The Municipality of Milan would not like to renew the lease of the historic Grimoldi watchmaker's premises in Piazza Duomo. The matter ended up in court and was to be expected. On one side Grimoldi, a Milanese watch and jewellery retailer with a clientele ranging from high-ranking state officials to rock stars. On the other, the municipality (or rather: the council currently in office), which would like to revoke the concession to the historic shop in order to rent the space to the highest bidder. In between, a pronouncement by the Lombardy Regional Administrative Tribunal (TAR) has suspended the dispute pending the hearing scheduled for April. "Unfortunately, the municipality has enormously increased rents, ignoring the parameters set by the revenue agency for commercial establishments," explains Roberto Grimoldi, who owns the shop together with his brothers. Grimoldi's lawyer Serena Patrisso points out that 'for the shops he owns in the area of the gallery, the municipality has inserted new requirements in addition to those necessary for the recognition of Bottega Storica, granted by the same municipality, which appear contradictory as well as retroactive'. The outcome of the proceedings is far from certain, but it is certainly the historic shops like Grimoldi, and a few others, that make Piazza Duomo unique and attractive, while the big brands, already widely represented in the fashion district, can be found in any major city in the world.
