in casa - Città Metropolitana di Milano Città metropolitana di Milano

in casa
Supplemento a La Provincia in Casa, n. 12 NS - Dicembre 2007
N 04 International
laProvincia
www.provincia.milano.it/provinciaincasa
[email protected]
THE BIOTECH
Expo 2015
THE MILANESE METROPOLIS
AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD
Summary
2
THE SUCCESS OF MILAN’S BID FOR EXPO 2015
4
MILAN, AN IDEAL CITY TO HOST THE WORLD EXPO
14
WATER AT THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION
18
BREATHING MILAN
20
THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE OF PEDEMONTANA
AND THE GREAT INFRASTRUCTURES IN MILAN
25
MADE IN FOOD VALLEY
26
WELCOME ABOARD
32
USEFUL INFORMATIONS
La Provincia in Casa International n°04
Supplemento a La Provincia in Casa, n. 14 NS - Luglio 2008
Direttore editoriale: Franco Maggi
Direttore responsabile: Angelo De Vivo
Coordinatore redazionale: Maurizio Fenini
In redazione: Daria De Carlini, Silvia Mascheroni, Maria Rosa Donadelli,
Ilaria Imbasciati, Laura Rischitelli, Ilaria Modanesi
Hanno collaborato: Alessandro Alfieri, Zohra Ben Lakhdar,
Chiara Cremonesi, Barbara Forti, Luca Romano, Gigi Alberti,
Lara Lagonegro
Progetto grafico: Andrea Schieppati
Impaginazione: Elena Gravaghi, Francesca Vanzetta
Fotografie: Federico Pollini, Sergio Fermi.
Traduzioni: Simona Donini
Stampa: Roto 2000 spa, via L. Da Vinci, 18/20 Casarile (MI)
Registrazione Tribunale di Milano n. 346 del 6/6/2001
© Provincia di Milano
i testi e le foto non possono essere riprodotti senza autorizzazione
www.provincia.milano.it/provinciaincasa
The 31st March has been an important day for Milan and its
metropolitan area: the powerful effort completed in more than a
year of work in order to promote Milan and its project “Feeding the
planet, energy for life”, has been rewarded, in Paris, with the triumph
of Milan on its competitor Smirne: it will be Milan, indeed, to host
Expo 2015. The Province of Milan, with the Common of Milan, the
Lombardy Region, the Chamber of Commerce, the Foundation Fair
Milan, and all the subjects involved in this challenge, has celebrated
this success which, after a century, will bring back to Milan region
the universal exposition: a unique opportunity in order to develop
strategic plans, to rethink the development of the city, in order to
improve the quality of life of its inhabitants, to attract investments
and to promote the competitiveness of the territory at international
level. We know that the greater challenge, the most difficult one,
starts now. This has been recently confirmed by the visit to Expo
2008 of Saragossa: it is a matter of fact that the organization and the
managing of an event such as Expo is very difficult. Furthermore the
objective of attracting 29 million visitors is extremely ambitious. We
will concentrate on the work with the same method of institutional
collaboration that has lead us to win, on a strong planning aims at
developing the idea of Expo 2015, and with a clear plan on what
is going to happen after the event. The Province of Milan is indeed
ready to engage itself for this.
Filippo Penati
President of the Province of Milan
MILANO MY HEART
THE SUCCESS OF MILAN’S BID
FOR EXPO 2015
Milan 2015 should be a bridge
for the international community
My first reaction to Milan, the first time I visited it many
years ago, was not excited indeed: no sea, no bright
colours, no enlightened sky, like the one I am used to
in Tunis… but then hospitality, humanity and a certain
special touch that I could experience from people there
changed my heart and my mind.
Milan: I discovered here a city with a good reception,
friendliness, this is the home of fashion, culture, music,
creativity and elegance. And then going there several
times, sharing with people from Milan the burden and
the excitement of the EXPO Candidature, I was able to
recognize and appreciate how proper was the decision
taken by the institutions of Milan, Lombardy and Italy,
when Milan was proposed as the EXPO 2015 city.
Milan EXPO2015 will be young, and futurist, Milan
EXPO2015 aims at the nourishment of the planet, the
project will be able to build up a cooperative and united
world, in the name of a good bodily, moral and cultural
health, in order to live well all together! No distinction
for the colour or religion or sex or age; Milan will be an
universal city, the right city to live EXPO2015.
Now Milan is entering in full gear to organize the big
event and I feel directly involved in such a great project;
as a Member of the Scientific Committee that has
strongly supported the candidature, I feel sure that this
occasion will be duly exploited by people in Milan in
favour of people of the entire world: respect, tolerance,
solidarity, cooperation and partnership are just few of
the qualities labelling this metropolis and its people.
To be part of the EXPO 2015 scientific committee is
for me an honour and a challenge too, a challenge for
everybody! 2015 is tomorrow! This is our EXPO! This is
the EXPO of everybody!
Zohra Ben Lakhdar
Zohra Ben Lakhdar
Professor of Physics at the University of Tunis,
is known for the development of theoretical and
experimental methods of atomic spectroscopy
for studying pollution in the air, water and plants.
Winner of the 2005 UNESCO Award for Africa’s top
scientist, in November 2006 she received a similar
prize in Bahrain awarded by the Arab League.
She is a member of the scientific committee which
supported Milan’s bid to host the Expo 2015.
