LOMBARDIA Lombardy stretches from west to east between the river Ticino and river Adda: a domain that offers the visitor a fashinating geographical and artistic treasure. This area has a long history as a consolidated political region, with Milan at its heart, and it’s well known for its industriousness and spirit of renewal.

THE DUCHY OF MILANO The former duchy of Milano was officially ceded by the Holy Roman Emperor Wenceslaus to Gian Galeazzo Visconti in The Visconti dynasts had effectively held the seignory of the area from more than a century, during which time the rights and the liberty acquired by the Comuni and Communes had waned in their long struggle for freedom from the Imperial and papal subjection of the late Middle Ages.

Spanish occupation replaced the dominion of the Visconti dynasty and their successors the Sforza, though a certain degree of administrative autonomy still existed in the duchy, until the Spanish were forced off the field by the Austrian in The change of the rule marked the birth of a new region, coinciding with Lombardy we know today, although it was joined with Veneto to form Lombardo- Venetian Kingdom: a department of Austro-Hungarian Empire; after that it belonged to the Cisalpina Republic, and finally Italian Republic.

In recent centuries, however, Milano has had close bonds with its territories to the north, to the point that they have virtually become an extension of the city. Milano’s immediate hinterland and the neighboring Brianza district are essentially industrialized, becoming progressively more residential and less intensely developed as one nears the lakes.

DUOMO SQUARE The large rectangle around the cathedral still offers a central gathering place, as it did in ancient times. The square become particularly crowded during public events, at weekends, and during occasions for shopping. People meet here on their way for shopping or before going to the movies, to stop or have a chat.

More than 500 years in the making (1386 to 1887), the Duomo dominates Milan’s central square. It is Italy’s largest and most intricate example of Gothic architecture and a tribute to five centuries of artists, artisans, architects, builders, engineers, wealthy and ordinary citizens who contributed to its construction. Inside, five large naves are separated by colossal pillars and framed by the rare beauty and delicate artistry of the long stained-glass windows.

Opposite the cathedral stands the so-called Palazzo Carminati, on either side of the square run the symmetrical arcades.

Set into the north flank is the lofty arched entrance of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele

…. and opposite this the twin towers of the Arengario.

Opposite the cathedral rises Equestrian Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II ( ).

On the right side on the cathedral is the Piazzetta reale, bordered on the three sides by The Palazzo Reale

In 14 th and 15 th century, while work was under way on the apse and main vessel of the cathedral, the space that is now the piazza was occupied by earlier religious buildings: an early Christian basilica dedicated to Santa Tecla, a baptistery, and the cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore. By mid 18 th century these buildings had all disappeared from the square. The residence of the Visconti on the south side of the square, built on the site of the old Broletto ( Episcopal gardens where in the 11 th century the Communes began to seek freedom from the feudal system ) was remodelled by Piermarini; the neoclassical building is now known as Palazzo Reale.

THE CATHEDRAL The building is clad entirely in Candoglia marble, a pinkish-white variety with grey veins quarried on Lago Maggiore, and donated by Gian Galeazzo Visconti. The weight of this huge structure is borne by the massive piers and marble- clad vessel walls.

Gothic buttresses surmounted by pinnacles delimit the five main areas of the church: the nave, and double aisles, the main vessel and the portals. The cathedral was begun, probably in 1386 and certainly during the reign of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, in a period whose style is known as late Gothic, as evidence by the magnificent apse which was the first part of the temple to be built.

The interior with altars, sepulchres, choir, presbytery, and transept chapels tends to be styled more on the ecclesiastical concept of church form as designated by the Counter- reformation.

The building is 158m long and 93m at its widest, covering some sq.m,the 3 rd largest Catholic church in the world ); the abundance of statuary and decorative sculpture is breathtaking: there are over than statues not counting the statues in the splays of the windows, the 96 gargoyles.

The main entrance portal In the 1650's work was begun on the western facade but it was not completed until the 19th century. This facade is more classical in detail than Gothic.

The roof and the piazza from the roof Work was begun on the cupola in the late 15th century. The spire, completed in the 18th century, extends 350 feet above the cupola.

Adorned with more than three thousand statues, Perego’s Madonnina, who has kept her vigil from the cathedral’s highest spire since 1744, is the most loved. From the roof terraces, visitors may examine the Duomo’s spires and statues while enjoying a breath-taking view of Milan and, on a clear day, the snow-topped ring of the nearby Bergamo Alps.

VIA MONTENAPOLEONE The most exclusive shopping area in Milan. An elegant home for all the top names in fashion and design. An afternoon spent in window shopping will not be enough time to see everything. Luckily there are elegant pastry shops and tea rooms if you want to indulge yourself.

