Knowing 's province: History, art, nature and new architecture

Today, Milan's province includes 189 cities. This area is so rich and diverse that it deserves several itineraries: hence, the publication "Knowing Milan and its province". Cultura, arte, paesaggi, tradizioni fan- Milano, la grande capitale della laborio- Dopo aver avviato, ormai nel lontano Conoscere Milano e la sua provincia. Un This project aims at promoting and enhancing the Milan no parte del patrimonio turistico, spes- sità italiana, ha una lunga storia da rac- 2002, i primi itinerari alla scoperta di invito che AIM rivolge a tutti i cittadini area; it was conceived by the Department for Tourism so sottovalutato, della provincia di contare e da leggere nei segni che dal una Milano in profonda trasformazio- della città centrale a diventare "viandan- of the Provincial Administration, together with the Milano. Eppure il nostro territorio è al passato ad oggi e nelle prospettive del ne,e in particolare dei nuovi quartieri ti nella loro terra", ad uscire dalle mura Urban Center of the City of Milan and the Chamber of sesto posto nella graduatoria italiana futuro segnalano gli interventi dell'uomo con nuovi parchi sorti su aree industria- urbane e a ritrovare nei segni del passa- Commerce of Milan. per le presenze turistiche e, anche se sul territorio, con le diversificate forme li dismesse, Urban Center promuove to e nelle realtà della vita odierna il per- gran parte di queste vengono generate di agricoltura e di produzione e nelle questo nuovo Conoscere Milano esteso corso che l'uomo ha condotto occupan- AIM designed and dal flusso di visite per affari, vi è un infrastrutture. E poi la rete dei centri a tutto il territorio della provincia. do e facendo fruttare un territorio fra i co-ordinated sempre crescente numero di cittadini urbani divenuti centri dell'industria Gli itinerari, disegnati a corolla attorno più fertili e ricchi dell'Europa. the itineraries. Ten interessati a scoprire inaspettati luoghi lungo le linee del trasporto viario, d'ac- a Milano, con tappe molto diverse tra Il percorso di conoscenza del moderno guided tours, di interesse a poca distanza da casa. qua e ferroviario, e accanto alle fonti di loro, toccheranno il ricco patrimonio viandante incontrerà poi, pur nella ricor- diverse and Per questo motivo presentiamo con energia. E ancora gli snodi del commer- storico e artistico insieme a trasforma- rente congestione di un territorio fitto interesting, soddisfazione, insieme alla Camera di cio, dell'incontro e della residenza dalle zioni e recuperi contemporanei, parten- di presenze abitative, produttive e infra- to unveil an area that Commercio e con il patrocinio di più lontane forme di insediamento ai do spesso da luoghi storici, nuovi quar- strutturali, i segni evidenti di nuove has a rich heritage Urban Center, questo programma di iti- nuovi quartieri. Negli itinerari per "cono- tieri o progetti di recupero realizzati a politiche di recupero e riassesto dei and a strong nerari attraverso la storia e l'arte nei scere Milano e la Provincia" si leggono Milano, a sottolineare il ruolo baricen- centri storici, di restauro di beni monu- drive towards the dintorni della città senza tralasciare le stratificati tutti questi interventi e si vede trico che il capoluogo detiene. mentali pubblici, privati ed ecclesiasti- aree dedicate all'agricoltura, all’indu- anche quanto lavoro ancora si possa e Urban Center si dimostra ancora una ci, nuove tipologie di parchi tutelati e future. stria e quelle degli ambienti naturali. si debba promuovere per migliorare la volta il luogo dedicato alla comunica- aperti ad utilizzi vari per il tempo libero Brevi visite per scoprire che, per "fare qualità della vita e dell'ambiente e per zione e all'informazione sul territorio, in e lo sport. Segnali concreti di un diffu- turismo", non sempre è necessario dare nuovi impulsi economici e sociali questo caso con l'obiettivo rivolto alle so rinascimento e rinnovamento am- affrontare lunghi viaggi in terre lontane. allo sviluppo. tante mete ricche di storia e di tesori bientale promosso e gestito dagli enti disseminati nella provincia milanese locali che sono anch'essi una ricchezza Direttore centrale Hanno collaborato ITINERARY 9 Filippo Penati Carlo Sangalli del nostro territorio. Cultura e Turismo Roberto Barelli Presidente Presidente Pia Benci Alessandra Costarpa ANCIENT ABBEYS IN THE Provincia di Milano Camera di Commercio di Milano Silvia Iantorno FERTILE PLAINS OF Responsabile Servizio Loretta Sangalli Turismo Luisa Zanardi Abbazia di Mirasole Monica Giudici Anna Zetti South of the city, the Humiliati ANCIENT ABBEYS IN THE FERTILE PLAINS OF LOMBARDY abbey sits alone in the farmland Area Programmazione Renato Mattioni Along a country road, an ancient Carthusian Comunicazione Federica Villa farmhouse with a precious church e Relazioni Istituzionali Laura Colombo In the centre of town, an Research and copy General co-ordination imposing historic castle Monica Torri Luisa Toeschi Mara Martello Carlo Berizzi Claudia Galassi Massimo Tiano A site of faith and art, founded by Milly Di Bello the Cluniac monks at Calvenzano Graphic and photos Itinerary guides We go South, in a fertile plain that has long been irrigated for farming. Before exiting Milan, we Roberto Redaelli Società CIVITA Viboldone travel through the new neighbourhood on the former Officine Meccaniche and Iveco site. One more abbey on the doorsteps of Milan, Abbazia di Mirasole stands in a rural landscape: it was founded by the Humiliati monks, and is with beautiful 14th-century frescoes maybe the least famous of the many abbeys South of Milan. The itinerary then goes by the Abbazia INFORMATION di Viboldone and the better-known Abbazia di Chiaravalle. The monks made major reclamation www.provincia.milano.it works in the countryside surrounding their abbeys, growing new crops and creating a landscape that www.conosceremilano.it has remained virtually unchanged until the 20th-century urban development. We travel through the farmlands of Parco Sud, and get near Melegnano. In the past, it was one of Tourist Office Province of Milan the most important farming towns in the lower Milanese plains. Memories of the past are still to be Piazza Castello 1 ang. Via Luca Beltrami found in the historic centre, especially the Castle, one of the most relevant Lombard monuments Tel 02 805.80.614/15/16 from the late Middle Ages. Monday to friday 9 a.m. - 3 p.m We get back to Milan on historic Via Emilia, travelling through the towns of Vizzolo Predabissi, Mail: [email protected] San Giuliano and . After World War II, Metanopoli was built here: ever since then, this area has developed dynamically, specialising in the industrial and service sectors. Its Copyright: Province of Milan-AIM 2006 economic activity is closely connected to business in Milan. 