Porta Nuova in Milan

The Porta Nuova district stretches around the Porta Garibaldi railway and metro station. It is a futuristic and modern area, a few steps away from historical areas such as Corso Como, Corso Garibaldi and the Isola district, stretch very recent buildings that have transformed Milan’s skyline.

This area has been completely redesigned in recent years by world-class architects. Some projects are still in progress. Today it is one of the most futuristic areas in Milan.

The most important buildings in the Porta Nuova Project are the skyscrapers, designed to house offices, shops and housing.

In Piazza Gae Aulenti are the two Towers, including the UniCredit Tower, designed by architect César Pelli, which, at 231 metres, is the tallest skyscraper in Italy to date.

A stone’s throw from the square is a curious building, resembling a wicker basket: these are the IBM Studios. They cannot be visited and host events and other activities of the large American computer company.

From Piazza Gae Aulenti you can admire the two buildings of the Bosco Verticale, one of Milan’s symbols. According to a survey, it is the most shared place on Instagram by tourists: a real challenge to the Duomo! These are two residential towers, decorated with planted terraces, designed by architect Stefano Boeri as ‘green skyscrapers’, i.e. eco-sustainable and self-sufficient. A model that has become a source of inspiration for other projects around the world.

Continuing towards Viale della Liberazione, one glimpses the Aria and Solaria Towers, two residential buildings by Studio Acquitectonic. A little further on, the Torre Diamante, which currently houses the Milan offices of the BNP Paribas Group.

Corso Como

Just a few minutes’ walk from Piazza Gae Aulenti and Porta Garibaldi station is Corso Como, a pedestrian and commercial street just 280 metres long. After the Second World War, this street was the focus of a project of the Milan City Council, which wanted to build offices and luxury housing. The project only partly materialised (although, a few decades later, the nearby Piazza Gae Aulenti took off) and Corso Como was sidelined for a long time.

In the 1990s it became the centre of the so-called ‘Milano da bere’, that of carefree nightlife. With the Porta Nuova project, Corso Como became a pedestrian street with luxury shops, bars and restaurants of all kinds.

At night, as in many nightlife areas, it is advisable to watch out for pickpockets.

The Isola District

A stone’s throw from Porta Nuova, the Isola district is today one of the most popular areas of the city, with a very intense nightlife. This district developed in the late 1800s and owes its name to the fact that the railway network physically isolated it from the rest of the city, making it an ‘Island’ within the tracks.

Isolation has allowed the neighbourhood to develop in a different way and to develop its own identity, almost as if it were a village apart, calm and far away from the chaos of the city.

Since the 1980s, this district has become trendy, with special design and handicraft shops, but also many restaurants and aperitif bars, which to this day continue to be a favourite among the Milanese and tourists.

There are no particular monuments on Isola, but architecture lovers can appreciate Casa Ghiringhelli (Piazzale Lagosta 2) and Casa Comolli Rustici (Via Guglielmo Pepe 32) built by architects Terragni and Lingeri in the rationalist style in the 1930s.

But, more generally, Isola is a good area to relax and go out for dinner or a drink.

Via Paolo Sarpi

Also in the western part of the city, Via Paolo Sarpi is Milan’s ‘Chinatown’. It is now a pedestrianised street and very crowded, especially at weekends.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, this area of Milan has attracted many Chinese immigrants, who over the years have created a community within the city. From Via Paolo Sarpi branch off small streets and side streets that host all kinds of Chinese businesses.

Besides shopping, the Milanese (and tourists) also appreciate the restaurants and the many street food shops. There is no shortage, however, of historic businesses, some run by Italians, especially bars and wine bars. Among the prominent establishments:

• the Sarpi ravioleria for Chinese dumplings;
• the Cantine Isola, a historic wine shop on the street;
• butcher’s shop Sirtori, a historic Milanese shop taken over a few years ago by a Chinese entrepreneur;
• OTTO, a western-style club specialising in gin for aperitifs or after-dinner drinks.

The Monumental Cemetery

Piazzale Cimitero Monumentale, MM5 Monumentale stop. Admission is free and the cemetery is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 9.30 am to 5 pm.

The monumental cemetery is the cemetery where people who have brought prestige to the city of Milan are buried. It was established in 1866 as a cemetery open to all Milanese ‘in all forms and all fortunes’.

Some of the people buried here Alda Merini, Giorgio Gaber, Enzo Jannacci, Franca Rame, Bruno Munari, Gae Aulenti, Alessandro Manzoni, Giuseppe Verdi, Carlo Cattaneo and Salvatore Quasimodo.

It was designed by architect Carlo Maciachini and covers an area of 250,000 square metres in which we find Gothic, Lombard Romanesque, Pisan and Byzantine influences, a place of worship and beauty also called an ‘open-air museum’.

