Piazza Cordusio is a square in central Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. The piazza takes its name from the Cors Ducis (Ducal court) which was found in the square during Longobard times. It is well-known for its several turn-of-the-19th-century Neoclassical

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

, eclectic

Eclecticism in art

Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact that it was not a particular style...

 and Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...

 buildings, banks and post offices. Even though many of these have now relocated elsewhere, it is still an important commercial square in the city and hosts the Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali

Assicurazioni Generali

Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. is the largest insurance company in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. It has its headquarters in Trieste...

(Palace of the Assicurazioni Generali), the Palazzo del Credito Italiano (Palace of the Credito Italiano) and the Palazzo delle Poste (ex Borsa di Milano) (the Palace of Post (ex Stock exchange of Milan)). Piazzale Cordusio hosts the Cordusio metro station and is the starting point of the elegant pedestrian Via Dante

Via Dante

Via Dante is an important and elegant pedestrian street in central Milan, Italy, connecting Piazzale Cordusio and Largo Cairoli . It is very near to the city's Castello Sforzesco and is named after the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri...

 which leads to the imposing medieval Castello Sforzesco

Castello Sforzesco

Castello Sforzesco is a castle in Milan, Italy, that used to be the seat and residence of the Duchy of Milan and one of the biggest citadels in Europe and now houses several of the city's museums and art collections.-History:...

, or Milan Castle. Opposite to Via Dante, Cordusio borders onto Piazza Mercanti

Piazza Mercanti

Piazza Mercanti is a central city square of Milan, Italy. It is located between Piazza del Duomo, which marks the centre of the modern city of Milan, and Piazza Cordusio, and it used to be the heart of the city in the Middle Ages...

, former city centre in the Middle Ages, which leads directly to Piazza del Duomo

Piazza del Duomo, Milan

Piazza del Duomo is the main piazza of Milan, Italy. It is named after, and dominated by, the Milan Cathedral . The piazza marks the center of the city, both in a geographic sense and because of its importance from an artistic, cultural, and social point of view...

, today's city centre.

Palaces

Palazzo delle Assicurazioni Generali

This palace is the main one in the square, and was built by architect Luca Beltrami

Luca Beltrami

Luca Beltrami was an Italian architect and architectural historian, known particularly for restoration projects. He was a student of Camillo Boito at the Brera Academy...

 from 1897 to 1901. It is the main headquarter of the mega-finance corporation Assicurazioni Generali. It has a small tower with a dome.

Palazzo del Credito Italiano

The palace of the Credito Italiano, which is a semi-circular eclectic building. The palace was designed Luigi Broggi (born in 1851 and died in 1928), but work on it was only carried out until its completion in 1901.

Palazzo delle Poste (ex Borsa di Milano)

Another semi-circular building similar in style to that of the Credito Italiano, and also designed by Luigi Broggi and completed in 1901. It was the old stock exchange of Milan, until it was transferred to the more modern Palazzo Mezzanotte

Palazzo Mezzanotte

Palazzo Mezzanotte , also known as Palazzo delle Borse is a 20th century building of Milan, Italy, and the seat of the Italian stock exchange. It is located in Piazza Affari , the city square after which the Italian stock exchange itself is nicknamed...

 in Piazza Affari ("Business Square"). Currently it hosts the main post office in Milan.

Monuments

Monumento a Giuseppe Parini

This is a metal and stone statue which stands in the middle of the piazzale and is meant to depict the great literary figure Giuseppe Parini

Giuseppe Parini

Giuseppe Parini was an Italian Enlightenment satirist and poet of the neoclassic period.-Biography:Parini was born in Bosisio in Brianza, Lombardy...

(born in 1729, and died in 1799). It was constructed by Luca Beltrami (born in 1854, and died in 1933).