Walls of Milan
Encyclopedia
The city Milan, Italy
, has had three different systems of defending walls. The oldest, Roman
walls were developed in two stages, the first in the Republican
and the second in the Imperial
era. The second wall system was realized in the Middle Age
s (12th Century), after the destruction of the city by Frederick I Barbarossa. Finally, the latest wall system was built by the Spanish rulers (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.
) 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" (Santa Maria alla Porta), "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.
, 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 hectare
s. 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").
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 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"), with seven main gates (Porta Ticinese, Porta Vercellina, Porta Giovia, Porta Comasina, Porta Romana, Porta Nuova and Porta Orientale) and about ten "pusterle" or postern
s (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 was used as canals.
The Pusterla di Sant'Ambrogio, located by the eponymous church, is a 1939 reconstruction of the original Pusterla di Sant'Ambrogio.
, city governor during the Spanish rule of Milan. The new wall system had an overall perimeter of about 11 km
s, 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).
The Spanish walls comprised 11 gates: Porta Romana
, Porta Tosa (now Porta Vittoria), Porta Orientale (renamed Porta Venezia in 1860), Porta Nuova, Porta Comasina (renamed Porta Garibaldi in 1860), Porta Tenaglia
, Porta Sempione
, Porta Vercellina, Porta Ticinese
, Porta Lodovica
, and Porta Vigentina
.
When Milan was annexed to the Napoleonic Empire, governor Francesco Melzi d'Eril
ordered the demolition of the Spanish walls and the replaced 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.
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...
, has had three different systems of defending walls. The oldest, Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
walls were developed in two stages, the first in the Republican
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
and the second in the Imperial
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
era. The second wall system was realized in the Middle Age
Middle age
Middle age is the period of age beyond young adulthood but before the onset of old age. Various attempts have been made to define this age, which is around the third quarter of the average life span of human beings....
s (12th Century), after the destruction of the city by Frederick I Barbarossa. Finally, the latest wall system was built by the Spanish rulers (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.
Roman walls
Republican walls
The oldest wall system was built when Milan (the MediolanumMediolanum
Mediolanum, the ancient Milan, was an important Celtic and then Roman centre of northern Italy. This article charts the history of the city from its settlement by the Insubres around 600 BC, through its conquest by the Romans and its development into a key centre of Western Christianity and capital...
) became a Roman municipium
Municipium
Municipium , the prototype of English municipality, was the Latin term for a town or city. Etymologically the municipium was a social contract between municipes, the "duty holders," or citizens of the town. The duties, or munera, were a communal obligation assumed by the municipes in exchange for...
, 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" (Santa Maria alla Porta), "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
In the Imperial era, while Mediolanum was capital of the Western Roman EmpireWestern Roman Empire
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly referred to today as the Byzantine Empire....
, Emperor Maximian
Maximian
Maximian was Roman Emperor from 286 to 305. He was Caesar from 285 to 286, then Augustus from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian established his residence at Trier but spent...
enlarged the city walls; to the east, this was intended to include the Hercules' thermae
Thermae
In ancient Rome, thermae and balnea were facilities for bathing...
(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 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s. Two gates where added, later referred to as "Porta Nuova" (in what is now the corner between via Manzoni and via Montenapoleone
Via Montenapoleone
Via Monte Napoleone, also spelt as Via Montenapoleone, is an elegant and expensive street in Milan, Italy, famous for its ready-to-wear fashion and jewelry shops...
) and "Porta Tonsa" (in the area now known as "Verziere").
Remnants
A few traits 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
- in the cloister of the Monastery of San Vittore, now Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology, the remnants of an octagonal building and two towers.
Medieval 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" ("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
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
was realized, filled up with water drawn from the Seveso
Seveso
Seveso is a town and comune in the Province of Monza and Brianza, in the Region of Lombardy. The economy of the town has traditionally been based around the furniture industry....
and Nirone 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
Bonvesin de la Riva
Bonvesin da la Riva was a well-to-do Milanese lay member of the Ordine degli Umiliati , a teacher of grammar and a notable Lombard poet and writer of the 13th century.His De magnalibus urbis Mediolani , written in the late spring of...