It is divided into three areas. In the centre are the Catholic dead, on the right the non-Catholic dead, and on the left the ‘Departure of the Israelites’. Very significant is the Famedio, i.e. ‘the temple of fame’, in which the most illustrious people are buried and in which the names of people buried elsewhere, but who made an important contribution to the history of the city, are engraved.

On 2 November each year, new names are added.

At the entrance there is an Info Point, set up in 2013, where you can ask for a map of the cemetery where the most famous graves are marked: the cemetery is very large and without a map you risk wandering around for hours.

Guided tours, lasting one and a half hours, are also organised.

Corso Sempione

Corso Sempione crosses the city in a north-westerly direction. It starts at the Arco della Pace and continues as far as Piazza Firenze.

It is a tree-lined, predominantly residential avenue, which is entirely practicable by bicycle thanks to two recently created cycle paths.

Some noteworthy buildings:

• at Corso Sempione 25, the headquarters of a fascist district group built in the late 1930s in the style of the period;
• the RAI headquarters at Corso Sempione 27, built in 1939 to a design by architect Gio Ponti;
• the Vespa skyscraper, built in 1955, at 43 Corso Sempione;
• Casa Rustici, Corso Sempione 36, in rationalist style, built in the 1930s to a design by Pietro Lingeri and Giuseppe Terragni.

City Life

Beyond Corso Sempione is City Life (MM5 stop Tre Torri), another recently built area. It is a redevelopment project in an area where the buildings of an old trade fair used to stand.

Citylife consists of two squares called Piazza Alberto Burri and Piazza Tre Torri. The latter square is named after three skyscrapers used as offices.

The Isozaki Tower, owned by Arata Isozaki and spanning 207 metres by 50 storeys and nicknamed ‘The Straight’.

The Hadid Tower, owned by Generali, designed by Zaha Hadid and inspired by an imaginary sail shaken by the wind, hence the nickname ‘The Crooked’: it stretches 175 metres by 40 storeys.

Libeskind Tower, designed by Daniel Libeskind and nicknamed ‘The Curved’ because of its shape inspired by a sphere enveloping the square. It is 160 metres high and houses the offices of PwC.

Surrounding the Three Towers is a newly created park, which is very popular, especially at weekends.

The City Life shopping centre offers all kinds of shops and a food court with Italian and international food.

San Siro Stadium

San Siro is easily accessible by public transport, with stops at the MM5 San Siro Ippodromo and San Siro Stadio. For those arriving by car, several car parks are available nearby. Guided tours including the Stadium Museum can be booked on the website www.sansirostadium.com/museum-tour/

The history of San Siro began in 1925, when Piero Pirelli, president of AC Milan, decided to build a stadium next to the city’s hippodrome. The inauguration took place on 19 September 1926 with a derby between Inter and Milan, won 6-3 by the Nerazzurri. Initially, the stadium was home only to AC Milan, but in 1947 Inter also became co-owners. In 1980, the stadium was named after Giuseppe Meazza, a famous footballer who played for both AC Milan and Inter.

The San Siro Stadium tour offers a unique experience for football fans. During the tour, it is possible to visit the dressing rooms, the press room and the pitch. Visitors can also access the museum, which houses an extensive collection of historical memorabilia of the two Milanese teams. The tour is an unmissable opportunity to immerse yourself in the history of Milanese football.

San Siro is not only a football stadium, but also a venue for concerts and other events. In addition to Milan and Inter Milan matches, the stadium has hosted European cup finals and matches of the 1990 World Cup. Its capacity of 80,018 makes it one of the largest stadiums in Europe. The first citizen continues to support the idea of renovating and selling the Meazza to the two Milanese teams.

The Certosa di Garegnano

Via Garegnano 28. It is open from Monday to Saturday, 9:30 am to 12 noon and 3:30 pm to 5:15 pm. Free admission.

In the suburban area, reachable by tram 14 in the direction of the Cimitero Maggiore (you can take this tram from Via Torino, near the Duomo, or at the MM5 Cenisio stop, the last metro stop touched by the tram route). Calculate a walk of about ten minutes from the tram stop: we suggest you get help from Google Maps or another navigator.

In the centre of a residential area stands the Certosa di Garegnano, founded in 1349 by Bishop Giovanni Visconti. Inside, it is decorated with splendid frescoes by Daniele Crespi, Bernardo Zenale and Simone Peterzano, who went down in history as the master of Caravaggio.

The Charterhouse risked coming to a bad end because for years, it was given in pieces to various owners who used it as residences for the farmers who tended the land around it. Thanks to the intervention of Don Filippo Premoli, the parish priest of the village of Garegnano, the Charterhouse was returned to the Church. In 1783, the parish of Garegnano was installed in the monastery premises and became Santa Maria Assunta in Certosa. Illustrious figures such as Petrarch, St Bernardine of Siena, Philip IV of Spain and Lord Byron have passed through the Certosa di Milano.

It is a place of worship and prayer still used by the Milanese and definitely off the traditional tourist track.