Analyzing the kiosk

The following pages present the documentation and analysis of the 37 selected kiosks.

Countless factors defne and distinguish each kiosk, and there are many phenomena that would be worth studying and investigating. Kiosks are small architectures that create incredibly powerful social spaces. They are structures that act dynamically in the city, moving around in the urban fabric and changing appearance by day and by night. They defne grey zones between public and private, expanding like wildfre into the common space and appropriating the surrounding territory with a variety of additional objects.

Using several representative methods we investigated the factors that interested us the most, creating a profle of each object that is as exhaustive as possible.

Two pages are dedicated to each kiosk: the left page contains a sitemap, an isometric drawing and a short text. On the right page the kiosk is captured in a photograph.

Sitemap The sitemap shows the immediate surroundings of the kiosk, providing essential information about the urban situation and revealing the contrast between the microscale of the object and the macroscale of the city. In the map, the responsiveness of the kiosk to its context becomes visible.

Photograph The juxtaposition of the light metal structures of ephemeral appearance and the heavy stone and concrete buildings with their long lasting presence generate a powerful, contradictory, sometimes paradoxical dialogue. The photograph of the kiosk with the background of the city reveals this tension.

Drawing In the photographs, the kiosks can appear empty at night, at times closed or abandoned, but mostly they present themselves covered under such a big amount of selling products that they are hardly recognizable as objects anymore.

The isometric CAD drawing, precise and objective, complements the photograph by showing what is not visible in it. Sometimes unveiling the object, freeing it from its content, thus enhancing its shape, sometimes opening a closed structure, sometimes showing its forgotten past.

The very act of redrawing the objects allowed us to fully understand the reasons for their form and to achieve a deeper knowledge of their qualities.

Text Every kiosk has its own dynamic. Historical facts, political decisions, family traditions and client-related matters defne its story and make it unique. In the short text we provide basic information such as address and dimensions and briefy report discoveries that we ourselves made on site, facts learned reading online articles or stories and curiosities that the owners told us with enthusiasm.

Period 1940s

Site Piazza Andrea Ferrari, 2

Located at the side of a small roundabout, in the well served quarter of Crocetta.

Offer fowers

Dimensions 0.9 x 1.8 x 2.7 m

Story This kiosk is the result of the combination of two types: the front part is a traditional trespolo, very similar in shape to the one in Piazza Cordusio or the one in Via Guglielmo Marconi 1. The back part originates from the owner’s need to shelter from cold and bad weather, and was added later. Not yet satisfed, the owner also told us how much he would like to expand and buy a bigger and more comfortable structure.

Urban situation with its half-rounded shape, the kiosk seems to be following the movement of the roundabout.

Period 1940s

Site Largo Isabella d’ Aragona

Located at the side of a busy roundabout near the Bocconi University.

Offer fowers

Dimensions 2.3 x 1.7 x 3.2 m

Story Originally, the structure consisted of only a few metal steps to display the fowers. Over time the various owners have made several improvements, making it more capacious, more solid and able to better withstand the bad weather.

Urban situation The kiosk is positioned in the most strategic point of the roundabout: along the edge of the sidewalk, near a road junction and next to the crosswalk.

A point of rest and movement, where both pedestrians and cars converge.

Period 1940s

Site Piazza Giuseppe Missori, 10

Placed against a corner of the INPS building, in front of the metro Missori in the old central business district of the city.

Offer fowers

Dimensions 2.2 x 1.8 x 2.8 m

Story This trespolo, unlike the others, is equipped with green metal panels that can be opened at will during the day, ensuring fexibility in positioning, and closed at night, thus protecting the structure and its contents from bad weather or acts of vandalism.

Urban situation the kiosk is inserted, with a perfect joint, in the left corner of the relief of the INPS building’s main facade.

Period from 1960s

Site Piazza Giuseppe Missori

Located on a corner of the square, near the metro Missori in the old central business district of the city.

Offer second-hand books

Dimensions 3.5 x 1.0 x 3.1 m

Story This kiosk is one of the few left in town selling second-hand books. With its small size, it is still able to store many books, thanks to various shelves and drawers built into the structure. A fxed stop for book lovers and a pleasant discovery for curious passers-by, it serves as an excellent meeting and exchange point.

Urban situation The structure is positioned under the monumental arch of the portico of the INPS building, placed along the sidewalk so as to be protected and at the same time well visible from the various sides of the large square.

Period 1940s

Site Via Guglielmo Marconi, 1

Located at the side of a busy roundabout, in the well served quarter of Crocetta.

Offer fowers

Dimensions 1.8 x 0.9 x 1.0 m

Story This trespolo is one of the oldest in the city, and is certainly the smallest of them all. Without curtains, support surfaces or spaces to store objects, it consists of only four steps where to place the fower pots. Handed down from generation to generation, it is a well fxed point in the urban geography.

Urban situation The object rests on the marble column of the portico, adhering to it precisely and incorporating it. In need of more space, the owners have expanded occupying the adjacent column, where they cut and pack fowers on the wooden table.

Period ca. 2015

Site Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Positioned under the portico of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, on the left side of Piazza del Duomo and near the Duomo metro station. Offer souvenirs

Dimensions 1.0 x 1.0 x 2.8 m

Story The original structure, the one with the fascinating sloping roof, was used in the 60s to sell lottery tickets. There were several of these kiosks, with different shapes and always customized according to the needs, scattered throughout the city. With the passage of time and changing habits, they began to sell fewer tickets and more gadgets and souvenirs for tourists. Many of the old kiosks have disappeared, replaced around 2015 by homologated structures traced over models in early twentieth century style.

Urban situation The kiosk is leaning against the columns of the portico, attracting the many passers-by and tourists who walk through the gallery every day.