's words: "of admirable roundness"), with seven main gates (Porta Ticinese, Porta Vercellina, Porta Giovia, Porta Comasina, Porta Romana, Porta Nuova and Porta Orientale) and about ten "pusterle" or postern
Postern
A postern is a secondary door or gate, particularly in a fortification such as a city wall or castle curtain wall. Posterns were often located in a concealed location, allowing the occupants to come and go inconspicuously. In the event of a siege, a postern could act as a sally port, allowing...
s (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 was used as canals.
Remnants
Traits of Milan's medieval walls that still exist today include:- at the end of Via Manzoni, the old 12th Century Porta Nuova;
- Porta TicinesePorta TicinesePorta 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...
, also one of the main gates of the medieval walls; - remnants of the medieval Porta Romana, in the basement of two buildings at the crossroad between Corso di Porta Romana and Via Sforza;
- about 20 meters of medieval walls have been preserved in Via San Damiano;
- in the building at Corso di Porta Venezia, 21, there is a fragment of a bas-relief that used to be part of Porta Orientale.
The Pusterla di Sant'Ambrogio, located by the eponymous church, is a 1939 reconstruction of the original Pusterla di Sant'Ambrogio.
Spanish walls
The so-called "Mura Spagnole" (Spanish Walls) of Milan were built between 1546 and 1560 in obedience to the will of Ferrante GonzagaFerrante Gonzaga
Ferrante I Gonzaga was an Italian condottiero, a member of the House of Gonzaga and the founder of the branch of the Gonzaga of Guastalla.-Biography:...
, city governor during the Spanish rule of Milan. The new wall system had an overall perimeter of about 11 km
KM
KM, Km, or km may stand for:*Kilometre *Kernel methods*Kettle Moraine High School*Khmer language *Kuomintang , a centre-right political party in the Republic of China on Taiwan...
s, 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
Stendhal
Marie-Henri Beyle , better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology, he is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism in his two novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme...
has described this promenade in his diary Rome, Naples et Florence; at the time, a passer-by would be able to see the Duomo
Duomo di Milano
Milan Cathedral is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. Dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente , it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola....
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
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
(if looking north).
The Spanish walls comprised 11 gates: Porta Romana
Porta Romana
Porta Romana is a common toponymy in Italy, most often associated to those city gates that controlled the main route connecting a given city to Rome. Places named "Porta Romana" in Italy include:...
, Porta Tosa (now Porta Vittoria), Porta Orientale (renamed Porta Venezia in 1860), Porta Nuova, Porta Comasina (renamed Porta Garibaldi in 1860), Porta Tenaglia
Porta Tenaglia
Porta Tenaglia was one of the gates of the old Spanish walls of Milan, Italy. It owes its name to the so-called "Tenaglia" , a fortified walls system that embraced the north-west side of the Sforza Castle...
, Porta Sempione
Porta Sempione
Porta Sempione is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The name "Porta Sempione" is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding district , a part of the Zone 1 division , including the major avenue of Corso Sempione...
, Porta Vercellina, Porta Ticinese
Porta Ticinese
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...
, Porta Lodovica
Porta Lodovica
Porta Lodovica was a city gate of the Spanish walls of Milan, Italy, named after Ludovico Sforza. Today, the name refers to the district of Milan where the gate used to be, which is part of the Zone 5 administrative division...
, and Porta Vigentina
Porta Vigentina
Porta Vigentina was one of the city gates in the Spanish walls of Milan, Italy. The gate has been demolished, but the phrase "Porta Vigentina" is still used to refer to the district where the gate used to be, part of the Zone 5 administrative division of Milan.The gate controlled access to Milan...
.
When Milan was annexed to the Napoleonic Empire, governor Francesco Melzi d'Eril
Francesco Melzi d'Eril
Francesco Melzi d'Eril was an Italian politician and patriot, serving as vicepresident of the Napoleonic Italian Republic...
ordered the demolition of the Spanish walls and the replaced 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
Kingdom of Italy (Napoleonic)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall.-Constitutional statutes:...
. 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.