PALAZZO REALE It stands next to the ecclesiastic complex of the archbishop ‘s palace, it’s the traditional site for civic power, and it was remodelled in rigorous neoclassical style. The plan of the present building which was partly based on the earlier residence of Azzone Visconti in 1330, was modified by Austrian chancellor, a statesman and powerful figure in Viennese court. This building was even used as the Milanese Headquarter of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by Maria Theresa.

It was severely damaged by bombing in 1943, and has since been subject of much controversy and endless restorations; it became and exhibition space, largely for temporary shows. On the first floor, there’s the Civico Museo di Arte Contemporanea ( contemporary art ).

The most famous opera house in the world, La Scala was built by Giuseppe Piermarini between 1776 and The opera house stands upon the ruins of the old church of Santa Maria della Scala, its namesake. Circled by greenery in Piazza Scala, a monument to Leonardo da Vinci provides the perfect backdrop for La Scala’s neoclassical architecture LA SCALA

GALLERIA VITTORIO EMANUELE This monumental building with a glazed iron roof is a pedestrian mall linking piazza del Duomo with Piazza della Scala. Its ground floor offers elegant reastaurant, cafes and shops, and several bookstores.it was built to honour the Ausrian Emperor Franz Josef in 1859.

BRERA Brera is Milan’s artistic centre and is one of the most beautiful areas of the city. On foot or by bicycle, the winding cobbled streets lead to hidden treasures. The Pinacoteca Art Gallery, the Braidense National Library and the Accademia di Belle Arti (Art Academy) are at home in the beautiful Palazzo Brera

In the Pinacoteca gallery, there are more than 600 works by masters of the Lombard and Venetian schools which date from the 15th to the 18th century. The most prestigious works are by Mantegna, Giovanni Bellini, Gentile Bellini, Tintoretto, Ercole de' Roberti, Piero della Francesca, Raphael and Caravaggio. In the exquisite courtyard, Antonio Canova’s bronze statue of Napoleon Bonaparte greets visitors to the Academy and the Braidense National Library, founded in 1770 by Marie- Thérèse of Austria.

SANTA MARIA DELLE GRAZIE Originally constructed in austere Gothic style in 1490, the church and its adjoining convent are now a symbol of the glory of Renaissance Milan. Ludovico il Moro, in his quest to turn Milan into a beautiful rival of Florence, directed the architect Bramante (Donato di Pascuccio) to reconstruct the apse and lantern of his favourite church, St. Mary of Grace.

L’ULTIMA CENA Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint the frescos - the most famous being the Cenacolo or Last Supper, which graces the far wall of the adjacent Dominican dining hall

In the yaers Leonardo da Vinci created his famous "Supper", in which Jesus announces that he will be betrayed by one of his disciples:"But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed! And they began to inquire among themselves, which of them it was that should do this thing." (LK 22, ) The position of the present holies in groups of 3 persons, Jesus himself alone in the middle, the vehement gesticulating and miming of the angered disciples as well as the bearing of their hands give drama and reality to the immage. Because of the stereoscopic perspective of the room's depth and the painted windows in the background, Leonardo da Vinci gives to his Supper light and shadow effects, that let Jesus in the immage's middle seem just more shiny. Against the traditional technique for wall painting, Da Vinci used for "The Last Supper" a technique of oil and tempera, for that he created atmospherical effects and a special mood.

Soon after finishing the work the living and shining original colour lost aura. The humid north-wall absorbed the colour. This process was strengthened by another door opening in the under middle of the painting in the dining room, that divided the painting in two parts. The painting survived a bomb attack of the allies in It was restaured many times. During the last restauration from , one of the most large-scale in history, a lot of colour-levels from former restaurations were removed. Leonardo ( ), genious scientist and artist let a enigmatical work to humankind, that lets open questions and stays so mysterious and fantastic

Santa Maria Delle Grazie is the most evocative church of Milan. It is a blend of Gothic and Renaissance style by Guiniforte Solari and Donato Bramante. It is built upon the site of a former chapel with a fresco of the Madonna, known as Madonna delle Grazie. The construction of the church, designed by Guiniforte Solari, commissioned by the Domenicans, was started in 1466 (when the adjoining Monastery was practically finished) and completed in Shortly after, however, Ludovico il Moro, who was very fond of this church, decided to modify and enlarge it with the intention of having a Memorial to himself and his wife Beatrice d'Este added to the church as well.