On the rght page a panoramic view
of Corso Vittorio Emanuele, on the
background the Sforzesco Castle
MILANO MY HEART
MILAN, AN IDEAL CITY TO HOST
THE WORLD EXPO
The modernization works for Milan 2015 are
about to begin soon
By hosting the Expo, Milan and Lombardy aim at
presenting to the rest of the world the image of
Italy and all its regions at their best. With the Expo
2015, Milan is making itself available to promote the
Country’s growth and be an Italian ambassador in
the world. Milan and its territory have been selected
as the ideal candidate, in Italy and in the world, for
Expo 2015 because together they:
- are situated at the centre of an area of about 10
million inhabitants, such as London or Paris
- produce 10% of the domestic GDP, a level equal to
Brussels’ or Madrid’s
- have a per-capital revenue that is almost twice the
domestic one and an unemployment level as low as
half of Italy’s as a whole
- register 40% of the new innovation patents, equal
to Boston’s annual production
- sell 10 million tickets yearly of art, music and
cinema shows, based on the same population rate
of Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona
- house 650 fashion show-rooms, in competition with
Paris and New York
- are the Italian center for voluntary service and the
tertiary industry
From a European standpoint, the entire Milanese
metropolitan area can be compared to London’s
or Paris’: the so-called City-Region of Milan has
in fact about 9,3 million inhabitants. Such area is
on the same levels as the US Combined Statistical
Areas. Situated in the heart of Lombardy, the most
populated and developed region, Milan is the most
important city of Northern Italy. Milan’s centrality
within the European context is demonstrated by its
positioning the center of the area bounded by the 5
Lisbona-Kiev corridor and by the Genoa-Rotterdam
north-south routes. Milan has expressed, through
the survey specifically carried out by the IULM
University, a widespread consensus for the Expo
operation, involving all sectors of the civil society
and focusing on two main objectives: promote
the image of the city worldwide and promote the
Italian Style worldwide. The city is well aware
of the importance of Expo 2015 for Milan’s
future. The production categories, professions,
associations and social forces, surveyed by IULM,
believe in the possibility of launching a real plan
for Milan’s identity between past and future.
The Expo should not produce an “isolated
citadel”, but help to regenerate the wide urban
area and its surfaces through extra urban and
regional agreements with all Region bodies, from
Lombardy to the entire Northern Italy.
From the left to the right,
Filippo Penati, President
of the Provinci of Milan,
Scala Theatre frontage and
skyscrapers in Milan
A WINNING GOVERNANCE TO PREPARE THE EXPO
SITE IN 1000 DAYS
The Expo 2015 project will be based on the
governance model that both Milan and Lombardy
have been able to express by building the new
Exhibition Pole:
A. Coordination with the institutions
The carrying out of the Expo will be decided
according to a Program Agreement, similar to the
one signed in 1994 by the Lombardy Region, the
Province of Milan, the Municipality of Milan, the
Municipality of Rho, the Municipality of Pero and
Fiera.
B. The general contractor system
The General Contractor figure will make the most
important management stages easier, having
total responsibility for designing, supplying,
construction, start-up and management for the
first five years.
C. The “Just in time” method for material
supplying
The materials, equipments and all the components
prefabricated outside represent over 60% of
the project value in this complex realization.
The coordination of the delivery of the external
material on site within the planned times, in
compliance with the on site assembly sequences,
will represent a success factor to respect the “fast
track schedule” called for by the project.
D. The communication with the territory
Many innovative and clear instruments will be
promoted such as Theatre performances on site,
conferences, open day, on site guided tours,
internet webcams, inauguration days open to
the public. Corporate responsibilits will be also
considered, through a social balance sheet will
be issued annually reporting clearly the activities
carried out and the performance levels achieved.
E. Research for functionality, aesthetics,
liveability
Expo’s site will try to combine functionalities
needed with an aesthetic and architectonic
research totally innovative for the Exhibition
System. International architecture competitions
will be promoted to design the Expo site,
involving the main world architects, that are
already working on the Milanese territory.
F. Implementation of financial management
models
The balance of the event, as far as the
operational costs, will be entirely covered
by private and management revenues. The
investments needed for the infrastructures of the
area and transportation connections to the Expo
will be supported by the Government, the local
authorities and private contributions.
MILAN, A CITY IN CONSTANT EVOLUTION
The city of Milan is going through a radical process
of urban regeneration thanks to the launch of a
series of architectonic projects aiming at recovering
abandoned areas and relaunching the image of
the city. This process shows Milan’s urbanistic and
economic vitality, where groups of private investors
are contributing in modelling the 2015 Milan by
involving prestigious international architects. In 2015
Milan will therefore be presented to the world as one
of the most innovative cities on the urbanistic level
and for the organization of the urban areas.
In addition to the new exhibition and exposition
center, the other projects include:
· The famous Teatro Alla Scala, completely
renovated and enlarged at the end of 2004;
· The City Life project, that will be realized on the
old exhibition center area in the heart of Milan, will
include the construction of three new towers, one
of which 216 m high, the international museum of
design and an urban park;
· The Portello project, a former Alfa Romeo industrial
area, that will host a large urban park as well as
residential, commercial and service buildings;
· The World Jewellery Center, that will showcase
the excellence of the Italian jewelry industry in a
prestigious site of the Portello;
· A new residential and service area in Santa Giulia,
in the southern area of the city with a 120 hectare
surface, 34 of which dedicated to a park area;
· The European Library of Information and Culture,
within the abandoned railway station of Porta
Vittoria, that will be positioned on the international
excellence level;
· The new seat of the Lombardy Region, situated
near Garibaldi railway station within an area that
will be totally renovated;
· The new “City of Fashion”, also located in the
Garibaldi-Repubblica city area, to highlight the
importance of Milan’s central role in the World
of Fashion, through the creation of a museum, a
On the left Milan Bicocca
University in piazza dell’Ateneo
Nuovo 1, Milan
Above, the Polytechnic of
Milan in piazza Leonardo
da Vinci 32, Milan and the
University of Milan in Sesto
San Giovanni
service center and a branch of the University;
· The new headquarters of RCS-Rizzoli, in the northeast area of Milan, where an 80 m high tower will
be built, to further enhance Milan’s skyline;
· The cultural district of Bicocca, seat to the culture
and cinema citadel;
· The Technological Pole of Bovisa with the new
headquarters of the Politechnic Institute;
· The residential, commercial and park area of
Cascina Merlata, located close to the Rho-Pero
exhibition Pole;
· The recovered area of Sesto S. Giovanni, with
an intervention by Renzo Piano that will include
residential and service areas together with an
urban park;
· The abandoned grounds once occupied by the
Carlo Erba facility, within the Maciachini area in the
northern part of the city, once a deeply decayed
urban sector, that will house a park, cultural
activities, a fitness area and other services;
· The CERBA, situated in the southern area of Milan,
bio-medical research center among the most
advanced in Europe, where there will be room for
hospital stays and excellence structures.
