The present paper illustrates the Italian pilot action of the EASEE project (Envelope Approach to improve Sustainability and Energy Efficiency in existing multi-storey multi owner residential buildings), focusing on the analysis of energy refurbishment trends of the Lombardy region residential building stock. More than 60% of the existing building stock in Lombardy region has been built before the 70 s and it is among the main responsible causes of final energy absorption and corresponding CO2 emissions with a mean primary energy index for heating of about 202.0 kWh/m(2)y. The promotion of renovation measures for such buildings, also through innovative solutions, is becoming increasingly important for both containing the greenhouse gas emissions and supporting the growth of the construction sector. To this topic, the work presents the energy renovation of a residential building in the Province of Milan through the application of innovative prefabricated composite panels that integrate both thermal insulation and exterior finishing with textile reinforced mortar. In detail, the paper describes, on one hand, the main design strategies following the preliminary analysis and, on the other hand, the whole installation process; besides, the performance of the retrofitted envelope is documented by the results of the monitoring campaign. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.