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— The collections of the Italian manufacturer enhance the restaurant overlooking Milan

On the seventh and top floor of the Excelsior Hotel Gallia, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Milan – an iconic Belle Époque building and a landmark of luxury hospitality in the heart of the city – Terrazza Gallia Restaurant renews its identity, weaving together the value of its setting with a contemporary vision of Italian hospitality and cuisine. In this context, the restaurant becomes a tribute to Italy’s rich gastronomic heritage and to the ongoing dialogue between traditions, territories and visions. The result is an ‘Osteria d’Autore’ that blends memory and innovation, creating a space where travel becomes an experience: a journey through flavours, seasons and memories that ideally crosses the entire Italian Peninsula, reinterpreting the great traditions of Italian cuisine through a contemporary lens.

Terrazza Gallia, restaurant and rooftop cocktail bar, benefits from the consultancy of the Michelin-starred Cerea family and is led by Executive Chef Vincenzo Lebano together with Chef de Cuisine Andrea Cala Di Dio. Its culinary offering celebrates Mediterranean and Lombard cuisine with a contemporary touch, through menus that evolve season after season, striking a dynamic balance between tradition and experimentation.

The aesthetic renewal project is based on a harmonious vision of space, where design enters into dialogue with an enveloping and coherent colour palette. Overlooking Piazza Duca d’Aosta and Milan Central Station, Terrazza Gallia Restaurant establishes a direct connection with the city and its spirit of openness. The view of the station’s monumental facade, a symbol of departures, arrivals and encounters, becomes an integral part of the narrative, bringing the theme of travel back to the heart of the venue’s identity.

In this continuous dialogue between indoors and outdoors, architecture and urban landscape, light plays a central role: by day, it enhances geometries and volumes, while at dusk the city lights transform the panorama into a vibrant backdrop suspended between history and contemporaneity. The interior lighting, conceived as an integral part of the architectural project, accompanies this narrative, while surfaces and materials reflect natural light, amplifying the perception of space.

Within this setting, Pedrali collections integrate naturally and coherently into the project, helping to define an elegant and contemporary atmosphere, perfectly aligned with the identity of the space.

The selected furnishings interact with the architecture and colour palette, interpreting the relationship between comfort, functionality and aesthetic research with balance. Soft lines and calibrated proportions accompany the guest experience, while the quality of the materials and attention to detail express a design approach focused on durability and wellbeing. Each furnishing element contributes to shaping a welcoming and refined environment, enhancing both the convivial and more intimate dimensions of the restaurant.

In the main dining room, Ester armchairs add a further touch of sophistication, elevating the atmosphere and making the culinary experience even more distinctive.

Designed by Patrick Jouin, Ester is a mix of elegance, ergonomics and functionality. A precious leather monolith shaped by soft lines and harmonious proportions, complemented by refined die-cast aluminium legs. The upholstered shell in polyurethane foam with elastic belts ensures exceptional comfort, inviting guests to enjoy a relaxed and memorable dining experience. The selected warm tones – terracotta, sand and caramel – envelop visitors in a refined sensory experience.

The space also features Wow poufs, designed by Claudio Dondoli & Marco Pocci, which enrich the setting with their functional yet discreet presence.

At sunset, the rooftop bar becomes the perfect spot for an aperitif. Next to the counter, a lounge area is further enhanced by Ester Lounge armchairs, designed by Patrick Jouin, which create a sense of visual and design continuity with the surroundings. Ester Lounge maintains the elegance of the armchair, enhancing it with even softer and more generous shapes together with increased comfort. Made of injected polyurethane foam with elastic belts, in Ester Lounge proportions have been conceived to gracefully accommodate a wider, cosy seat, on which rests a comfortable cushion, and a backrest with a curved, enveloping design. In designing Ester Lounge, Patrick Jouin emphasized the characteristic oval shape of the backrest, which distinguishes the collection. The curves of the backrest continue with the sinuous, enveloping forms of the armrests, ending on the floor with refined die-cast aluminium legs, encapsulating the attention to detail that is a feature of the entire collection.

The lounge armchairs are paired with Blume tables, designed by Sebastian Herkner and selected with a round tabletop – a symbol of sharing and dialogue. This design choice encourages interaction and fosters conversation, transforming every dinner into a convivial occasion.

Blume table echoes the refined lines of the collection, whose distinctive character lies in the extruded aluminium column featuring a sophisticated flower-shaped profile running along its entire height, giving the table its unmistakable identity.

Also within this lounge area overlooking the city, Buddy sofas are featured alongside poufs and seats from the same collection, designed by Busetti Garuti Redaelli. Buddy collection consists of upholstered elements in polyurethane foam, characterised by the contrast between the bold volumes of the seat and a slender, lightweight frame. The pouf and seat with upholstered backrest, available in two different heights and several sizes, can be combined with one another to meet the need for flexible and reconfigurable layouts in contemporary interiors. While remaining consistent with the friendly and reassuring design language of the collection, Buddy Sofa enhances seating comfort thanks to a combination of four different densities of polyurethane foam supported by elastic belts, creating an exceptionally soft and inviting seating experience. Perfectly complementing the collection, Blume coffee tables by Sebastian Herkner, with a round central base, are available in a range of heights to create elegant compositions.