Casa d'Arte Miler

Gustave Serrurier Bovy, Milo Miler and Julia Kessler Landscape, with Jachen Könz, 1670, restoration 2010

Miler Art House is situated on the shore of Lake Lugano, in the building which used to house the old Tipografia Elvetica in Capolago. The building dates from 1670. Built by the Maderni family known for their famous stucco decorators and architects, it became the summer residence of the Diocese of Como. Nowadays, the house is mostly remembered as the old Tipografia Elvetica, in operation from 1830 to 1853 and famous for having been the clandestine printing house of the patriots of the Italian
Risorgimento. From its presses came books by Cattaneo, Gioberti, Guerrazzi, La Farina, Tommaseo, Colletta, Balbo, d'Azeglio, Sismondi and many others. In 1891 it was the main office of the Anarchist Congress which, for a limited time, unified the Italian socialist and anarchic forces. After a series of other functions, it is now once again a place of culture, its present direction going towards visual art and historical design. The building has been renovated with the same care and passion invested in presenting the work of architect Gustave Serrurier- Bovy, a protagonist of the modernist scene between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Furthermore, the substantial presence of paintings, furniture and sculptures of various styles created in the 20th century offers a
dialogue with the roots of design. The significance of Miler Art House derives from the balance created by the integration of contrasts. It is open to scholars and lovers of 20th century art and design.

The design of the outdoor spaces
The historic Villa Badia that houses the Miler art gallery closes off the space of the old core of Capolago, a transit village and, in far-off times, also a point of embarkation for Lugano. The construction of the FFS railway cut the direct relationship with the lake and introduced an important source of noise.
The project consists in creating an introverted space with a new interpretation of the relationships with the surroundings, giving the villa a new spatial quality and protecting it from noise. Three reinforced-concrete wall elements create a space:
A linear wall runs along the railway line and ends in a cylindrical volume;
A wall with a canopy articulates the access from the north side;
A stepped terrace on the south side turns the introverted space into a courtyard with a raised part of the garden, from which one looks out over the lake towards Lugano, as in the past.