The city of Milan, Italy, has had three different systems of defending walls. The oldest, the Roman walls, were developed in two stages: the first in the Republican era and the second in the Imperial era. The second wall system was realized in the Middle Ages (12th century), after the destruction of the city by Frederick I Barbarossa. Finally, the latest wall system was built by the Spanish rulers in the 16th century. While very little remains of these walls, their structure is clearly reflected in the urbanistic layout of the city. In particular, modern Milan has two roughly circular rings of streets, namely the "Cerchia dei Navigli" and the "Cerchia dei Bastioni", which essentially correspond to the Medieval and Spanish walls, respectively. Note that a third ring of roads just beyond the Inner Ring Road (circonvallazione interna / "Cerchia dei Bastioni"), called the External Ring Road (circonvallazione esterna), does not follow any old city walls, but rather was part of the 1884 Beruto Plan for the city of Milan, created and named after a municipal engineer and public servant to the local city government.[1]
Map of the Roman walls of Milan. The Republican walls are shown in red, the Imperial (Maximian) walls in blue
Republican walls
The oldest wall system was built when Milan (the Mediolanum) became a Roman municipium, in 49 BC. It was essentially square, each side about 700 m long. The walls had 6 main gates, which are usually referred to as "Porta Romana" (in Piazza Missori), "Porta Ticinese" (at Carrobbio), "Porta Vercellina" (where Santa Maria alla Porta church stands, "Porta Orientale" (or Porta Argentea, in via San Paolo), "Porta Jovia" (in via San Giovanni sul Muro), and "Porta Cumana" (at the end of Via Broletto, between Via Cusani and Via del Lauro). Note that some of these names (for example, "Porta Romana" and "Porta Ticinese" are also used to refer to gates of later wall systems located in the same area.
Maximian walls
The Maximian tower in the courtyard of the Archaeological Museum of Milan
In the Imperial era, while Mediolanum was capital of the Western Roman Empire, Emperor Maximian enlarged the city walls; to the east, this was intended to include the Hercules' thermae (located in the surroundings of what are now Piazza San Babila, Corso Europa and Piazza Fontana); to the west, the new walls enclosed the arena. Overall, the new wall systems exceeded 100 hectares. Two gates where added, later referred to as "Porta Nuova" (in what is now the corner between via Manzoni and via Montenapoleone) and "Porta Tonsa" (in the area now known as "Verziere").
Remnants
A few sections of Milan's Roman walls are still in place, among which:
in the northern part of Carrobbio, partially englobed in the modern buildings, a part of the 1st Century tower of Porta Ticinese;
in the basement of some buildings of San Vito, a trait of the Republican walls;
in the garden of a building in Via Medici, a Maximian tower and a short trait of walls;
in the courtyard of the Archaeological Museum of Corso Magenta, a 24-side polygonal Maximian tower;
in the basement of some building of Via Montenapoleone, some traits of Maximian walls
The medieval walls of Milan were built in the 12th Century, mostly as a defense against Frederick I Barbarossa, who repeatedly raided Lombardy. The perimeter of the medieval walls essentially correspond to what is now known as the Cerchia dei Navigli[it; es] [Navigli Ring], a ring of streets that enclose the historic centre of the city.
The construction of the medieval defensive structure of Milan started in 1156. In the beginning, a deep moat was realized, filled up with water drawn from the Seveso and Nirone[it] rivers. Wooden walls were added as a supplementary defensive measure, and the remnants of the Roman walls were probably exploited as well. Despite this first defensive installment, Frederick I Barbarossa razed Milan to the ground in 1162. After that, reconstruction immediately started, this time with stone walls. The final wall system was almost circular (in poet Bonvesin de la Riva's words: "of admirable roundness"),[2] with seven main gates (Porta Ticinese, Porta Vercellina, Porta Giovia, Porta Comasina, Porta Romana, Porta Nuova and Porta Orientale) and about ten "pusterle" or posterns (including Pusterla dei Fabbri, Pusterla di Sant'Ambrogio, Pusterla delle Azze, Pusterla di San Marco, Pusterla Monforte, Pusterla Tosa, Pusterla di Sant'Eufemia, Pusterla della Chiusa).