It is important to highlight that all the above
mentioned projects have been carried out through
international tenders to attract the attention of some
of the most famous architects in the world.
Among them, Renzo Piano, Norman Foster, Arata
Isozaki, Massimiliano Fuksas, Daniel Libeskind,
Zaha Hadid e Ming Pei. These projects will radically
change the look of the city that will no longer be
dominated by the Duomo or the Pirelli skyscraper,
but also by the new towers and other buildings of
unique design.
10
THE EXPO THEME: FEEDING THE PLANET,
ENERGY FOR LIFE
On show at Expo 2015: the great issues of
sustainable development. Expo 2015 will be an
extraordinary universal event displaying tradition,
creativity and innovation in the business of food.
It will bring together many themes that have already
been handled by this event in the past, and set them
out anew in light of new global possibilities whose
common core is the idea that everyone on the
planet should have access to food that is healthy,
safe and sufficient. Food is vital for the sustainable
development of good quality, reliably available
nutrition, respect for the fundamental life needs of
every human being, and health.
MAY 1: A DATE TO REMEMBER
In view of average weather conditions the Expo’s
inauguration is set for Friday May 1 and the closing
date for Saturday October 31, 2015. One of the
secondary advantages of this choice of opening date
is to do with visits by school parties, a category that
accounts for a large proportion of visitors numbers:
these will be able to cover two school years,
2014/15 and 2015/16, allowing greater flexibility
both for the schools and for these who organize the
visits.
THE SITE OF THE EXPO
The Expo will be located on an area in the NortWest of Milan with a surface of 1,7 Million sq.m.
including part of the territory under the authority
of the towns of Pero and Rho. The carrying out of
the new Fiera Milano Exhibition Pole, based on the
architectural project by Massimiliano Fuksas, for
the high architectural quality of the intervention and
for the value of the function it hosts, has triggered
a process of requalification of the entire area, with
the dismission or relocation of the production plants
located within it, in addition to the definition of a new
vocation of the one agricultural areas.
Above, the “Vela”, a spectacular glass and steel canopy extending 1.3 km and covering 47 thousand
square metres in the new Exhibition Centre, Rho-Pero, designed by Massimiliano Fuksas
11
12
13
“WATER ROUTES” AND “LAND ROUTES” TO THE
EXPO
The City of Milan intends to promote an approach
of mutual cooperation and exchange between the
Expo and the City, so as to increase the value of
al the areas of urban requalification and the sites
with higher cultural attraction. Not just therefore
an Expo within the City, but rather a whole city to
serve the Expo, through the creation of ad hoc
cultural and leisure time itineraries. Water is one of
the most characteristic resources of the Milanese
and Lombardy territory, precious both in its primary
function for the life and for the socio-economical
development of the community.
The itinerary along the waterways is meant to
connect the district of the “Darsena”, at the heart
of the city, to the Expo site by walking along and
navigating a canal that crosses historical sites of
the city, parks and requalified areas, marked by
installations that reinterpret Leonardo’s hydraulic
works. Leonardo da Vinci ties most of his experience
in Lombardy and the Milanese territory to the water.
THE LAND ITINERARY
A further itinerary, served by an innovative
environment-friendly sustainable transport system,
will connect Milan with the Expo through the city
centre along a dedicated, purpose-built route.
Starting from the Darsena the route will touch
existing cultural sights and newly-reclaimed districts
involving celebrated international architects,
including the Parco delle Basiliche Romane, Milan
University, the Giardini Montanelli, the GaribaldiRepubblica Project with the Biblioteca degli Alberi
park, the Cimitero Monumentale, the Fabbrica
del Vapore, Arco della Pace, Parco Sempione and
Castello Sforzesco, which hosted the 1906 World
Expo. The route then travels through the site of
In this page, the “Navigli” in Milan. The area characterized by
the Navigli is certainly one of the most picturesque of the city.
On the left page, the Arch of Peace in Sempione Park, Milan
the former fairgrounds transformed by the Citylife
Project, the most innovative of Milan’s new schemes
and involving various famous architects - Daniel
Libeskind, Arata Isozaki, Zaha Hadid - and the
neighbouring Portello area.
Finally, it skirts the Polytechnic-Bovisa district before
reaching the city’s outer ring of parks - Monte Stella,
the Hippodrome with Leonardo’s Horse and San
Siro, Parco di Trenno and the Bosco in Città before
arriving at the Expo site.
14
LIDA
WATER AT THE CENTRE
OF ATTENTION
The birth of LIDA, the first italian science
centre completely dedicated to water
It is going to be the first centre completely
dedicated to water, a structure which joins science
and research, entertainment and promulgation
in order to allow people to be closer to water
as a fundamental element for life, in its all
multidimensional aspects. LIDA is, in close proximity
to Milan, for the occasion of Expo 2015 by Tasm,
the public enterprise which is in charge of managing
the depuration of public and industrial water in
the south area of Milan. LIDA has been planned
following the model of similar scientific international
centre on a area of 23,000 m2, close to the water
purifier. It will be a museum-non museum, a unique
interactive laboratory in Europe where visitors will be
invited to touch and test the main scientific aspects
of water. All visitors will be able to carry out more
than 100 experiments, trying and directly examining
phenomena and theories linked to water, thanks to
the instruments of hand on exhibit.
The project, strongly supported by Province of Milan
and by others regional and national institutions,
also engages with the main Universities of Milan.
The academics will form a scientific and technical
committee and will collaborate with others museums
such as the Experimetarium of Copenhagen, the
Cosmocaixa of Barcellona and the Citè of Science
in Paris. The upcoming museum of water - argues
Penati - is completely involved with the themes of
the candidature for Expo 2015. The main part of the
project is its educative role in helping to not consider
water as an unending resource. The main goal is to
allow people, especially, the young generations, to
understand the value of water in relation with the life
of human beings. This is the reason why Province of
Milan is supporting this initiative, in order to enable
LIDA to become an excellent centre of research”.
