Milano, Italy

Grid Locator: JN45ok

A short history of Milano

According to the Roman historian Livy, a Celtic village was first founded in this area in the 6th century BC. Conquered by Roman legions in 222 BC, was called "Mediolanum" (the Roman name for Milano) . Only a few traces of the Roman period remain in the city. Milano was sacked by barbaric invasions from Northern Europe and Asia in 539 AD and its role of capital was lost. The Roman-Barbaric kingdom of the Longobards (569-774) - from whom Lombardy, the region surrounding Milano takes its name - was settled.

The old Milanese Visconti family were 'lords' of Milano from 1277 to 1447. The Viscontis gave the city a political

and cultural supremacy which brought international renown. After 1447 there were three brief years of republican rule.

Then in 1450, Francesco Sforza, son-in-law of the last Visconti duke and captain of the Milanese army, took over command of the city. The Sforza family's rule coincided with the Renaissance years in Italy and with one of Milano's moments of major artistic creativity. Among others, Donato Bramante and Leonardo da Vinci came to work for the city. It was during this period that the Duomo and the Castle were being built, along with the hospital which is today's the State University.

In the last years of Sforza rule, in the early 16th century, Northern Italy became one of the territories contested by the French and the Spanish monarchies. The Spanish prevailed, and the city was governed by them for nearly two centuries (1535-1706).

The great European wars of the late 17th and early 18th centuries brought Milano under the domination of the Austrian Imperial dynasty of the Hapsburgs. The Brera Academy was founded in this period and the Scala Opera theatre was built, as well. In the course of the wars that followed the French Revolution of 1789, Milano came under French control. At first it became capital of the Cisalpine Republic and, thereafter, of the so-called 'Regno Italico', which was governed by relatives of Napoleon and comprised nearly the whole of Northern Italy. The Austrians returned to Milano after Napoleon's defeat in 1815, but they were no longer enlightened reformers. Their minister Metternich described Italy as 'a mere geographic expression' when, in fact, Milano had been introduced, during the Napoleonic era, to the ideas of Italy's national unification.

In 1848 the city rebelled against the Austro-Hungarians, and in 1859 it became part of the Savoy Kingdom, which was to become, in 1861.

The Castle (Castello Sforzesco)

The Sforza Castle is a spectacular fortified palace built by the Viscontis and the Sforzas, Signori of Milano, who held sway over Northern Italy between the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. The Castle was extensively renovated around 1900 to house museums and libraries. Particularly outstanding is the art gallery containing both paintings and sculptures.Its exhibits include the Rondanini Pietà, last and perhaps most moving masterpiece by Michelangelo. Elsewhere in the Castle are other collections of old instruments, tapestries, furniture and costumes from bygone centuries, every piece outstanding.

The Castle by night

The Cathedral “DUOMO”

The core of Milano is unmistakably the cathedral square, or "Piazza Duomo", with the spectacular cathedral, or Duomo.

This has been so since the Dark Ages, when an Early Christian church already stoodhere. Only the scale of things has much changed since. Thousands and thousands of people still cross the square every day, strolling between the 19th century "Galleria Vittorio Emanuele" - dedicated to the first king of Italy, as is the monument portraying him on horseback - and, opposite, the 18th century Palazzo Reale, with the modern twin buildings of the Arengario protruding into the square.

La Scala

No need to introduce it - everybody knows it's the first Opera House in the old continent. The building dates from 1776, though it was effectively restored after bombing during the Second World War. The acoustics of this theater are even more legendary than its history.

I Navigli

A very characteristic district, once the town's port. Strange as it may seem today, till 1928 Milano was penetrated, even close to the center, by canals - or Navigli - and barges. Like in any other town, Milano's port was a lively place, with occasional seedier overtones.

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