The capital of fashion and international style, Milan has become the powerhouse behind the Italian economy, which is the eighth largest in the world and the third largest in the European Union. The city is home to the country’s main stock exchange, Bocconi University, many Fortune 500 companies and global brands, and a robust infrastructure for research and development as well as manufacturing. Centrally located in Europe, Milan is connected by high-speed train to Paris, Rome and Turin, and by the international airports of Linate and Malpensa to destinations further afield. All these factors contribute to why Milan is emerging as an important and attractive place to live, work and invest.
Eye on Milan - COIMA
The advantages of buying property in Italy are many. The legal system is based on civil law. And as Jean-Paul Baroni of LED Taxand points out, “In Italy the purchase of residential properties is particularly simple and safe. The financing of the purchase by a local bank is a common practice easy to be applied. Cost and taxes related to the ownership of a residential property are fairly cheap in comparison to other countries. Calculation of the property tax and its payment are quick and easy. Last, but not least, after five-year ownership and in certain situations the capital gain arising from the possible sale of the residential property is totally exempt from income taxes.”
Among the most attractive and innovative new developments in Milan—for residence or investment—in Porta Nuova, and especially the contemporary apartments of the Bosco Verticale there. The neighborhood was created and is managed by COIMA, one of Italy’s most active Italian real estate companies. Founded in 1974, COIMA is an internationally renowned leader in real estate investment, development and management. Among its holdings are more than 150 properties and 30 real estate investment funds worth upward of €8 billion.
Eye on Milan - COIMA
Porta Nuova is centered around the Biblioteca degli Alberi di Milano (BAM), the city’s newest and third-largest park. Over the last 10 years, the pedestrian-friendly area has welcomed 400 new homes in six individually designed buildings and has become a major economic hub in fashion, technology and finance, with a thriving commercial life, thanks to dozens of business headquarters, shops, restaurants and cafés.
One of the showpieces of Porta Nuova, designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti, is the Bosco Verticale. With 111 apartments in two separate buildings, Bosco Verticale is a symbol of green urban living, geared to sustainability and wellness. Each building—one 18 stories high, the other 26—is covered in self-sustaining, living vegetation, with 15,000 plants in all. Their resulting microclimate creates humidity, absorbs CO2, and produces oxygen, thus contributing to improved air quality for Bosco Verticale residents. The building is a model for connecting people in dense urban environments to nature.
Eye on Milan - COIMA
As one resident notes, “From every window or terrace you see the city and its views—with buildings, streets and cars—and at the same time you see trees, flowers, bushes and birds, like you’re in the countryside. Bosco Verticale is not only a place where you live, it’s a life experience.”
Living in Bosco Verticale and Porta Nuova epitomize the quality of life that Italy and Milan are known for: the history, culture, climate and verve that are hardly equaled elsewhere.
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