15
16
LIDA
MILAN EXPO 2015: LIDA, AN INTERNATIONAL LABORATORY OF WATER
Interview with Tiziano Butturini, President of Tasm and LIDA Foundation
LIDA, the international laboratory of water,
is a project planned by Tasm Spa, in
partnership with Province of Milan and
24 local councils of the hinterland, in the
context of Expo 2015.This initiative, has
been presented last February in Paris at
Pavillon de l’Eau, exposition area, of Eau
de Paris the public enterprise which is in
charge of managing water infrastructures
in Paris. For such initiative we have
interviewed Tiziano Butturini, President of
Tasm and LIDA Foundation.
Where does the idea of LIDA come from?
The idea of LIDA comes from Tasm. We
thought about a modern science centre, an
interactive scientific museum based on the
models spread in US and Europe, a nonmuseum where not to touch is forbidden.
Such structure should offer a wide range of
spaces and activities for the communication
and didacticism of sciences committed to
water, the resource of our planet without
which there is no life, a commodity that
need to be preserved and used with reason.
Where will the international laboratory of
water be located?
The laboratory will be located in Assago,
in the district of Milan, in the area of the
purifier used by multiple township, where
renovation projects will begin soon. The
new structure will be the biggest exhibit
integrated in LIDA. The technology of
the construction will be visible during
the purification process and will become
an object of studying and research. The
laboratory will occupy an area of 23,000
m2 of which 5000 m2 will be enclosed and
where fountains, water shows, laboratories,
shop centres and restaurants will be placed.
This area is located at the entrance of the
city centre, near the Datch Forum with its
great concerts and by the Allianz theatre,
an area easyly reachable thanks to the west
motorway and soon also with the upcoming
green line of Milan underground.
What kind of visitors will LIDA attract?
It will attract a heterogeneous public which
includes students, families, adults etc. It
has estimated that 300,000 visitors per
year will come to LIDA. The aim of LIDA is
to completely engage those who will decide
to spend their spare time here, giving them
pleasant moments to remember. The exhibit
will be created taking into consideration
the international experiences and new
original ideas. Furthermore, the collaboration
with tutors, scientists and technicians will
guarantee a high quality of the programs.
In addition, the scientific project will be
supported by the universities of Milan, by
the managers of Science Centre and by
European science museums.
Is LIDA a platform for innovation?
For sure LIDA will be a platform for the
most important European research centres
committed with environment issues.
The project was presented in Paris at the
Pavillon de l’Eau, what are you going to
do next?
Tasm Spa ,on the occasion of this project,
has created a foundation in which public
societies of water, institutions and private
partners have been invited to become
members. This is the reason why we started
an intense activity of promotion. After
presenting LIDA at the Pavillon de l’Eau in
Paris in the presence of French authorities,
Filippo Penati, the President of Province
of Milan, Massimo Buscemi, the regional
assessor and Domenico Raimondi, the major
Tiziano Butturini,
President of Tasm and LIDA Foundation
of Assago, we had a meeting at Palazzo
Isimbardi with the universities of Milan,
which have demonstrated a significant
interest in the project. Then, the 6th and
7th of July we will be at the Expo 2008 in
Saragoza, the Spanish city which is hosting
the international fair entirely dedicated to
the sustainable development and to water
till the 14th of September. Here we are
planning to have a series of international
meetings, for instance we will take part
in the conference “Making peace with
Water” organized by World Political Forum
in partnership with different political groups
and organized by the European Institute of
research for policy of water. Expo Saragoza
2008 is a prominent world event and calls
attention to water as an essential resource
for life and for the earth’s ecosystem.
Tasm is glad to show to a wider public the
LIDA projects and the Houses of Water
(Case dell’Acqua). Such initiative will be
worth to develop international collaboration.
Furthermore, the 25th of September LIDA
projects will be presented to the Lombardy’s
school deans and management.
LIDA
Above, one of the Houses
of Water
WATER: STILL, SPARKLING, COLD AND PUBLIC,
THANKS TO THE HOUSES OF WATER
Perhaps not everybody knows that Italians are the
greatest consumers of bottle water in the world
,for instance, only in the 2006 they consumed
194 litres per capita (½ litre per person a day).
Water’s consumption has tripled in the last 20 years
(in 1985 it was only 65 litre per capita) and it is
constantly increasing year by year. Although, for
instance, Milan tap water comes from one of the
deepest aquifer, regularly fed by underground water
which slowly comes down from the foothills of the
Alps to the valley, the consumption of bottle water
17
has dramatically increased. Furthermore, while
bottle water is usually checked every two years
(by law bottle water should be checked every 5
years) tap water is more often examined, thus it is
safer. In order to promote the use of tap water,(good,
controlled and safe) instead of the more advertised
mineral water, often chosen only because of the
gas, a new initiative, the Houses of Water, has been
promoted by Tasm, the public institution in charge
of managing the water system in Southern Milan, in
partnership with Province of Milan. The Houses of
Water consist of small kiosks which remind us of the
traditional architecture of Lombardy houses and are
located in some selected towns within the territory
where water is distributed for free and according
to different tastes: still, sparkling, cold or room
temperature. This initiative has been successfully
followed by 24 local councils that took part of it and
citizens have literally benefit from such initiative with
a great advantage not only for the money saved by
families but also for the environment: a year after
the opening of 7 houses (San Donato Milanese,
Pieve Emanuele, Buccinasco, Cesano Boscone,
Corsico, Trezzano sul Naviglio and Vizzolo Predabissi)
it is estimated that 5.5 million of bottles will not
end up in the garbage and 380 tonnes of oil will
be saved. The Houses of Water project is becoming
more and more successful and these places will
soon become meeting points where a strong
social network aiming to sustain a culture of water
- resource without which there is not life - will be
soon formed. Furthermore, in coherence with those
principles and the human right to access water, the
Houses of Water project transcended the boundaries
of the country. Indeed, in collaboration with several
organizations which work in those countries where
water is an emergency, a fund has been set up in
order to promote initiatives and interventions such
as wells in Sub-Saharan Africa, desalinators and
water purifiers.
