From the spaces of the former Cova panettone factory in the Nolo district to the Ex Macello in the Calvairate area, passing through the military hospital in Baggio and Varedo with Villa Bagatti Valsecchi and Villa Borsani, Alcova, since 2018, has stood out for its choice of unique and evocative locations, capable of speaking to our subconscious and breathing new life into forgotten places. Last year’s decision to move outside the city limits was a clear challenge, one that was fully met.

For the 2025 edition, the two semi-unknown residential architecture gems will be joined by two more new locations, also in Varedo: the fascinating Serre Pasino (Pasino Greenhouse), which once housed one of the largest orchid cultivations in Europe, and the former SNIA factory, the giant of synthetic fiber production, a remarkable example of Italian Rationalism, built in the mid-1920s and permanently closed in 2003. The first demolition of the factory took place last year. Fittingly, the factory itself—as its designer, architect Giuseppe De Min, said—was called “the greenhouse,” and that’s exactly what it aimed to resemble.