Porta Romana Unveiled

The word porta means “door” in Italian and Porta Romana (1598) is the old door to the city that heads towards Rome.
For the last three years, Porta Romana has been covered with 20 foot LaCoste and Gucci ads. It seems like wherever renovations occur in Italy, whether it is a statue, an arch, or a building, they completely veil it and keep it hidden until it is finished. We often openly wondered if Porta Romana would ever be finished. Our cynicism rested in our knowledge of the power of capitalism and we often wondered what does Gucci pay for a 20 x 20 ad in one of the busiest sections of Milan? Plus, we could not ignore the fact we passed the arch daily and never noticed any progress nor one person working on it.



So, when my taxi headed toward my apartment on August 19th, I was completely shocked to see the doorway open. I think it is beautiful!