Tiffany & Co. turns a historic Milan palazzo into a Prix Versailles winner

Milan’s Tiffany & Co. boutique on Via Montenapoleone is named World’s Most Beautiful Emporium 2025, recognised for its reworking of Palazzo Taverna’s neoclassical envelope and its interior design by Peter Marino

Tiffany & Co. Milan flagship wins World’s Most Beautiful Emporium 2025

Tiffany & Co.’s boutique in Via Montenapoleone, Milan, has been awarded the title of World’s Most Beautiful Emporium 2025 by the Prix Versailles. The award acknowledges the architectural and cultural impact of the boutique, located inside Palazzo Taverna, a neoclassical building completed in 1835 and historically one of Montenapoleone’s most notable residences. The Milan boutique was conceived as a counterpart to The Landmark in New York, extending the Maison’s approach to retail through clarity, light and a disciplined use of materials.

Palazzo Taverna reinterpreted through Italian artisanship and Tiffany’s glassmaking heritage

The façade is a central component of the project. Its arched windows, produced by Venini in Murano, follow a complex curvature developed specifically for the boutique. Above them, lunettes reproduced from a Gio Ponti drawing reference the early glass experiments of Louis Comfort Tiffany.

The external vitrines, informed by the work of Michelangelo Pistoletto, add a contemporary element while maintaining the building’s neoclassical structure. The architectural intervention preserves Palazzo Taverna’s identity while establishing a clear link to Tiffany’s long-standing engagement with glass and material research.

A 1,200-square-meter store designed by Peter Marino as a structured sequence of spaces

With more than 1,200 square meters of interior space, the Via Montenapoleone flagship is Tiffany’s largest European boutique. Peter Marino’s design organizes the boutique as a connected series of rooms defined by consistent materials—marble, glass, mirrored surfaces—and by calibrated natural light. At the entrance, Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Color and Light anchors the space.

Nearby, the archival installation Whodunnit presents an overhead reconstruction of the main floor at The Landmark in New York, creating an immediate relationship between the two flagship stores. Works by Pistoletto, Urs Fischer, Daniel Arsham and Julian Schnabel are integrated throughout, functioning as part of the architectural experience rather than as isolated artworks.

The glass staircase and skylight as the structural core of the project

The central feature of the boutique is a structural glass staircase conceived by Peter Marino and engineered by Hugh Dutton. Combined with a large skylight, it introduces vertical natural light and defines circulation across all levels.

Its function is structural and spatial, not decorative, reinforcing the clarity of the overall design. Below the skylight, the internal courtyard hosts a bar area and Daniel Arsham’s Stratified Venus of Arles, positioned as the single sculptural presence within the space.

A four-level layout organized around collections, high jewelry and client services

The ground floor introduces the Maison’s key collections—including Lock, HardWear, T and Knot—together with a dedicated area for Elsa Peretti. Archival pieces placed across the floor trace Tiffany’s long-standing history and its ties to Italy.

The first floor houses Home & Accessories, as well as Personalization and Client Service spaces designed for focused customer interaction.

The second floor, titled All About Love, centers on the Tiffany® Setting engagement ring and the Maison’s diamond language, presented through essential vitrines and controlled lighting.

The top floor includes two private salons for appointments and bespoke consultations, a watch area, an extended diamond offering and Urs Fischer’s commissioned work Tiffanies & Tiffany, which examines the relationship between women and the practice of high jewelry.

Tiffany & Co.: a global company built on craft, design and long-term commitment

Founded in New York in 1837, Tiffany & Co. operates more than 300 stores worldwide and employs over 14,000 people. More than 3,000 craftspeople cut Tiffany diamonds and produce jewelry in the Maison’s workshops. The company maintains a defined approach to responsible sourcing, environmental programs and social impact. The Milan flagship’s designation as World’s Most Beautiful Emporium 2025 reinforces the role of architecture and cultural content in shaping the Maison’s current identity