Housing for Single People in Early Twentieth-Century Milan: The Cooperative Experience and the Case of the Albergo Popolare

Abstract

This paper reconstructs the origins of housing for single people in early twentieth-century Italy, with particular attention to the case of the Albergo Popolare in Milan (1901), a philanthropic initiative promoted by Luigi Buffoli. In the rapidly industrialising urban context of early twentieth-century Milan, marked by a severe housing crisis, the Albergo Popolareprovided a concrete response to the growing demand for accommodation from migrant and seasonal workers. Inspired by the British model of the Rowton Houses, the project introduced a new residential typology based on the negotiation between private spaces and mechanisms of surveillance, within a broader hygienic-moral programme. The research examines the role of this experiment within the transnational context of late-nineteenth-century paternalistic-industrial, philanthropic, and cooperative housing initiatives, shedding light on a history often neglected by historiography, which remains largely centred on family housing. Particular attention is devoted to cooperative initiatives aimed at single women, modelled on the Albergo Popolare, and their marginalisation within the housing landscape of the time. Drawing on archival sources and an interdisciplinary perspective, the study explores the tensions between philanthropy, modernity, and paternalism, offering new interpretative insights for rethinking the history of Italian residential architecture through the lens of housing for single people.