Site Piazza del Duomo

Placed between the columns of the portico of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, on the left side of the square in front of the Duomo metro station.

Offer souvenirs

Dimensions 4.1 x 1.9 x 3.0 m

Story There are only two kiosks of this type in the city, both are located under the entrance arches of the Gallery and are custom made to ft into the context.

Urban situation The structure fts perfectly between the two monumental columns at the entrance to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. The particular shape guarantees the passage under the imposing arch, safeguarding its function.

Period from 1960s

Site Piazza dei Mercanti

Located on one side of the quiet square, a few meters from Piazza del Duomo, in front of the steps of the Palazzo della Ragione. Offer souvenirs

Dimensions 6.6 x 2.6 x 3.0 m

Story Located in a more closed and quiet square, the two kiosks are less frequented by tourists and their offer is therefore very varied. In addition to souvenirs and gadgets they also sell cribs, statues, rosaries and prints, as explained by the sign.

Urban situation The two identical kiosks are positioned next to each other, with the roofs coinciding to form a single structure. The combination of the two objects with the small underpass somehow picks up the rhythm of the loggia in the background.

Period from 1960s

Site Via dei Mercanti

Located under the portico of the Palazzo dei Giureconsulti, along the axis that connects Piazza del Duomo to the Sforza Castle.

Offer perfumes and souvenirs

Dimensions 4.0 x 1.2 x 2.8 m

Story The kiosk was originally a perfume store. Given the large number of tourists who daily walk along Via dei Mercanti, however, the offer was completed with souvenirs and gadgets.

Urban situation This kiosk, like the previous two, is located along the busy axis that connects the Duomo to the Sforza Castle. This one is however more hidden, sheltered under the arches at the point of intersection between the underpass and the portico.

Period from 1960s

Site Largo Maria Callas

Located in a small park at the side of a busy roundabout, in front of the main entrance to the Sforza Castle.

Offer second-hand books

Dimensions 6.8 x 3.6 x 3.2 m

Story The Moschetta kiosk is one of the last survivors among the sellers of second-hand books in Milan. Striking are the order and care with which the books are arranged on the shelves and the courtesy and passion of the owner, who is happy to approach the customer to give advice and discuss the price.

Urban situation It is located in the most extreme and quiet corner of the small park, well away from the other kiosks that occupy the same ground and symbolically closer to the historic Teatro Dal Verme.

Period from 1960s

Site Foro Buonaparte, 46

Located at the side of a busy road, near the Sforza Castle and the metro Cairoli

Offer newspapers and souvenirs

Dimensions 3.6 x 2.0 x 3.1 m

Story Due to the heavy traffc of the main street, the kiosk constantly disappears and reappears behind the moving cars. Not like many this kiosk does not sell only one type of product, but two: Newspapers and, because of the many tourists passing to visit the Sforza Castle, also souvenirs.

Urban situation The kiosk is positioned in between two trees, on the outer edge of the sidewalk of the Foro Buonaparte, which circles the Sforza Castle.

Period after 1960s

Site Piazza San Gioachimo

Located next to the parish church of San Gioachimo and the tram station.

Offer newspapers

Dimensions 2.5 x 1.9 x 3.0 m

Story This kiosk is particular for the two lattices that enclose it when it is not in use. On a normal day we imagine the people reading a newspaper while waiting patiently for the tram to go to work.

Urban situation The almost square newsstand is positioned on a traffc island under the shadow of an old tree, naturally protecting the newstand from the sun and rain.

Period ca. 1940s

Site Via Venti Settembre, 24

Located at the side of a busy roundabout, near the metro station Conciliazione, in the residential quarter of Magenta.

Offer fowers

Dimensions 2.5 x 1.0 x 3.3 m

Story This trespolo, like some others, is equipped with foldable worktops, drawers and compartments where the forist can easily clean the fowers and arrange them in colorful bunches. The owner of this kiosk attaches in addition to the existing drapes big green fabric clothes to protect the fowers from the sun.

Urban situation The kiosk is placed at the end of Via Venti Settembre on the sidewalk facing the big roundabout.

Period early 1900

Site Viale Gorizia

Located between the Trofeo and the Scodellino bridge, overlooking the Darsena river, in the turistic quarter of Navigli.

Offer art

Dimensions 2.3 x 2.3 x 5.5 m

Story Called “Edicola Radetzky”, this kiosk was originally a newsstand. In 2016 it was transformed into a space dedicated to contemporary artistic research, hosting various exhibitions during the year.

Urbansituation Located at the end of one of the streets that fank the Navigli, the kiosk is clearly visible from afar, and with its position on the edge of the riverside, it refects in the turbid water of the Darsena.

Site Viale Lazio, 1

Located on the crossing of Viale Monte Nero and Viale Viale Lazio, near Piazzale Libia in the residential quarter of Porta Romana

Offer fowers

Dimensions 3.7 x 2.4 x 3.2 m

Story This kiosk is one of fews that offers a bouquet of fresh fowers until late at night.

Urban situation Positioned in the middle of the alley, bordered by trees, perfectly aligned with the small fowerbed, the kiosk encloses the end of the avenue, forming a feeling of a piazza.

Date ca. 1940s

Site Via Alessandro Manzoni, 20

Located near the metro Montenapoleone, at the crossroads between Via Alessandro Manzoni and Via Montenapoleone, the famous luxury shopping street.

Offer fowers

Dimensions 2.0 x 1.0 x 1.7 m

Story In the opening hours the extra-ordinary structure disappears covered with fowers of all kinds. Like many of the trespoli this one can be opened up from the back to store colorful ribbons and other material to create the perfect bouquet of fowers. Furthermore this space is used from the owner for taking small rest brakes.

Urban situation The kiosk is aligned with the famous shopping street Via Montenapoleone.