Those who want to discover the true beauty of Milan must look behind its doors. For even behind the most inconspicuous façades, you can discover the true treasures of Italian architecture. In Milan’s entryways and foyers, famous architects from the 1920s to the 1970s, such as Giovanni Muzio, Gio Ponti, Piero Portaluppi, and Luigi Caccia Dominioni, have been immortalized. Through wonderful materials, artistic patterns, and surprising details, they’ve transformed these otherwise little-noticed transitional areas between public and private into splendid interiors for the residents, guests, and porters. Author Karl Kolbitz has now documented, in a large-scale volume, 144 of the most impressive Milan entrance halls in the book Entryways of Milan - Ingressi di Milano, published by Taschen Verlag, which can be used not only as a coffee table book but also as an architectural city guide, thanks to a city map with all addresses listed.

Photos: Taschen