MILAN: A pastel cafe and contemporary art

Previously, we visited the Campari Gallery and stopped for a quick lunch in the Isola district.

[November 2017] – We left the modern Isola neighborhood and headed down to the Fondazione Prada museum.

Our first stop in the place, though, was for coffee at the Wes Anderson designed café Bar Luce.

Stepping into this pastel wonder was like literally walking onto a Wes Anderson set. The bar was aesthetically elegant with the muted pastel colors for which Anderson is famous.

On the far wall stood a jukebox and two pinball machines, themed after Anderson’s films. In the middle of the room sat single seat booths with pastel pink and green upholstery, each with its own Formica®-topped swivel table.

Bar Luce’s sleek, clean design, and its well-dressed servers, accompanied the high quality of service, with a non-pretentious comfort; adding to the cafe’s unique experience.

We sat by the window at one of the four-person Formica-topped tables. We enjoyed our coffee and pastry while looking out the window at the gold siding to one of the structures that make up the Fondazione Prada museum complex.

Fondazione Prada is made up of several small buildings that were once part of a distillery. Built on a courtyard, each of the separate buildings housed different forms of very contemporary art; from mixed media and photography, to dioramas and a variety of sculptures.

Tickets to Fondazione Prada also allows entry to Prada’s Milan Osservatorio (Observatory) located in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, in Piazza Duomo. This small extension gallery occupies the fifth and sixth floors, allowing patrons a close view of the Galleria’s beautiful glass ceiling structure; while perusing more contemporary art.