Most of the medieval walls were demolished between the 16th and 19th Century. The moats remained and were used as canals.
Remnants
Traits of Milan's medieval walls that still exist today include:
The so-called "Mura Spagnole" (Spanish Walls) of Milan were built between 1546 and 1560 in obedience to the will of Ferrante Gonzaga, city governor during the Spanish rule of Milan. The new wall system had an overall perimeter of about 11 km, much larger than that of the medieval walls; several traits of the walls were reinforced by moats obtained by the numerous canals surrounding the city. The perimeter of the Spanish walls essentially corresponds to what is now known as the "Cerchia dei Bastioni" ("Bastion Ring").
The walls remained well into the 19th Century, but they lost their military purpose in the mid 18th Century, being adapted as a sort of panoramic promenade by governor Gian Luca Pallavicini. Stendhal has described this promenade in his diary Rome, Naples et Florence; at the time, a passer-by would be able to see the Duomo from anywhere on the walls. From the northern part of the walls, one would be able to see both the Duomo (if looking south) and the Alps (if looking north).
When Milan was annexed to the Napoleonic Empire, governor Francesco Melzi d'Eril ordered the demolition of the Spanish walls and the replacement of the original gates. At the time, the gates were to serve as customs duty stations, and their architecture was supposed to reflect the grandeur of the Napoleonic Empire as well as the role of Milan as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. As a consequence, many of Milan's modern "gates" are located where the Spanish gates used to be, but only date back to the 19th Century.
Remnants
The best preserved parts of the Spanish walls are found in the surroundings of Porta Romana, for example in Piazza Medaglie d'Oro, between Piazza Medaglie d'Oro and Piazza XXIV Maggio, and in Viale Vittorio Veneto. In Viale Monte Nero there are two small gardens obtained from the old walls.
The Naviglio della Martesana is a canal in the Lombardy region, Northern Italy. Running from the Adda river, in the vicinity of Trezzo sull'Adda, to Milan, it was also known as Naviglio Piccolo. It is part of the system of navigli of the Milan area.
The Naviglio Grande is a canal in Lombardy, northern Italy, connecting the Ticino river near Tornavento to the Porta Ticinese dock, also known as the Darsena, in Milan. It drops 34 m (112 ft) over 49.9 km (31.0 mi). It varies in width from 22 to 50 m from Tornavento to Abbiategrasso, dropping to 15 m (49 ft) between there and Milan. Initially it carries 63 cubic metres per second (2,200 cu ft/s), 116 outlets take water to irrigate 500 square kilometres (190 sq mi) leaving the canal 12 m (39 ft) wide and carrying 12 m3/s (420 cu ft/s) as it enters the dock.
Piazza San Babila is a city square in Milan, Italy.
Villas and palaces in Milan are used to indicate public and private buildings in Milan of particular artistic and architectural value. Milan has always been an important centre with regard to the construction of historical villas and palaces, ranging from the Romanesque to the neo-Gothic, from Baroque to Rococo.
Porta Venezia is one of the historical gates of the city of Milan, Italy. In its present form, the gate dates back to the 19th century; nevertheless, its origins can be traced back to the medieval and even the Roman walls of the city.
Porta Romana is a former city gate of Milan, Italy. In its present form, the gate dates back to the 16th century Spanish walls of Milan. Its origins can be traced further back to the Roman walls of the city, which had a corresponding "Roman Gate" roughly in the same area. Porta Romana was the first and the main imperial entrance of the entire city of Milan, as it was the starting point of the road leading to Ancient Rome. According to a survey conducted by Scenari Immobiliari in 2020, this area is in first place in the ranking of the neighborhoods that offer the best liveability in Milan.
