In 1937, the Italian architect Franco Albini was commissioned to design an estate on the outskirts of Milan, part of the urban transformation sweeping the city. The result was Villa Pestarini. A masterpiece of Italian Rationalism, which blends modernism and geometric symmetry, the villa has been closed for decades. This week, acting as host to Alcova, the nomadic design platform, it opens to the public. Although Villa Pestarini has remained unchanged for over 80 years, during Milan Design Week the spaces will be filled with pieces by architects such as Luisa Castiglioni, who began her career as Albini’s assistant, and by the contemporary designers Sophie Dries and Jonathan Adler. —Maggie Turner