18
ENVIRONMENT
BREATHING MILAN
A green therapy to improve
the quality of life
The green initiatives implemented on the
metropolitan territory are numerous. The territory
of Milan province is densely constructed, the
settlements - residential, productive and commercial
- in the course of the years have developed by
reducing progressively the open spaces. This
situation is particularly visible in the north part of the
province, an area where the density of population
today has already reached the highest levels, as
well as the ground consumption, where the welding
of the inhabited places is the most outstanding
among urban data. It is a highly productive area but
environmentally in crisis. In this geographic area,
where people live and work, the quality of life is not
suitable to the population requirements.
In this zone, in the North of Milan, it is necessary
therefore to concentrate on efforts and actions aim
at giving back equilibrium to the territory. Therefore
the development of green protected areas spread
out within the territory, is really important, because
it carries out a fundamental role in order to limit the
expansion of the urban settlements. Furthermore
it represents an essential network in order to plan
ecological corridors, woods areas, agricultural
spaces and zones for the free time. There are at
least 3 great works, the Pedemontana, mentioned
already in the previous pages, the “green Dorsal” for
the North zone of Milan and the plan “Metrobosco”.
METROBOSCO: A PACT FOR NEW METROPOLITAN
WELL-BEING
“Metrobosco” is the name given to the green belt that
will run around the borders of Milan and create a new
balance to the Milanese metropolitan area. A great idea
for the well-being of the Milanese metropolitan area. It
is a strategic Milan Province project which aims to draw
a large, continuing ring redefining relations between city
and territory in the Milanese Province by creating new
woods and parks, recovering rows in the countryside and
along the by-passes to create a new agrarian landscape.
The plan is for a green ring of 30 thousand hectares
of vegetation, something like 30 thousand football
ground and 3 million new trees. The project will bring
advantages on the whole area: intensification of vegetable
and animal bio-diversity; preservation of existing
“ecological corridors” and the opening of new ones;
mitigation of climatic unbalance; lowering sound and
atmospheric pollution; territorial care and maintenance;
creation of agro-energy environments. These advantages
are multiple: from landscape to production value,
“metrobosco” is many things put together; like a wood,
the togetherness of many different species. After two
years, the project has taken root collecting 500 hectares
of land made available by Provincial Towns, but also
important contributions from public and private bodies.
The “metrobosco” project is growing up, 170 thousand
new trees will be planted in 2009.
ENVIRONMENT
On the left page, Filippo
Penati, President of the
Province of Milan,
during the International
Environment Festival which
took place last june
in Milan
THE GREEN DORSAL, AN ECOLOGICAL CORRIDOR
ALONG THE METROPOLITAN TERRITORY
It is the great green infrastructure, called “Dorsal
Green of Northern Milan, it will put in network, from
Ticino to Adda, four regional parks and the 10 local
parks. This project is the answer to the increasing
request of improving the quality of life in one of the
most urbanized area of the Country. The “Dorsal “
will allow to connect the protected areas comprised
between the two rivers through the parks, the
agricultural areas, the wood zones and those areas
not yet built up. A connecting green infrastructure
long 65 kilometres, 290 squared kilometres, that will
cross 76 Commons. The entire project involves four
regional parks - Ticino, Groane, Valley of Lambro,
Adda - and ten local parks: Balossa, Brianza
central, Briantei hills, Grugnotorto, Molgora, Vallone
River, Roccolo, Roggìe, Low Olona-Rhodense and
Cavallera, the last two are about to be instituted.
This is the departure outline of the project, the
dorsal spine that includes those zones at great
risk of erosion and environmental dangers due to
previous bad settlements and therefore necessarily
to be protected soon. In the immediate proximity
of these first green areas other adjacent areas
will be involved in the development of the project.
19
Local parks, above all, whose perimeter confines
with the tracing of the Dorsal, will become its natural
immediate expansion. In addition, a third level of the
project will involve other parks located in the north
area of Milan, in order to complete a thick
network on the territory. The Dorsal will be therefore
the main tracing of a complex system of green within
North Milan, an ecological grid-netting capable of
innervating the entire area of Milan in the northern
quadrant. The green Dorsal is a project of strategy,
vision and future for the North of Milan. It has
been thought to guarantee free spaces among its
inhabitants, an agricultural role in its traditional and
multifunctional version, area to be forested in order
to fight the emissions that damage the climate,
reconstruction of the landscape, free spaces for the
old and the young, greens areas connected to the
urban ones, zones where it is possible to produce and
to work in a newly competitive atmosphere. It is a plan
able to deal with the strong impact of the new highway
infrastructures that will cross the province from east
to west. To this purpose it is important to say that the
tracing of the upcoming Pedemontana, in some parts
will coincide with the design of the Dorsal.
20
PEDEMONTANA
THE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGE
OF PEDEMONTANA AND THE GREAT
INFRASTRUCTURES IN MILAN
A competitive system of viability and a good
opportunity to improve the environment
Roads are essential infrastructures, which allow
people to move, work, study, do business and live.
As crucial arteries for economic and social trade,
they feed the urban area’s of Milan metropolitan
district economy. As a result of Expo 2015 they will
assume a more crucial role. It is actually estimated
that 29 million visitors will reach Milan during the
6 months universal trade fair.
Thanks to the commitment and efforts of Province of
Milan and various national institutions, most of the
great infrastructural projects are about to start.
The main key projects will not only bring efficiency
to the complex system of viability but also will
transform Milan into a “green area”. It is a matter
of fact that roads and infrastructures, if planned
with care and innovation are essential opportunities
to improve the environment and the landscapes.
Furthermore the new projects will enable the
recovery of nature from the destruction of urban
area caused by the economic boom in the 1960’s
and to safeguard the natural beauty.
This is the challenge of Province of Milan, which
is strongly committed to promoting the need for
infrastructures, essential to the high density of
Milan urban area, and the need to improve and
safeguard the environment. Both factors influence
the quality of life of people and families which live
and work in Milan metropolitan area. Filippo Penati,
president of the Province of Milan declared that
the local government is committed to showing that
money paid by car owners can be used to benefit
not only the efficiency of the infrastructures but
also the territory, in terms of security,quality of the
environment, recycling energy and developing the
viability system.
