A collection of documents preserved at the Civic Historical Archive, located at the Sforza Castle, allows us to follow the step-by-step development of this modern scientific project; its conclusion was linked to the new cultural initiatives of the Milanese administration, leading to the Municipal Artistic Museum.