American Express launches “Milan Itineraries: 30 Businesses Redefining the City” A guide dedicated to the next generation of businesses shaping Milan’s commercial landscape

American Express presents “Milan Itineraries: 30 Businesses Redefining the City”, a new guide developed in collaboration with the Young Entrepreneurs Group of Confcommercio Milano Lodi Monza Brianza and curated by nss edicola. The publication highlights a new generation of independent businesses that are helping shape the evolution of Milan’s neighbourhoods. Created as part of Shop Small®, American Express’ global initiative supporting small businesses, the guide spotlights local enterprises that combine creativity, community engagement and innovative approaches to neighbourhood commerce.

The new guide Milan Itineraries: 30 Businesses Redefining the City tells the stories of 30 independent Milanese businesses that are helping shape the city’s evolution and are led by a new generation of entrepreneurs redefining the local commercial landscape. Available free of charge in digital format in both Italian and English, the guide is designed for both residents and visitors who wish to discover a different side of Milan through walking and cycling itineraries that explore some of the city’s most vibrant neighbourhoods. The project also includes an illustrated map featuring the two suggested routes, created to make it easier to explore the businesses and neighbourhoods involved.

The Value of Authenticity

The guide launches at a time when, according to new Ipsos Doxa research commissioned by American Express, Italian consumers are increasingly drawn to local businesses that combine authenticity and innovation. Among consumers aged between 18 and 34, 46% report having increased their spending in neighbourhood shops over the past year, compared to 37% across the overall sample. The role of local businesses extends far beyond commerce: 92% of Italians believe shops are essential to preserving neighbourhood identity, 89% consider them crucial to the vitality of urban centres, and 84% believe they foster social interaction and community life. This connection to authenticity also emerges while travelling, with 39% of Italians actively seeking out local businesses to discover products and experiences rooted in regional culture.

“Consumers increasingly value small local businesses that are able to evolve while maintaining a strong connection to the identity and culture of the communities they serve. For 125 years, American Express has supported merchants in Italy, helping them grow, innovate and strengthen their relationships with customers. Through our Shop Small initiative, we continue to champion those local businesses that define the character of our neighbourhoods, bring people together and make cities such as Milan more vibrant. This guide is a tangible example of how we aim to promote and showcase the small enterprises redefining local commerce through tradition, creativity and new approaches,” said Luca Staglianò, Vice President & General Manager, Merchant Services, American Express Italy.

The illustrated map of “Milan Itineraries”

Complementing the guide is an illustrated digital map that provides an overview of the 30 businesses selected for their role in reshaping Milan. It presents a two-part itinerary, designed to be explored either by bicycle or on foot, connecting “North Milan” and “South Milan”, two symbolic areas of the city’s transformation. The route unfolds over the course of an ideal day, structured around three moments: Upon Waking, Out for a Stroll and At the End of the Day, guiding readers through multiple trajectories in which these businesses contribute to shaping an experience of the city and its cultural imagination. What makes the guide a reflection of Milan is not only its structure, but also the voices of the merchants, who, by sharing personal and thoughtful accounts of their businesses, have helped redefine the idea of contemporary Milan and the “Milanese lifestyle”, capturing and translating the spirit of the city into tangible realities. “Milan is a place where you can feel at home without ever being bored,” says Agnese Furlan, founder of Due000contemporaryarchive.

Milan, a city in constant evolution and a hub for trends and cultural transformation, profoundly influences local businesses and the entrepreneurial challenges they face. As Francesca Spiller, owner of Reading Room, explains: “The greatest challenge has been carving out an authentic space in a competitive and constantly changing city while remaining consistent with our identity and values.” What unites the featured merchants is their ability to interpret Milan through its many facets. “Milan is our home, and we would like it to become welcoming for everyone, not just for the fortunate few. We hope to grow alongside the city, becoming increasingly connected to it and helping make it fairer. More community driven,” say Maria and Giovanni Moratti, founders of the book bar Colibrì.

Alongside this perspective emerges the city’s international dimension, highlighted by Lorenzo Cioli and Stefano Ferraro of Loste Café: “It is a blend of tradition and internationalism. When I think of the stereotype of the Italian lifestyle, I do not think of Milan but of a more small town way of life. Milan has an Italian identity, but within a dynamic and strongly international context. For us, it is a stimulating combination.” A city that has made innovation and quality defining characteristics of its identity. As Francesca Missiroli of GYRU Cycling Studio notes: “Milan is one of the few cities in Italy where you can introduce something new and immediately find the right people who understand it.” Like many of the featured merchants, she recognised what was missing and created a new kind of space to fill that gap.

The Future of Milan Between Innovation and Tradition

“Local businesses represent far more than an economic presence. They are places of social connection, security and identity for neighbourhoods. Their strength lies in their ability to preserve a legacy while continuing to innovate. Technology, digital tools and omnichannel strategies have become essential resources for strengthening ties with local communities and continuing to deliver value. Supporting local commerce therefore means supporting the future of our cities,” said Marco Barbieri, Secretary General of Confcommercio Milano, Lodi, Monza and Brianza.

Milan emerges as a fully contemporary city, shaped by contradictions, metropolitan identities and forms of community that are constantly being redefined, with a level of international openness unlike any other in Italy. Reflecting this spirit, Milan Itineraries: 30 Businesses Redefining the City challenges conventional narratives about Milan and proposes new routes through the city from a more horizontal perspective, bringing together a new generation of entrepreneurs, creatives and independent ventures. The selected destinations contribute to defining Milan every day through a mapping of places that tell the story of the city’s present and, in many cases, anticipate its possible future trajectories.

The guide is available free of charge from today in digital format, both in Italian and English.

The illustrated map of "Milan Itineraries" is available free of charge from today in digital format on the nss edicola website, in Italian and English.