Once the presbytery and the apse were demolished, Bramante began constructing the magnificent apse formed by a great tri- apsidal cube with a marvellous decoration of tondi in the bands of the base, with Sforza coats of arms and medallions in marble and male and female Saints in the upper parts (the latter are attributed to Amadeo). Within the apse rises the polygonal drum with mullioned windows and a graceful gallery upholding the dome. In 1497 Beatrice D'Este was buried in this church but, due to the political events of the time, Ludovico il Moro could not be buried beside her and the statues by Solari for the tombs of Ludovico il Moro and this wife, are now in the Charterhouse of Pavia. From 1558 to 1782 the Tribunal of the Inquisition had its haedquarters in the monastery. In the whole building was consolidated and restored under the direction of the architect Piero Portaluppi, thanks to the generosity of the senator Ettore Conti, who then also financed the renovations (in 1947), after the serious damage done to the Refectory of the Monastery and the main body of the Church during the 1943 bombings.

The façade, which is wide and low, is in traditional Lombard style. It is divided by pilaster strips and has four gothic windows in the lower part and oculi in the upper part. The marble porch in the form of a shrine, which is supported by culumns and pillars, is by Bramante. In the lunette of the deep porch arch, is a fresco by Michelangelo Bellotti (1729). Along the right side of the church are paired ogival windows with round oculi set between the points of each pair.

SANT’AMBROGIO Built by Saint Ambrose, the Patron Saint of Milan and dedicated to the Martyrs whose bones rest beneath its alter, the original Basilica dates back to the fourth century. In true Milanese style, the church was added on to and modified by following generations. In the 9th century, an elaborate alter of gold and silver leaf, studded with jewels and enamel, is a tribute to the master goldsmith Volvinio. The bell tower on the south was constructed in the 9th century, and the north tower added in the 12th century.

Like early Christian basilicas, this Romanesque church has an atrium or colonnaded court in front of and attached to the church. It has a two-story narthex, or entry porch, with arches on both floors. Many Lombard churches, like this one, are built of brick; the clay in this region fires to a deep red. Lombard churches are also characterized by tall square belfreys. The south tower (right), the Old Monk's Tower, dates to the 10th century whereas the taller north tower, the Canon's Tower, is dated in the 12th century. The huge gable over the nave and aisles is also characteristic of Lombard churches.

In the late 15th century Bramante designed three cloisters for Sant'Ambrogio and its adjacent monastery. The Porta della Canonica was designed in the 1480's-90's.

CASTELLO SFORZESCO Renaissance Milan in all its glory, this castle was constructed by Francesco Sforza as his residence and fortress in Much loved by the Sforza family, especially Galeazzo Maria Sforza and Ludovico il Moro who added many decorative features to the castle.

After its abandon, the castle nearly became victim to an urbanization scheme calling for its demolition - luckily the plan was defeated and the castle restored by Luigi Beltrami, at the turn of this century. The castle houses many museums and collections

I NAVIGLI

Naviglio Grande The oldest canal takes it’s water from the Ticino river. Tha canal was constructed from 1177 to 1257 and is about 50 km long. In the past it was used as transporting way of goods, particularly for the blocks of marble that were used for building the Cathedral. Typical, old Milan houses, old wash-houses with wooden beamed roofs and craftsmen’s workshops remember on passed times. Today you find boutiques and ateliers of artist of Milan, cafes, restaurants and old moored barges fitted out as bars for meeting the typical atmosphere and the young Milan people.

The Pavia Canal (Naviglio Pavese) It was built at the beginning of the 14th century and starts from the Darsena (habour) and flows into the Ticino river after 33 km which joins after a while Po river that flows into the Adria see.

Darsena The Darsena was built in 1603 and it’s basin is the only remaining evidence of the vast system of canals and waterways in Milan. The Grand Canal flow into the Darsena and the Pavia Canal and the Ticinello flow out. Here, every Saturday the colourful flea market take place where second-hand goods and antiques may be found.

Naviglio della Martesana Is supplied by the Adda river that gots it’s water from the Lake Lecco. Along the towns Inzago, Gorgonzola and Cernusco sul Naviglio a bikeway ports into the heat of Milan, where the canal disappears under the ground

THE SORROUNDINGS

PARCO ADDA NORD

BELLAGIO

BERGAMO

CARAVAGGIO

COMO

CREMONA

LECCO

MONZA

PAVIA

TREZZO D’ADDA

VIGEVANO

CINISELLO WHERE WE LIVE…

THE COUNTY COUNCIL

VILLA GHIRLANDA

PIAZZA GRAMSCI

IL PARCO

CHIESA S. AMBROGIO

PARCO NORD There is a green space on the map of Milan where the metropolis borders on its northern hinterland: it is the Parco Nord Milano, surrounded by the local councils of Milan, Bresso, Cinisello Balsamo, Cormano, Cusano Milanino and Sesto San Giovanni. A law passed by the Regione Lombardia in the seventies protects this last unbuilt-up area by creating a metropolitan green belt park, today nearly completed and destined to become the big green lung of the north of Milan.

