From Milan

You don't have an idea of how many evenings I have spent in this bar ( Bar Basso is the name) in Milan, since when I started University, with my large group of friends.

Hours of discussions on politics, philosophy, fashion, nice boys, bad girls, bad boys, nice girls, gossips, music, about trips, impressions on our first visit to Paris, to London...always with a huge "Mangia e Bevi" (eat and drink) in front of us (delicious ice cream, fresh fruit and a mixture of liqueur in a big Venetian blown glass bowl) or drinking those famous infamous cocktails of my youth: Negroni (or the "Wrong Negroni" with Spumante Brut instead of Gin, invented by the owner) Americano and Manhattan which I probably could not drink so easily now without consequences!
In winter we sat inside under the huge Venetian chandeliers, in spring and summer outside, grouping together as many tables and chairs as possible, to the delight of the waiters!
It was the first Bar for cocktails in Milan and for us it represented many first adventures of life and yes it was the fabulous Sixties, pre and post 1968, which revolutionized Italy like the rest of the western world.
"Ci vediamo al Bar Basso" we used to say "Let's meet at Bar Basso" and we knew we could go for aperitivo, pre-dinner or for cocktails after dinner and someone would be there for sure.

Bar Basso has become in recent years a "cult" place for designers coming from all over the world.

It all started when the son of the owner, returning from Berkeley, became a good friend of Marc Newson, Jasper Morrison, James Irvine and the like, so the Bar became the hub for the young designers and even more so after a memorable Party in 1999 when "the friends" decided to invite 40 people each...about 1000 people showed up..."Everyone was there"

Now it is considered during "I Saloni" a neutral zone where to meet, know each other better and brutally edit the list of endless events to follow the next day.

It is a nice place for a drink all year long and I still go there at times, alone or with some old friends!

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