The “green” opportunities are now open in the
tangenziali system in Milan. The beginning of the
first interventions planned by “ Serravalle” the
society in charge of managing the system and the
improvement of tangenziali networks, has started
last year. This plan can find a point of reference
in the project of environment compensation of
Pedemontana, the motorway which will connect the
northern Lombardy cities from Varese to Bergamo.
PEDEMONTANA
Lay-out of the
Pedemontana project
TANGENZIALE EST
Acoustic can allows people to measure the
environmental impact of roads and motorways.
The need to reduce the acoustic impact of an area
densely populated lead to an innovative project
which will implement the covering of a section
of tangenziale est, linking arteries between the
suburban area and the motorway, in Cologno
Monzese (Northern Milan). Such work will become
an occasion for an intervention of eco-sustainability,
characterized by a high level of innovation in
different stages of the projects, including the
planning which will be done in collaboration with
local institution and with the entire community.
The project is the result of a competition of ideas
launched by the company Milano Seravalle Milano
tangenziali in order to achieve the best quality in the
planning. The upcoming project is called “Silence
in network 55”.The name of the projec reflects its
goal of reducing the noise produced by vehicles
to below 55 decibel, the equivalent of switching
on a vacuum cleaner. It will cost 32,5 million of
euro and will involve the construction of a noiseabating barriers system in the shape of an a tunnel
filled with air which will cover a section of 2 km.
The use of steel, sound absorbent panels, smog
eating paints, photovoltaic panels will guarantee
a protection against noise and smog, and it will
help in saving energy. In this way the tangenziale’s
acoustic reduction project will become a real action
of environment improvement, with deep attention
to the aesthetic and design, allowing to repair a
territory which has been till now cut into two parts
by the tangenziale. Thus citizens will have back a
green area of 7,000 m2.
“This project - argues Filippo Penati, Province of
Milan president - demonstrates that is possible
to work and do well, planning infrastructures that
respect the territory and the environment with a
real value for citizens. A value derived not only from
the infrastructure’s utility but also from the capacity
of being perfectly integrated with the surrounding
territory.”
2 Km
55 decibel
7,000 m2
70,000 m2
40,00 m2
32,5 million euro
2 years
21
lenght of the tangenziale’s
section covered
the highest level of noise
allowed
the green area
catalytic paints
panels windowed with
photovoltaic cells
cost of intervention
the length of works
22
PEDEMONTANA
PEDEMONTANA, A PARK
FOR THE NEVER-ENDING CITY
The project presented by Fabio Terragni, president of
Pedemontana, is named “a park for the never-ending
city”. It will start in 2010 and it will implement the
construction of an arterial road and a parallel dorsal
green road, a route of 90 km which will include a
bike lane, bushes, woods and new green areas aims
at creating a new road system linked to the regional
and local parks of the Pedemontana territory in
Lombardy. This territory cover an area of 2000 m2
with an high density of population, infrastructures,
enterprises and houses, for this reason at the
limit of its capacity in terms of its environmental
2000 km2
157 km
4 billion and 115 million euro
4 milion
300 thousand
90 km
100 milion euro
78
4
5
12
Pedemontana area
the length of Pedemontana, including
motorway and local roads
the value of the project
the population of the area
the enterprises engaged with the project
the new dorsal green way
the investment
communities involved
provinces involved
regional parks involved
local parks involved
Perhaps not everybody knows that Italians are the greatest
consumers of bottle water in the world ,for instance, only
in the 2006 they consumed 194 l per capita (½ litre per
person a day).
sustainability. The Pedemontana environmental
improvement project, developed with the
collaboration of Polytechnic of Milan - argue Penati
- it reflects the strong will of aiming to achieve high
quality and innovation, both indispensable elements
in order to create this important infrastructure,
which becomes also an environmental challenge.”
The main intervention consist of the realization
of a “green way”, a 90 km cycle-path which will
connect five regional parks (Park of Ticino, Pineta of
Appiano Gentile, Park of Groane, Lambro Park, Adda
Nord Park) and twelve local parks (Rugareto, Medio
Olona, Rile-Tenore Olona, Lura, Brughiera Briantea,
Brianza centrale, Grugnotorto Villoresi, Colline
briantee, Cavallera, Molgora, Rio Vallone e Brembo).
The project will cost 100 million euro, equivalent to
35% of the work value. 35 million will be used for
the green way while 65 million will go for 50 local
projects which include urban and agricultural parks,
agro-environmental areas, urban woods, forests
and green systems with reduced speed limit. A very
ambitious project, willing to become a model for
a new culture of planning infrastructures, capable
to go beyond the simple compensation of the
environmental impact and to lead to a positive and
durable solution for the territory, implying a modern
vision of environment issues.
PEDEMONTANA
On the left page, the track of
the Pedemontana project
THE NEW FORLANINI JUNCTION
The intervention has been planned in order to
guarantee the utmost safety for drivers and to
improve the Forlanini junction, located in tangenziale
est, which connect the motorway system to the
airport of Milan Linate.
Such project,aiming at improving the territory, was
strongly promoted by Filippo Penati, President
of Province of Milan. It allowed to overcome the
irregularity of the two old exits, the centre of
Milan exit (Northern lane) and the Linate airport
one (Southern lane) where drivers had to exit the
tangenziale from the fast lane instead of the slow
lane, a very dangerous manoeuvre.
In this occasion the safety issue has become an
opportunity to improve the territory in the adjacent
area with particularly attention to environmental
issues, noise, and quality. Drivers can now enjoy the
two new lanes that will make the traffic circulation
safer and more fluid; in addition, they will enjoy the
new green areas, designed in harmony with the
nearby Forlanini Park.
The project will be panned with particular attention
to the different aspects, such as the barriers, the
(viaduct) and above all, considering the aesthetic
impact on the territory.
23
TANGENZIALE WEST: PLANNING A NEW LANE
A good news also for tangenziale West: it is now
in planning a new project which will involve the
construction of a fourth lane in this 31 km artery
that links 4 motorways in western Milan: A1, Milan
- Naples, Autostrada dei Laghi(Lakes motorway)
Milan - Como - Varese, A4 Turin - Venice and A7
Milan - Genoa.