"1967, the idea of the park. 1983, the beginning of the process of systematic, gradual formation of the "Parco Nord system" How was this result reached? What, in short, were the essential stages in the process of establishing, planning and setting up the park? The idea of the Parco Nord can be given a date of birth: 1967 In that year the mayors of the Centro Studi Piano Intercomunale Milanese, set up to design an urban plan for the metropolitan area at a level beyond that of individual municipalities, approved the first outline of "general draft plan". In that draft it was considered a priority to create the Parco Nord Milano, meant to be a large green lung at the heart of the zone most densely built up

and most at risk of saturation in the north of Milan. The idea began to take concrete shape in 1970 when the Consorzio Parco Nord Milano was established by Prefect's decree; in 1973 it came into operation; in 1975 it was recognised by the Regione Lombardia as a regional park. The first decade ( ) was devoted to the urban planning of the territory and the beginning of the planning of the park; the first concrete operation of major significance dates back to : the purchase of land belonging to Breda Finanziaria, an area of some 120 hectares (a fifth of the total area destined for the park); this purchase allowed the Consortium to dispose of a first compact core of areas on which to start the first operations.

Reforestation was the main activity in the early years, but soon the setting up of the Park multiplied into a plurality of interventions. We can briefly remember the most important: · environmental reclaiming and removals; a large part of the area to be covered in meadowland and woods was in a state of decay and required radical operations of removal and reclaiming first of all, the most emblematic of these operations, finished between '86 and '88, was the "hill", the former dump for the waste from the blast furnace at Breda and then, for many years, an area abandoned as an illegal dump for all sorts of rubbish, then turned into parkland and today the pride of the park, like many other places typical of the most run down outskirts that today have become precious and prized parts of the park

cycle and footpaths; from the few, primitive dirt tracks of the early years, the system of paths in the Park was quickly enriched and made more complex so as to allow better access and hence use for cyclists and walkers (indispensable too for service vehicles) in all the areas of the Park; till today, the system of paths in the Park has been extended to about 30 km, equally divided between asphalt cycle paths, concrete footpaths and the remaining dirt tracks; ramps are essential for guaranteeing the continuity of the cycle and footpaths by allowing them to cross the roads that cut through the park and that otherwise would be uncrossable barriers "environmental reclaiming and removals, cycle and footpaths and ramps"

"we have been accused of having created a park for a few "radical chic" users but today the Park is enjoyed by the general public Given this description of the present state of the Park and of the relevant stages in its process of development, I think it is appropriate to add some comments as a "professional" from within the Parco Nord experience to highlight some details of a certain importance, especially in the context of our town. In this period, in fact, I have looked back on the news bulletin of the Park published in 1988, ten years ago, with the work only just underway, and the improvement there has been in these years has really struck me forcefully. That distant issue of the news bulletin contained more projects than accomplishments, more hopes than results, even though those pictures of scrawny saplings planted in a marginal area of the outskirts of a city were a sure sign of something starting, of a process that was getting under way.

The history and the particular location of the Parco Nord Milano in the heart of a urban context make possible the existance of institutional relationships with the police forces, the establishment of a Surveillance Service, and a Service of "Vigilanza Ecologica Volontaria" made by volunteers. The latter has the task not only to constantly control the Park during the whole year, but also to carry out environmental monitoring, to intervene in case of natural disasters, to support parties and events organized by the Ente and addressed to everyone. If the Parco Nord has the possibility not to enclose its boundaries, this is thanks to everyone's help: in this way the Park is able to maintain the control over the territory, witnessing the positive result of its preventive work.

Given the peculiarity of Parco Nord as a result of a requalification work, it has to be stressed among the points of interest the Teatrino del Parco. Finished in 1994 at the foot of Montagnetta, the Teatrino represents an example of how to realize a place of meeting for the citizens from an industrial building. It was built recovering the old concrete structure made of fourteen pillars which previously sustained a crane for the loading and unloading of the Breda's blast furnace waste. The Teatrino had its height increased by the creation of an embankment which hosts a small concrete stage and a suggestive structure of parabolica section made of lamellated wood, to enhance the acoustics and address the sound to the audience. The latter occupies an open space covered with grassland and limited on its sides by concrete pillars which alternate to benches partly built recycling old sleepers.

The list of all the structures for the free time, whose use is strictly regulated but free, maybe is the best sign of the harmonic development that we have given to the Park. Every year, thousands of visitors arrive to the Park. This extraordinary success is due to multiple causes:  It is a big green lung (our mission is to build nature and to improve the quality of life of habitants)  It is a big park to the service of the communities of the hinterland Milanese, but can be used for many other people (a big metropolitan park)  It is a park managed day by day, clean and curate (an European park )  It is a secure and watched park (a park for everyone)  It is a park full of occasions, equipments for free time, cultural, educative and recreational activities (a living park)  It is a park with new ideas and new projects for the future (a park on continuous development)  It is a park open to the suggests and propositions of people (a listening park)