Apple Piazza Liberty opens Thursday in Milan

Milan — Apple today premiered Apple Piazza Liberty, a new retail location that will revitalise a piazza in the centre of Milan. The project, which includes both a grand public plaza and a store below, brings Apple’s latest retail design to Italy for the first time.

Just off the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, one of the most popular pedestrian streets in Milan, visitors will first see a dramatic glass fountain that serves as the entrance to the store and a backdrop to the large outdoor amphitheatre. The piazza, clad in Beola Grigia, a stone used throughout Milan, is open to the public 24 hours a day and will host special events year-round amongst 14 Gleditsia Sunburst trees planted in the area.

“There’s no better expression of our vision for Apple stores serving as modern-day gathering places than Apple Piazza Liberty,” said Angela Ahrendts, Apple’s senior vice president of Retail. “In a city with such rich history of art, entertainment and creativity, it's an honour to establish a space where anyone can be inspired to learn, create and connect with their neighbours.”

Apple Piazza Liberty provides a grand venue for Today at Apple, free hourly sessions on photography, filmmaking, music creation, coding, design and more, that aim to unlock creativity in all attendees. This September, Apple Piazza Liberty will host a special month-long Milan Series, where 21 local artists will share their visions for the creative future of Milan.

“To work within one of Italy’s historic piazzas is both a great responsibility and wonderful challenge,” said Jony Ive, Apple’s chief design officer. “We combined two fundamental elements of the Italian piazza — water and stone — adding a glass portal that creates a multi-sensory experience as visitors enter the store through a cascading fountain that seems to envelop them.”

After descending a stone and metal staircase cantilevered from the Beola Grigia wall to the store below, visitors will be met by a team of 230 highly-trained employees, many of whom come to Milan from Apple stores around the world.

Apple Piazza Liberty opens Thursday, July 26, at 5pm, and Today at Apple registration is available now at apple.com/today.