Apple first shared its plans for a new flagship Apple Store in Milan back in May of last year. The company said then that the store will sit beneath an amphitheater, and you’ll enter it using a staircase that descends through the middle of a fountain.
A local report now says that there will be a two-stage opening next month, and explains the reason for the delay …
Corriere della Sera reports that the site will open on Wednesday July 18. It’s not 100% clear whether the store itself will be open to the public then, or whether this is just the amphitheatre. Apple normally opens stores on a Saturday, which would see the store itself open on July 21.
The piece suggests that the Wednesday date is to allow time for any last-minute snags to be fixed. One possibility is that Apple will allow press access on the 18th, ahead of a grand opening on the 21st.
The site says that Apple was originally aiming to open the store in December of last year, and then February of this year, but that the discovery of asbestos in the walls and pipes had delayed things.
The site also says that the waterfall can be switched off, and the wall serves as a projection screen at night.
We saw some construction photos back in March, and you can find more at Corriere della Sera.
