Milan’s off‑site venues revealed
Wallpaper has flagged six new venues for Milan Design Week 2026—including a historic private residence, an abandoned swimming pool and a bonsai museum—signalling a citywide program beyond the Salone del Mobile (wallpaper.com). The write‑up positions these off‑sites as discovery spots that will define much of the week’s most memorable visits (wallpaper.com).
Milan Design Week 2026 is opening six first-time venues across the city, pushing visitors beyond the main fairgrounds at Rho Fiera. (wallpaper.com) Wallpaper’s list names Villa Pestarini, Casa Rossa, Palazzo Acerbi, Piscina Romano, Palazzo Olivazzi Crespi and the Crespi Bonsai Museum as new stops for this year’s Fuorisalone circuit. Fuorisalone runs from April 20 to April 26, 2026, alongside the Salone del Mobile fair, which opens April 21 and runs through April 26. (wallpaper.com) (fuorisalone.it) (salonemilano.it) The shift is geographic as much as curatorial: Fuorisalone’s official platform says the citywide program spreads exhibitions and installations across Milan, while the fair itself remains anchored at Rho Fiera Milano. The city of Milan said the 2026 edition will use both historic areas and new itineraries. (fuorisalone.it) (comune.milano.it) Villa Pestarini is the clearest example. Wallpaper and Archiproducts both report that Alcova has secured the 1938-39 Franco Albini house, a private residence that has not previously been open to the public, as one of its 2026 sites. (wallpaper.com) (archiproducts.com) Piscina Romano brings design into a former public leisure setting. Fuorisalone.it says the complex was inaugurated in 1929 and designed by engineer-architect Luigi Lorenzo Secchi, and this year it will host 6:AM’s glass exhibition during the week. (fuorisalone.it) (wallpaper.com) Palazzo Acerbi adds another kind of access: Wallpaper says the 17th-century palazzo will open during Design Week for the first time. Separate event coverage says Kelly Wearstler and H&M Home will use Palazzo Acerbi for a public installation from April 21 to April 26. (wallpaper.com) (dezeen.com) The bonsai stop extends the map beyond central Milan. The Crespi Bonsai Museum in Parabiago opened on May 26, 1991, and the museum says it was the world’s first permanent bonsai museum. (wallpaper.com) (crespibonsai.com) Fuorisalone’s official guide says 763 events were listed as of this week, and the 2026 theme is “Be the Project.” That scale helps explain why venue choice matters: the week is no longer only about what is shown, but where Milan lets people in. (fuorisalone.it 1) (fuorisalone.it 2) For visitors, that means the most sought-after appointments may be behind ordinary facades, inside a pool complex, or out by a bonsai collection rather than on the trade-fair floor. Milan’s design week still has its center at Salone del Mobile, but the route through the city is widening again in April 2026. (salonemilano.it) (wallpaper.com)
