Palazzo del Ghiaccio

The Palazzo del Ghiaccio is a beautiful liberty building in via Piranesi in Milan, which was conceived by the national ice skating champion, count Alberto Bonacossa, and opened on 28 December 1923.

With a  rink of 1800 square metres it was at that time the largest covered ice skating facility in Europe and one of the largest in the world.

It was hit by bombs during the Second World War; it opened again after the war and was in use until 2002.

In its 80 year history the Palazzo del Ghiaccio hosted some of the most important Milanese sporting events, which included boxing, fencing and basketball as well as events on the ice; it was also used for amateur sporting events, shows and the screening of films. There have also been memorable concerts, including Adriano Celentano’s debut at the “Festival Italiano del Rock and Roll” in 1957, “Sei Giorni della Canzone” with Mina in 1959, a Pink Floyd concert in 1971 and the performances by famous artists like Giorgio Gaber, Enzo Jannacci and Luigi Tenco.

The major refurbishment, completed in 2007, restored the buildings previous functions, while redeveloping and rationalising the space from an architectural perspective.

The possibility still exists to use the parterre in its historic function as an ice rink; at the same time the building acquired new modularity which makes it a polyfunctional space that is suitable for hosting the widest range of events: shows, concerts, fashion shows, gala evenings, exhibitions, conferences, fairs and company meetings.

Access to the building takes place via a large foyer and the parterre of more than 2400 square metres. This is overlooked by other spaces of different sizes, on various floors, which can also be used independently, on the basis of the requirements for individual events.