Piazza Gae Aulenti & Porta Nuova

Piazza Gae Aulenti is the centrepiece of Milan's most dramatic modern urban development — Porta Nuova, a district of glass skyscrapers and public spaces that transformed a neglected railway area north of the city centre into Milan's financial and architectural showpiece. The circular elevated piazza, designed by César Pelli and named after Italian architect Gae Aulenti, is ringed by the UniCredit Tower (Italy's tallest building at 231 metres), residential towers, and a cascading fountain that drops from the plaza level to the street below.

The Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest) — two residential towers designed by Stefano Boeri and completed in 2014, whose balconies hold 900 trees and 20,000 plants — is the most photographed building in the district and one of the most innovative residential designs in the world. The trees filter pollution, provide shade, and create a facade that changes colour with the seasons, and the building has won the International Highrise Award and inspired vertical forest projects in cities from Nanjing to Eindhoven.

The district represents Milan's 21st-century identity — a city that has always been about commerce, design, and forward-thinking urbanism, and that has invested in contemporary architecture with a conviction that few European cities match. The walk from the Duomo through the Galleria, past La Scala, and up to Porta Nuova takes about 20 minutes and covers 800 years of Milanese architectural ambition in a single stroll.