Villa Clea

Body Shop-Turned-Art Lofts

An informal meeting place for artists and art lovers, this artistic residency project and creative stay space housed in a former industrial site is an artistic installation of its own—a monolithic structure in an urban courtyard surrounded by a curtain of Milanese buildings. Composed of 80% natural clay that gives the property its name: “Villa Clea” for “clay," the moniker also refers to the bonding of multidisciplinary creatives the hosts welcome to the residency and art space guest lofts.

Serene, meditative interiors create a sensorial contrast, and raw materials—aluminum and cotton—integrate with gentler elements such as flowing satin curtains, smooth lime-and-clay walls, and mirrored doors to create spatial fluidity. Corbellini and Allina created the trio of lofts to be a versatile space, one that easily transforms to accommodate living, working, exhibitions and visitors/community, and the lofts are opened as a series during art shows and public exhibits.

Each loft, one a “maxi,” 100-square-meter loft, the other two measuring 50-square-meters, houses a king- or queen-sized futon bed, private bath, seating area with a sofa, kitchenette and a dining/work table for eight and easy access to the artspace-filled neighborhood that’s also home to the Prada Foundation and dozens of galleries.

Around

Located in the Milanese neighborhood known as Scalo Romana, Villa Clea’s hybrid residential space and exhibition locale means that immersion in the creative process is part of the stay. On site exhibits rotate, and the neighborhood has become a defacto cultural/artistic hub in the southern part of the city. In recent years art spaces such as the Prada Foundation, the ICA Foundation, Bonvini, Eldod, Dopo?, Reading Room and Hub/Art along with Motelsaliere, Chezplinio, and Viafarini.work have been created in the neighborhood, a walkable urban area that was once the dividing line between Milan’s agricultural outskirts and industrial zones. Dominated by three historic gates: Ludovica, Vegentina and Romana, the area is now populated by young professionals and creatives, and students and has dozens of restaurants and wine and espresso bars worth visiting. The Porto Romano metro station is 2 miles away, and the Museo del Novecento is 3 miles. The former urban sector has been undergoing a renaissance that includes the transformation of the disused Porta Romana railway yards that will connect the district to Milan’s center via a large park in which a mixed-use retail/residential/office district will be located as well as the Olympic Village for the city’s 2026 Winter Olympics that will later become Italy’s largest student residential complex. This part of the city was once dominated by agrarian fields and cut through by canals, became marginalized and neglected by the 1950s, and beginning in the 1980s, expanded into a popular area for nightlife. The nearby Navigli-Ticinese area still boasts two freshwater canals where folks gather for leisure, and is home to Milan’s renovated river port, Darsena, (2.7 miles) and the covered market in Piazza XXIV Maggio around lively, waterfront quays lined with bars, restaurants, and gathering places. Evenings on the Navigli are beautifu—an influencer’s dreamscape. Another nearby former industrial district worth exploring is the Torta-Savona area that’s home to dozens of industrial and interior design outlets, ateliers and the MUDEC, the Museum of Culture, as well as the Armani Silos, showcasing the fashion designs of native son Giorgio Armani.

Location

Nearest Airport: Milan, Linate, approximately 45 minutes; Milan, Malpensa, approximately 1-1.5 hours

Best Time to Visit: April to October