Historical Gems Among Typical Milanese Shops and Boutiques

 

Although the area around Scalo di Porta Romana is changing, with its new face still taking shape, there are historical gems that reveal what life was like before the post-industrial present transformed it. 

The Fratelli Bonvini Stationery and Printing Shop on Via Tagliamento in Milan

 

A true time machine, Fratelli Bonvini Stationery and Printing Shop was founded in 1909 near Piazzetta San Luigi, on Via Tagliamento. 

 

Initially just a stationery shop, it soon evolved into a printing shop to meet the neighborhood’s growing needs, equipped with three historic printing machines: an 1800s pedal press, a 1930 Imperia flatbed cylinder press, and a 1950s Heidelberg Stella. 

 

 

Entering the shop feels like stepping back in time. The vintage wooden furnishings, type cases, printing presses, and the mezzanine with its green balcony all seem unchanged, retaining a timeless charm. Thanks to FBM S.r.l. partners, who began a conservation restoration in 2004, the Atelier 1909 space was added for workshops and artist residencies in 2017, followed by the Gallery space on the first floor in 2018 for exhibitions, talks, and presentations. 

 

 

The Baroni Greengrocer on Via Scrivia in Milan

 

A few steps away, on Via Scrivia, lies another historic shop: Baroni Greengrocer. Opened in 1953, this small family-run fruit and vegetable shop has witnessed the neighborhood transform from a peripheral industrial area to a lively, growing hub. Fruits and vegetables are still arranged in crates, alongside awards celebrating the shop as a Historic Milanese Boutique. Despite competition from large chains, the Baroni family shop remains a neighborhood landmark and a custodian of collective historical memory. 

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