Triennale Design Museum
Triennale Design Museum is one of the narrated stops on the self-guided Milan audio walking tour in Gingerguide. Plan about ~90 min here. Press play at the spot for its two to three minute story, or ask the AI guide anything about it.
- Type museum
- Suggested visit ~90 min
- Milan Milan guide
About Triennale Design Museum
Italy's foremost design museum in Parco Sempione, celebrating the history of Italian industrial design from Olivetti typewriters to Ferrari chassis, with world-class temporary exhibitions.
The Triennale di Milano is Italy's national museum of design and applied arts, and one of the most important design institutions in the world. Housed in the Palazzo dell'Arte, a rationalist building designed by Giovanni Muzio and opened in 1933, it was originally the venue for the great triennial international exhibitions of decorative arts and modern architecture that ran from 1923 to 1996. Today it operates as a permanent design museum with major temporary exhibitions. Its permanent collection traces the history of Italian industrial design, one of the great cultural achievements of the 20th century, from the pioneering work of Olivetti (typewriters, computers, office furniture) to the automobile design of Pininfarina and Bertone, the furniture of Zanotta and Cassina, and the product design of names like Enzo Mari, Bruno Munari, and Achille Castiglioni.
Did you know? Olivetti's Programma 101, developed at the Olivetti laboratory in Ivrea and presented at the 1964 New York World's Fair, is widely considered the world's first personal computer, a desktop machine that could be programmed with magnetic cards. NASA bought 44 of them to use in calculating the trajectories for the Apollo 11 Moon landing. It sold for about $3,200, equivalent to roughly $30,000 today.
How long should you spend at Triennale Design Museum?
Plan about ~90 min at Triennale Design Museum. That is enough to take it in and hear its narrated story; stay longer if it grabs you. The tour is self-guided, so there is no rush.
Is Triennale Design Museum worth visiting?
Triennale Design Museum is one of the 32 sights the Gingerguide team researched and narrated in Milan, so it earns a place on a self-guided walk. Its story explains why it matters, and you can ask the AI guide anything the story leaves open.
Nearby stops in Milan
Hear the story of Triennale Design Museum
Preview the Milan tour free in the Gingerguide app.