A neighbourhood guide to Tortona

When Mudec, Milan’s Museum of Culture, opened in 2015, it kickstarted the gentrification of this gritty neighbourhood. Housed in an old factory, it still resembles an industrial unit thanks to the British architect David Chipperfield’s designs. Its cool grey, box-shaped exterior, clad in zinc and titanium, contrasts with its central hall, featuring illuminated, undulating walls. As well as studios and workshops, the cultural hub’s galleries celebrate non-European cultures through design and costume alongside an auditorium and 300-seat theatre dedicated to performance art.

Via Tortona 56, 20144 Milan

Along with Mudec, Giorgio Armani’s Armani/Silos museum is credited for developing Tortona, after it opened in a repurposed mid-19th century granary in 2015. The museum is a retrospective of the Italian designer’s 40-year career – exhibiting 600 outfits and accessories on four levels across three permanent exhibitions. Fashion lovers can while away an afternoon browsing gender-fluid clothes in Androgynous; red-carpet outfits worn by Tina Turner and Jodie Foster in Stars and clothes influenced by Africa, China, the Middle East, Japan and Polynesia in Ethnicities.

Via Bergognone 40, 20144 Milan

Tortona is the go-to shopping destination for things you may not find elsewhere. LabSolue Perfume Laboratory is run by Giorgia and Ambra Martone on the site of their family’s former perfume factory, where you can now create your own perfume made from local ingredients. Laboratorio Mariucci, founded by the designer Fabrizio Mariucci, sells Italian leather accessories, and is one of a cluster of leather workshops in the suburb, while canalside vintage market Fiera di Sinigaglia is also worthy of a whole afternoon’s exploring (on Saturday only)

LabSolue Perfume Laboratory, Via Forcella 6, 20144 Milan
Laboratorio Mariucci, Via Tortona 20, 20144 Milan
Fiera di Sinigaglia, Ripa di Porta Ticinese, 20143 Milan

Whether for lunch, dinner or drinks, there’s a restaurant to suit every palate in Tortona. Al Fresco serves ceviche, tuna Niçoise and risotto paired with wine, its bottles beautifully displayed across a wall. Dusk is a good time to visit, as its wrought iron conservatory, overlooking parasols on a leafy patio, is lit with candles, lanterns and fairylights. Langosteria, meanwhile, serves oysters on ice and shells on two-tier platters, and fresh fish paired with wine. For a more casual experience, drop by Botanical Club, a bar and kitchen serving poke that’s named after the palms that frame its counter.

Al Fresco, Via Savona 50, 20144 Milan
Langosteria, Via Savona 10, 20144 Milan
Botanical Club, Via Tortona 33, 20144 Milan