A little background on the grandaddy of over-the-top design fairs: What is now a city-wide festival and logjam of design events started in 1961 with a group of furniture makers keen to promote the Italian design scene. This is its 52nd iteration; highlights include a huge installation by Pritzker Prize winner Jean Nouvel described as an office for living. (According to Nouvel, the current office model involves "grotesque clones, standardization, totalitarianism, never the merest hint of being pleasurable to inhabit.") And do not miss Pavilions 22, 23, and 24: It's where the young guns come out to play at Salone Satellite. Milan fairgrounds, Rho, cosmit.it

Every other year, the Salone fairgrounds hosts the lighting fair Euroluce (lighting is shown during off-years in Frankfurt). Look out for new introductions from Foscarini, Artemide, FontanaArte, and even American players like RBW and Roll & Hill. Milan fairgrounds, Rho, cosmit.it/en/euroluce

The Triennale Design Museum joins the fun with an exhibition on the history of Italian design, a hot new concept car by UK designer Ross Lovegrove, and Tadao Ando's new seating for Carl Hansen & Son, a tribute to Hans Wegner. Viale Emilio Alemagna 6, triennaledesignmuseum.org

The museum is located in Parco Sempione, near the Brera design district. Other hotspots here will be the Revolving Room, presented by Kvadrat, Moroso, and Patricia Urquiola, as well as Designjunction's Edit exhibition inside the historic La Pelota. Don't miss the Luca Nichetto/Oki Sato collaboration at Foro Buonaparte 48. fuorisalone2013.breradesigndistrict.it

Tom Dixon's shindig at the Museum of Science and Technology returns for a second outing. Fab.com is a retail partner, and expect Japanese handmade goods along with plenty of Scandinavians and dose of American (Design Club, that is). In the Olona building, check out Czech company Lugi—you may recognize Matej Chabera's stool from the September 2012 issue of Dwell, when it was still in prototype form. Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia, Via Olona 6B, mostsalone.com

Behind a nondescript façade in central Milan, you’ll find one of the city's best curated design spaces, the always lovely Spazzio Rossana Orlandi. It's a destination and a personality all rolled into one. (Check out our interview with Rossana here.) This year she's taken on the Heruclean task of planning three design exhibitions (including the Museo Bagatti Valsecchi and an installation at Zara flagship store on Corso Vittorio Emanuele) in addition to kitting out her own fantastic space. Via Matteo Bandello 14/16, rossanaorlandi.com

One of the many citywide companion fairs, Ventura Lambrate is clustered in an industrial area of Northeast Milan. Presenters include Established & Sons (London) and Danish Crafts (Copenhagen). Ventura Lambrate, venturaprojects.com

Another satellite fair, Zona Tortona, has been losing a bit of steam thanks to younger upstarts, but there is still plenty to see here. Moooi will be a big presence (stay tuned for our interviews with Lorenza Bozzoli and Nika Zupanc, two designers joining the likes of Marcel Wanders, Studio Job, and Neri & Hu. Superstudio Più is another must-see; their theme of "Global Design" is right on point with Dwell's May issue, currently on newsstands. Via Tortona 37, tortonadesignweek.com

Meet My Project is one of those younguns edging into the establishment. The satellite fair began in 2010 in Paris and Milan and expanded last year to include the Stockholm Fair. This year's, comprising design pieces from emerging designers from Egypt, Japan, Switzerland, Poland, Brazil, Portugal, and more will be on view at Studio Next. Via Varese 18 (Via Francesco Crispi 5) meetmyproject.com

Last but not least, the London-born designjunction presents Edit, a roundup of British-made home goods from the likes of Uniform Wares (watches), Modus, and Case Furniture. La Pelota, Via Palermo 10, thedesignjunction.co.uk

Make sure to follow as long as scout the fair's furniture and lighting offerings and meet designers. You can catch Dwell in action on Twitter, (@dwell), Instagram (@dwellmagazine), and now even the Vine app (@dwell), plus right here on Dwell.com.

Appears In

2013 Salone Internazionale del Mobile Furniture Preview