4. MELEGNANO 1. QUARTIERE 2. ABBAZIA DI MIRASOLE 3. CARPIANO Melegnano is another important stop in our itinerary RAVIZZA As we go towards Opera, narrow country roads lead to Carpiano deserves a stop: it is an ancient rural village, later industrialised, dominated by the late South of Milan. In the centre of town, we find the the Mirasole monks' abbey, that can be seen from a 14th-century Carthusian church of San Martino, that appears as a surprise along the road. The inside imposing Medici Castle, one of the most important The new Ravizza distance thanks to its tall bell tower. The abbey was is quite intimate, its naves separated by brick pillars. This church also includes works of art: a late Middle Ages monuments in Lombardy, which neighbourhood has founded in the early 13th century; it is maybe the least fresco attributed to Bernardino Luini depicts Mary Magdalene; a wonderful altar in Candoglia was built as early as in the 10th century to protect been built on the large known of the many abbeys around Milan. The entrance marble surprises for its beauty, and even more for its story. It was sculpted by Giovanni da the entrance to Milan from the Via Emilia. Its site where the OM tower used to be protected by a moat; it leads to a Campione and his school with relieves on the story of the Holy Virgin. Originally, it had been complex story can be traced in its architecture. Officine Meccaniche square courtyard where rural facilities and places of commissioned to be the altar of the Carthusian monastery of Pavia, but it was soon removed Emperor Frederick Barbarossa conquered it, then and Iveco factories worship are mixed together, which was typical of the because it portrayed scenes taken from the "apocryphal" Gospel of Saint Matthew. Eventually, it it was the location of power struggles between the were. Two elegant Humiliati architecture. Stables, the farmstead proper was taken to the Carthusian farmstead of Carpiano and long forgotten. In front of the church, we Visconti and Torriani families. It was later rebuilt, towers, designed by and courtyard are next to the small church of Santa find a still active farmhouse and the castle that Gian Galeazzo Visconti donated to the Carthusian first in the late 13th century, then in 1350, by fierce Massimiliano Fuksas, Maria Assunta, a single-nave building decorated with monks in 1396 together with the feud. Bernabò Visconti, who chose it as his favourite characterise it, and 15th-century frescoes. The church leads to a lovely residence. Gian Giacomo Medici had it renovated three interconnected cloister, where the refectory, the meeting room, the in the 16th century; his accomplishments are parks: Parco della administration office, the vestry and the Chapter room depicted in the spectacular first-floor frescoes. Cultura, Parco delle all open up. Later, it was sacked by the French, and in 1859 it Memorie Industriali witnessed the battle where the French defeated the and Parco della Austrians, on the very day when Napoleon III and Vettabbia. Vittorio Emanuele II triumphantly entered Milan. The building, that has been restored and changed several times, has the typical architecture of low- land castles. It is made of brick, with stout corner towers and a porch-lined courtyard. Inside, it still has many pictorial decorations, most dating back to the 16th century.

5. VIZZOLO 6. ABBAZIA DI PREDABISSI VIBOLDONE In the town of Vizzolo Predabissi, This green land offers many surprises. The Viboldone Abbey the borough of Calvenzano has was founded by the Humiliati monks in 1176. Today, it is the ancient Cluniac monastery of home to a community of Benedictine Nuns who dedicate 7. SAN DONATO METANOPOLI Santa Maria Assunta, a far-away, themselves to the restoration of ancient books and codes. The We make our way back to Milan through San Donato Milanese. mysterious beauty. This is a church of San Pietro is the only authentic part in the The town is best known for the Eni Metanopoli complex, that timeless site, even though the city compound, that was partially rebuilt by Luigi Caccia Enrico Mattei had built in the 1950s. It is a business centre hospital looms on the horizon. Dominioni after World War II. The façade is brick with comprising five green glass buildings designed by leading The late 15th-century church façade marble decorations; the wooden portal leads to a three-nave Italian architects and a residential area, that has had a deep is made of brick and still has a interior, amazingly beautiful and nearly all covered in impact on the town's appearance. Around Metanopoli, new medieval portal sculpted with frescoes. They are considered to be the most impressive buildings designed by top international architects have been scenes from the life of the Holy 14th-century frescoes in Northern , and are clearly built, such as the new Kenzo Tange BMW headquarters and Virgin and Jesus' childhood. Inside, influenced by the work of Giotto. new interesting residential housing projects. the church is bathed in light, has harmonic proportions and is beautifully quiet. The church has three naves leading to three apses. The only fresco still remaining shows the Crowning of the Virgin. It was painted in the late 14th century by artists influenced by the Umbria and Tuscan style.