Silent Night: Milan after dark on the Silence S02
Our colleagues at THE PACK Italia took the Silence S02 for a night ride through Milan, we’re happy to share their story with you.
By Marco Ghezzi & Fabrizio Tiriolo – THE PACK ITALIA | At night, Milan changes character. As the lights come on one by one and the daytime hum fades, the city undergoes a near-magical transformation. The contemporary geometry of its newer districts gives way to warm light on historic façades, hidden courtyards, and old-world streets, creating an atmosphere that feels almost like an embrace.
It’s not just about how the city looks. The pace itself changes. Milan slows down, empties out, and lives differently after dark. Sounds fade, everything feels lighter, and details stand out more clearly. This is a side of the city many people rarely see, but one we were able to experience in full aboard the Silence S02. An electric scooter that produces essentially no noise, it turned out to be the ideal companion for a night tour of the city.
Quiet and discreet, the S02 let us move through the late-night city almost unnoticed, without disturbing the delicate balance of stillness and soft light: a true “Silence Night” ride.
Contemporary Milan
The route begins in the city’s most modern quarter. Around the Fondazione Prada, the contemporary architecture takes on a sharper edge under night lighting: clean lines, reflective surfaces, and open spaces create a striking contrast with the surrounding darkness, reinforcing the area’s tech-forward, modern feel.
Nearby, STEP – the Future Ability District – speaks to a future built on innovation, while the buildings of the new Porta Romana Olympic Village, set to become Italy’s largest student housing complex, stand out under lighting that highlights their clean lines and orderly volumes. The Silence S02, in its black-and-white livery with LED lighting and a multicolour display, fits naturally into this bright, modern setting.
Silence takes over
From there, the route moves toward the heart of the city, into a completely different atmosphere , one where silence itself becomes the main character. Riding along Via Lincoln, with its small colourful houses and quiet, intimate feel, is like passing through a village from another era, far removed from the daytime bustle just a few streets away.
At night, the street becomes even more evocative, with quiet and soft, warm light bringing out the colours and lines of the façades. Further on, the route enters the so-called Quadrilatero del Silenzio, an area that seems to hold onto Milan’s more discreet, elegant side. Piazza Eleonora Duse and the surrounding streets, lined with refined historic buildings, offer unexpected views. Time seems to slow down further here, and each building becomes something to take in slowly – like Palazzo Berri-Meregalli, one of Milan’s more unusual and striking buildings.
Low-angle lighting brings out the decorative richness of its façade: sculptures, mosaics, and symbolic details that add to its somewhat dark, enigmatic character. At the entrance to the building on Via Barozzi, it’s worth stopping to look up at the interplay of surfaces, geometry, and ornamentation that often goes unnoticed by day but is brought into focus by the soft evening light, while brighter window light hints at everyday life continuing quietly inside.
The route continues along Milan’s well-known fashion streets, Via del Gesù and Via della Spiga. Lively and busy by day, they take on a completely different character at night. Lit shop windows, empty of crowds, feel almost like art installations, and the streets themselves become quiet, elegant corridors where light does the work usually done by foot traffic.
Historic Milan
No night tour of Milan would be complete without the Castello Sforzesco. Set against the darkness, its scale is amplified by lighting that traces its outline and structure.
It’s a striking backdrop, one that invites a pause to take in the history. The final stretch of the route runs through the quieter, more intimate streets of the historic centre, including Via Brisa and Via Gorani. Here, among archaeological remains and layered architecture, the lighting draws out fragments of the past set into the present.
The old stone, carefully lit, tells a lesser-known side of Milan, one built on memory and quiet. By this point it’s deep into the night, just a few hours from dawn, and the calm is almost complete. The Silence S02 allows us to keep moving through it without disturbing that stillness, following curiosity rather than a set route.
That, too, is part of what electric mobility makes possible – on a combustion scooter, this kind of late-night wandering would likely have drawn police attention well before now. Milan at night isn’t simply a city with the lights on; it’s an experience to take in slowly, made up of details and atmospheres that aren’t visible during the day.
On the road
From the first few kilometers, the riding position stood out as well thought out. The wide, evenly shaped footboard allows a natural foot position, and even taller riders have enough room without their legs interfering with the front shield. The two-piece seat is generously padded and comfortable for the rider, and the passenger seat is comfortable as well, making two-up riding a practical option.
The small windscreen proves useful at higher speeds, deflecting air away from the head without affecting the scooter’s styling. Underseat storage is enough for a small bag or a jet helmet, and the standard rear rack makes it easy to fit a top case.
In the city, the S02’s agility stands out immediately. It handles traffic with ease, while its large-diameter wheels – 16 inches front, 14 inches rear – provide good stability even on uneven surfaces such as cobblestones and broken asphalt, without making the scooter harder to ride.
The hub-mounted motor is responsive, with three riding modes: ECO, CITY, and SPORT. ECO noticeably limits both acceleration and top speed, which is capped at 45 km/h; it wasn’t used during the test.
CITY is the most balanced mode, offering a reasonable trade-off between performance and energy use. SPORT sharpens throttle response and adds regenerative braking. The battery has a capacity of 5.6 kWh; during a test conducted mainly in urban conditions with some faster stretches on the ring road, average consumption came out at around 4.5 kWh per 100 km, translating to a real-world range of roughly 110 km.
One of the S02’s distinguishing features is its removable battery. The Fast & Easy system, with a retractable handle and wheels, allows the battery to be removed and moved around without much effort, making it possible to charge away from the scooter itself: a practical solution in urban settings where a nearby outlet isn’t always available. Reinserting the battery, however, requires some care: the support rails need to line up correctly, and this isn’t always straightforward. On uneven surfaces, the battery also showed a slight amount of play, producing occasional creaking noises.
Overall, the Silence S02 is well suited to city riding: agile, stable, and offering performance that matches the needs of daily urban use.
For our Italian readers: