Visiting Casa Museo Molinario Colombari
Milanese Gem
When visiting Casa Museo Molinario Colombari, the newly opened house museum of Rossella Colombari and her husband Ettore Molinario, I found myself thinking of the notion of taste as defined in the Critique of Judgement, the iconic text by the 18th-century German philosopher Immanuel Kant. He argued that taste is an entirely learned skill, and that we can and should develop it not as an innate instinct but as a cultivatable talent of judgment, requiring practice, education, and exposure in order to reach its ultimate perfection. This Casa, which fuses photography, design, sculpture, and architecture in a harmonious and personal way — exemplifying the notion of the curated interior, informed by storytelling, in its most contemporary expression — is a masterclass in taste education.
Casa Museo Molinario Colombari is a home in every functional sense: it contains an expansive living room, bedrooms, bathrooms, an office, and a spa. But it is not a home in any ordinary way. It is a showcase of art, taste, and connoisseurship at their best exemplifying the power of architecture restoration to give new life to historic buildings. Created within a former silverware factory in Milan, the space transforms an industrial site into a domestic-museum gem at the heart of the city I love so much. Its design, by Lazzarini Pickering Architetti, draws inspiration from the maritime world.
Walking into the Casa, you immediately feel that you are entering a space of unique and memorable experience — one that is multidisciplinary and resists ordinary definition. Is it a luxurious yacht? Or one of the 1960s sunken living rooms of the kind found in Eero Saarinen’s Miller House in Indiana? Or is it a museum? The polished mahogany stairs and floors, the organic and almost kinetic sense of space, the rooms divided not by walls but by curtains, the large round sofa — all evoke a voyeuristic atmosphere, as if you are on the threshold of a voyage. This serves as a parable for the experience of the place as a whole: an entire universe of taste expressed through the two collecting passions of its founders — Italian furniture of the 20th century and photography, allowing the visitor to enter a voyage into the realm of high, educated taste.
The narrative evoked in Casa Museo Molinario Colombari is, above all, a record of personal memory: of a lifetime of collecting, and of the curatorial research and dedication required to truly live with art. Ettore Molinario’s collection, etablished in the 90s, n is the result of more than three decades of inquiry into identity through photography. While the photos span from the origins of photography to contemporary languages, giving equal authority to renowned masters, lesser-known artists, and anonymous photographers, its a reflection of his own taste and identity.
Rossella Colombari’s collection is rooted in the world of modern Italian design. Widely regarded as the world’s leading authority on mid-century Italian furniture, she has pioneered and supported the rediscovery of work by some of Italy’s most significant talents — Carlo Mollino, Carlo Scarpa, Osvaldo Borsani — cultivating an unparalleled expertise and eye for the field.
This new institution is set to become an incubator of ideas: a platform where artistic disciplines engage with contemporary culture, generating new and unexpected connections. It is a home away from home — an immersive environment in constant evolution that promotes cultural dialogue through guided visits, curated experiences, innovative projects, and public events. Here, art finds a place of belonging, inspiration, and expression.
Casa Museo Molinario Colombari is open to visitors every Wednesday afternoon by appointment. Visits can be booked online at Casa Museo Molinario Colombari – Visit.
@ Casa Museo Molinario Colombari; photos by Cristopher Ghioldi.