Serravalle, the society in charge of managing
Milan tangnziali has been led by Province of Milan
to plan and evaluate the impact of the motorway
enlargement. It is estimated to be an intervention
which will cost about 300-350 million euro.
This project along with Pedemontana and
Tangenziale est, clearly demonstrates the Province
of Milan commitment to strengthening the
circulation system within the urban area of Milan.
1200 m
380 m
2600 m2
19 million euro
33,000 m2
217
14 thousand
80,500 m2
lenght of the section
lenght of the junction
noise-abating barriers
cost of the intervention
new lanes of pavement
lights points
bushes planted
new green areas
FOOD
25
MADE IN FOOD VALLEY
With the upcoming Expo 2015 the north-west
of Italy gets united in the name of food
On the left, the Padano
technologic park Foundation
in Lodi. Founded in 1999,
the Padano technologic park
Foundation is the epicentre
of the “Food valley”,
furthermore it is focused
on: supporting a pole of
excellence in biotechnologies
applied to the agro-food
sector developing a
Technology Transfer Platform
for the area and supporting
start-ups and spin-offs in
the field of biotechnologies
with incubator facilities and
services.
Not only Milan with its vast territory and highdensity population is getting ready for Expo 2015.
Besides Milan, the 25 provinces of North west, from
Turin to Geneva, from Lodi to Mantua, from Milan
to Parma are preparing themselves for the great
opportunities represented by Expo 2015. The so
called North-west area, comprises the regions of
Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Liguria and Lombardy and it
is considered one of the main polarized productive
area of Italy and Europe: these four regions produce
the 40% of GNP and a similar percentage of job
offer. As crucial and neuralgic area, it plays an
important role in the process of reorganization
which is now characterizing continental Europe
and the Mediterranean. Its economic strength
does not only depend on the variety of enterprises
and productivities but it is strongly related to the
advanced cultural system and the lively institutional
network. In order to deal with the coming
challenges, local institutions have chosen to get
united and stronger creating the foundation of
North-west provinces, a network made for planning
and researching new form of good Governance of
vast areas. This project finds its first opportunity to
show its efficacy through the challenges offered by
Milan Expo 2015. The main theme of the exposition,
“Feeding the planet, energy for life” directly affects
one of the stronger territorial asset of the North
West, the food industry. It is a matter of fact that
the macro-region of North West covers the 30-35%
food exports of Italy, with incomes of 22 billions of
euro per year and it has become the new Italian
“Food valley”, a sort of food district with its epicentre
in the Padano technologic park of Lodi.
The Province of Milan strongly believes in this
project and it is very much committed in addressing
the Foundation as the leading protagonist of such
international event, promoting and consolidating
in the international market the food industries with
its excellence specialities, already renowned all
over the world”. In a such important and delicate
moment - argues the President of Province of
Milan, Filippo Penati - during which the Expo project
needs to be planned and developed taking into
consideration the prospect and the upcoming of
the areas after 2015, the Foundation may play a
leading role of coordination in the strategic planning
of a wide region. It can play a leading role within
the organizing Committee of Expo and ensuring
the presence of a network system where all the
provinces and their economic and trade structures
are clearly well represented”. “Furthermore, Expoadds Mr Penati - gives to the North-west system the
opportunity to strengthen the partnership between
the different areas and regions and the Foundation
represents an innovative Institution. For the first time
a broad area becomes a tool capable of building up
developing strategies in a vast territorial dimension”.
THE RECIPE OF FOOD VALLEY: HERE THE
INGREDIENTS
The area involved in the project of the Province
of North-west Foundation includes 25 provinces,
3,082 town councils and a population of 15 millions
475,862 citizens. It consists of 1 million and
420,000 firms (28% of the national total) which
employ 6 millions and 955 thousands of workers,
the equivalent of the 31% of the national percentage
(405 of exports and 505 of import of Italy).
26
TOURISM
WELCOME ABOARD
One of the elements that facilitated the
development was the unique network of canals,
the navigli, which the milanese hard-working
built in a territory with no rivers
The Neviglio in
Boffalora sul Naviglio
In a rectangle marked out in the north by Lake
Maggiore, Lake Lugano and Lake Como, and on the
their three sides by the rivers Ticino, Po and Adda,
the land around Milan is naturally water-bound.
The Navigli – whose very name indicates they are
navigable – are a sort of extension or ramification
of the lakes and rivers in the middle of which nature
has placed us over time. However, here, “Natural”
is not the right word. Even though they blend into
nature, the Navigli are entirely manmade. Building
them required digging 150 kilometers of artificial
beds, favoured by the fact the land was nearly all
flat, initially used over time for the irrigation of farm
land and defence of the territory, then, for navigation
and transport. Their creation in the course of history,
starting from 1179 when the idea of connecting the
internal moat of Milan with the Ticino emerged and
the Naviglio Grande came into existence, is the clear
sign of a plan for a respectful exchange between
man and nature. Historians remind us that Milan
was a city built on water: most of all its urban heart
was located within the Navigli canals; it was linked
to Pianura Padana predominantly through a fluvial
network, structured through a system of canals
which took advantages of the water’s ebb of Olona,
Ticino, Lambro, and it was characterized by several
ports, crucial point for the intense market life of the
city. This reality has almost completely disappeared.
The articulated network of canals have been covered
between the 30’s and the 60’s. Some traces of
them, remain in the name of streets: Pontaccio,
Leghetto, Lavandai, Conca del Naviglio, Molino delle
Armi, one of the numerous water mills.
Making use of the water in a harmonious, fair
manner, fully aware of how important and useful
it is. The main arms of the system depend on the
Ticino, from which the Naviglio Grande flows and to
which the Naviglio Pavese returns from Milan, the
TOURISM
latter being more recent and almost a substitute
for the Naviglio di Bereguardo which it brings back
from Abbiategrasso, without reaching it, in the
direction of Pavia, and on the Adda, from which the
Naviglio della Martesana reaches Milan, and which
the Naviglio di Paderno allows it to flow along an
inaccessible stretch that is not navigable.
