Galleria and Corso Vittorio Emanuele

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele was designed and built ( 1865-1877 ) by the architect Giuseppe Mengoni as a covered passage between Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Scala. In 1885 the Edison Company began the modernization of Milan with the distribution of electricity: the city was illuminated with arc lamps, giving citizens the pride of claiming the world record for the use of electricity for public lighting.
The bombings of World War II caused devastating destruction, the Gallery was seriously damaged: the post-war reconstruction maintains its previous appearance, the original incandescent chandeliers that were destroyed were replaced by a series of projectors hidden in the balcony that runs around the perimeter in the upper part of the Gallery. The "urban light plan 2000" provides for the redevelopment, regulatory, aesthetic and functional adaptation of various areas of the historic center of the city. A careful study of the original architectural and lighting project, together with the technological developments introduced over the years, led to the decision to maintain the general image conceived by Mengoni approximately 150 years ago and created with the most advanced technique available at the time: the gas!
The wall globes used for the general lighting of the promenade and the lower part of the gallery were retained, as was the existing system for the general lighting of the upper parts of the facades, the central dome and the vaults.
New technology metal halide lamps ( 150 W ) with ceramic burner have been installed in the 148 new small-sized projectors with asymmetric optics used for lighting the high end with direct aiming from the balcony towards the facing facade, to highlight the structure of the central dome, the decorations of the lunettes and the clock.