August is the month when Milan empties and discovers its silence. Those who stay in town rediscover forgotten sounds: church bells, swifts, a piano from an open window. It is a good moment to talk about a quality that, in prime homes, is worth more than people think: silence.
Where quiet comes from
The silence of a home depends on three factors, and only one can be changed easily.
- Position: a side street, a courtyard view, a high floor. It is the most important variable, and it cannot be corrected.
- Construction: thick walls, heavy floors, good separation between apartments. Period palazzi, with their solid masonry, often have an advantage over post-war buildings.
- Windows and systems: frames, shutter boxes, air conditioners, the lift. Here you can intervene, often with excellent results.
How to recognise it during a viewing
Viewings are usually held mid-morning, when noise is average. I always advise coming back at least once at another time: on a Friday evening, if there is a bar below; early in the morning, if the tram passes; on a Sunday afternoon, to hear the neighbours.
During the viewing it is worth closing the windows and standing in silence in the bedroom for a few minutes. It is the simplest test and the most telling.
Silence does not show in photographs. That is why it is one of a home's most underrated qualities.
What can be improved
A 1997 regulation sets the acoustic requirements for new buildings, but many Milanese homes are older and fall outside it. To improve them, the most effective measures are:
- Acoustic laminated glass and well-sealed frames, which on their own radically change how street noise is perceived.
- Insulated shutter boxes, often the weak point of otherwise excellent windows.
- Floating floors or impact-sound underlays, when the home is renovated.
- Quiet systems: air-conditioning outdoor units away from bedrooms, insulated pipes.
The value of silence
Two apartments identical in size and finishes can be worth very different sums if one faces a busy boulevard and the other an inner garden. The most experienced buyers know this, and are willing to pay the difference.
Luxury, after all, is not about adding: it is about removing what disturbs. And noise is the first thing one would want to remove.
Real estate advisor · Milan