Villa Necchi Campiglio is a historic residence situated in the heart of an upmarket area in Milan city centre. Designed in the early 1930s by architect Piero Portaluppi, one of the greatest Italian architects of the period, the building was commissioned by sisters Nedda and Gigina Necchi and Angelo Campiglio, Gigina’s husband, exponent of a cultured and up-to-date Lombard industrial bourgeois family. Set in a wonderful garden with tennis courts and swimming pool (one of the city’s first), the residence is large. Its ground floor consisted of reception rooms and the upper floor was the bedroom section. Its splendid Art Deco décor, everyday use objects and significant works of art was supplemented by the Micheli and Gian Ferrari collections which comprised work by Tiepolo, Canaletto, Sironi, De Chirico, Martini and Wildt. In 2017 the villa’s collection was further supplemented by the Guido Sforni collection: 21 works on paper by some of the best known artists in the 20th century such as Picasso, Fontana, Modigliani, Matisse and others.

Villa Necchi Campiglio has been owned by Fondo Ambiente Italiano since 2001. One of the FAI’s goals is to tear down any physical, sensory and cognitive barriers limiting access to culture and ensuring an enjoyable and satisfying visit to its properties by all visitors. From this perspective, in conjunction with the ENS Regional Council in Lombardy, FAI has developed a special project for deaf people called Hearing art”. Deaf visitors can visit the house-museum in group visits, on prior booking, conducted by guides with specific Italian Sign Language training and a degree in art. Furthermore individual visitors to Villa Necchi can use tablets with  a free video-guide in Italian Sign Language and International Sign Language  made available by the museum.