With the signing a couple of days ago of an agreement between the Comune di Monza and the Triennale in Milan, a rich cultural programme is being put together for the whole of 2004. Eighty years after the first Monza Biennale of Decorative Arts (opened in 1923) and seventy years after the establishment of the Triennale, it will offer a series of exhibitions, seminars and conferences.

All of which go to illustrate how these two events (in Monza and Milan) have contributed to making Milan the capital of design, as well as offering a chance to guarantee future opportunities. The Monza Biennale and the Triennale in Milan tell the story of the evolution of art, craft and design highlighting the history of the fruitful collaboration between art and industry in the Lombardy area which has brought about excellent results in applied arts and furniture.

The first exhibition, “Milano, la Triennale e la città infinita”, opens 13 January (running until 7 March) which aims to illustrate the area – as yet lesser known – of greater Milan – from Malpensa to Orio al Serio. In order to achieve this, the exhibition adopts a new form, going directly to the places in question with a route that begins in the galleries of the Triennale and moves on to other locations – Vimercate, Cesano Maderno, Cantù and Malpensa.