Porta Ticinese is a former city gate of Milan, Italy. The gate, facing south-west, was first created with the Spanish walls of the city, in the 16th century, but the original structure was later demolished and replaced in the early 19th century. The name "Porta Ticinese" is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding district, part of the Zone 6 administrative division. In the same district there is also a medieval gate with the same name, although in common speech the name "Porta Ticinese" is usually assumed to refer to the 19th century gate.
Porta Magenta, formerly known as Porta Vercellina, was one of the city gates of Milan, Italy. The gate was established in the 9th century, with the Roman walls of the city; it was moved with the medieval and Spanish walls, and was finally demolished in the 19th century. The phrase "Porta Magenta" is now used to refer to the district ("quartiere") where the gate used to be; the district is part of the Zone 7 administrative division of Milan, west of the city centre.
Castello Cova, also known as Palazzo Viviani Cova is a landmark Neo-Gothic style residential and business building located on Via Giosuè Carducci #36, in central Milan, region of Lombardy, Italy. It is located some 100 meters west of the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio. The building was designed by architect Adolfo Coppedè. Adolfo's career is also noted for designing the Casa del Fascio in Signa, and he was never shy to indulge in the appropriation of former styles and symbols; this building notable for its height and accumulation of Gothic architecture motifs such as a merlionated tower, peaked and rusticated ground-floor arches, and mullion-windows. It sports numerous decorated balconies on the facade.
The Zone 1 of Milan, since 2016 officially Municipality 1 of Milan, is one of the 9 administrative divisions of Milan, Italy.
Parco Papa Giovanni Paolo II, best known by its historic name Basilicas Park is a city park of Milan, Italy, located in Zone 1. It owes its name to the fact that it connects two major basilicas, the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio. The park has an overall area of 40.700 m2, bisected by Via Molino delle Armi, one of the avenues comprising the Cerchia dei Navigli ring road.
Neoclassical architecture in Milan encompasses the main artistic movement from about 1750 to 1850 in this northern Italian city. From the final years of the reign of Maria Theresa of Austria, through the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy and the European Restoration, Milan was in the forefront of a strong cultural and economic renaissance in which Neoclassicism was the dominant style, creating in Milan some of the most influential works in this style in Italy and across Europe. Notable developments include construction of the Teatro alla Scala, the restyled Royal Palace, and the Brera institutions including the Academy of Fine Arts, the Braidense Library and the Brera Astronomical Observatory. Neoclassicism also led to the development of monumental city gates, new squares and boulevards, as well as public gardens and private mansions. Latterly, two churches, San Tomaso in Terramara and San Carlo al Corso, were completed in Neoclassical style before the period came to an end in the late 1830s.
The Medieval Porta Ticinese is a gate of the former 12th-century Walls of Milan; it is located at the intersection of the Corso di Porta Ticinese and Via Edmondo de Amicis and Via Molino di Armi in the city center of Milan, region of Lombardy, Italy. This is one of the three remaining medieval gates of Milan. The others are Porta Nuova and the Pusterla di Sant'Ambrogio.
Porta Nuova is one of the three medieval gates of Milan that still exist in the modern city. It is sited along the ancient "Navigli Ring" on the perimeter of the medieval walls of the city.
The Zone 6 of Milan, since 2016 officially Municipality 6 of Milan, is one of the 9 administrative divisions of Milan, Italy.
The Pusterla di Sant’Ambrogio is a minor or secondary gate in the Medieval walls of Milan; the rebuilt Romanesque-style tower and pedestrian arches is located on Via Carducci #41, near the Castello Cova and some 50 meters west of the entrance of the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio in the center of Milan, region of Lombardy, Italy.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Milan:
Palazzo Arese was a 16th century baroque palace and seat of a branch of the House of Arese in Milan, Italy. It was located adjacent to Casa Fontana Silvestri near the Porta Orientale. The palazzo was demolished in 1943 following damage sustained during the bombing of Milan in World War II.
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