The very nature of the Navigli goes against the idea
of their being easily navigable. They are canals that
are never too wide and designed for a past era
before the engine had been invented and barges
were towed by horses walking along the towpath,
or simply left to be carried along by the current,
whose banks are not too solid having been built
without the widescale use of stones which, in only
slightly different conditions, the Venetian Republic
used to hold back the water. Despite this, or rather
in consideration of all this, navigation of the Navigli
has recently re-started also - and why not? - to
27
encourage tourism. Indeed, the route from Milan to
Abbiategrasso was chosen for the first trip, starting
from the Darsena (dock) in Porta Ticinese, against
the current along the Naviglio Grande passing under
the Scodellino bridge, alongside the Vicolo dei
Lavandai, admiring the church of St. Christopher,
noting the “decorated openings” to let out water for
irrigation, passing the ex-Factory of Richard Ginori,
discovering, in Buccinasco, the first farmhouse,
encountering, beyond Corsico, the Guardia di Sopra
farmhouses which still have their Visconti coat of
arms, and Guardia di Sotto.
Before Abbiategrasso, the most spectacular stopping
place is Gaggiano, with the austere beauty of Villa
Marino, the multicoloured façades and Palazzo
Venini Uboldi and the church of St. Invenzio facing
each other. North of Abbiategrasso, the towns of
Cassinetta and Robecco are a delight to be seen.
28
In these pages some
pictures of the Abbiatense
area, the Visconti Catle in
Abbiategrasso, and the
historical city centre of
Abbiategrasso
TOURISM
ABBEYS AND FARMHOUSES IN LOWER
LOMBARDY
An itinerary which, from Abbiategrasso goes south in
the direction of Pavia, on the axis of State Road 526
east of the Ticino, more or less follows the route of
the ancient Strata Mercatorum along the upper
terracing of the river. It takes in a strip of the
Parco Lombardo della Valle del Ticino, passes the
important and charming Abbey of Morimondo and
heads towards Besate and Motta Visconti, the most
southerly spot in the Province of Milan on the
border with that of Pavia. Along this stretch, the
most dominant features are the woods and the
sloping of the land down towards the Ticino and
the monastic atmosphere in Morimondo, but most
of all, the high number of cascine, or farmhouses,
the most common basis for settlements in lower
Lombardy. There are historic and traditional
farmhouses, like those in Fallavecchia, or modern
ones run on ecological and recreational lines that
take in tourists - some even have spas - as can be
found in Caremma between Besate and the river.
The very vast expanse of lower Lombardy farthest
east of the Ticino, as far as the outskirts of Milan,
is also full of farmhouses and acres of countryside.
Obviously, there’s no lack of interesting landmarks,
some of which are particularly charming like the
Carthusian House in Vigano and the parish church in
San Giacomo, while in Noviglio you’ll find one of the
most up-to-date beacons of Lombard productivity: a
leader in the field of Italian design like Kartell and its
museum. However, the basic character of the area
is still linked to agriculture: paddy fields, arable land,
meadows and springs, to explore, if possible, by
bicycle along the network of paths – from farmhouse
to farmhouse and from abbey to abbey, right up to
the Milanese monasteries in Mirasole, Chiaravalle
and Viboldone - for which some municipalities in
the area have formed a consortium to guarantee
their upkeep. In the city, often too proud and selfcentred, not many people realize it, but since 1990,
protecting this sector of lower Lombardy between
the Ticino and Milan, there has been one of the
“best kept secrets” as far as Milanese town dwellers
are concerned. This “secret” is Parco Agricolo
Sud Milano, an area - and a series of projects
for the study, protection and management of the
territory involving the provincial authorities and 61
municipalities - as unacknowledged as it is longsighted, interesting and necessary.
TOURISM
29
30
TOURISM
“MARTESANA”, MUCH MORE THAN A CANAL
The Milanese of today undeniably associate the
word “Martesana” with the Naviglio Martesana: a
canal linking the city with the river Adda, and vitally
important not only for irrigating farmland but also for
communication. The waterway known as Naviglio
della Martesana - stretches for a distance of about
38 km, its width varying between 9 and 18 m. It was
created as an offshoot of the Adda river between
1457 and 1465, when Francesco Sforza was Duke
of Milan. The route followed by this canal has been
a popular one for the past five or six centuries,
with the bustling markets of Gorgonzola and Melzo
among its attractions.
By boat from Milan - across the farmed countryside
- came foodstuffs and merchandise, building
materials for use in and around Bergamo, and in
later years iron mined in Alto Lario. Now much of
the land along the Naviglio Martesana is heavily
built up. Looking back through the centuries,
however, Martesana was and is not simply the
name of a canal but refers to a whole geographical
region, situated to the east of Milan. Nowadays,
other distinctive features of the Martesana area,
besides its canal, are seen in the landscape
conservation initiatives organized by Lombardy’s
regional authorities and in the Polo della Martesana,
a broad-spectrum cultural organization set up by
the provincial authorities. Our story starts in the
Lombard capital itself, in the tombone (no relation to
tomb, in Milanese it simply means a “place where
water stops”) beside the age-old church of San
Marco in the Brera district. We refer here to the
Tumbun de San Marc, a one-time harbour. Here
- when Milan’s Cerchia dei Navigli was a network
of working canals that followed the ring of medieval
walls, and not a mere name as today - the Naviglio
Martesana flowed into the urban canals, bringing
its water from the Adda. Away from the Tombon,
close to Via Melchiorre Gioia, is the starting point of
a cycle path which flanks the Martesana canal for
many kilometres, across Milan and out of the city. It
is probably the best bike path in Milan, and definitely
the most pleasant to ride on, along the canal and
with frequent evocative sights to enjoy. The Naviglio
Martesana was made built by the will of Francesco
Sforza between 1457 and 1460.
This work, one of the most difficult, was completed
with great consideration and care. Martesana was
clearly built for sailing while at that time irrigation
was the main purpose.
TOURISM
A canal boat heading toward
Gaggiano on the Naviglio
Grande
TREZZO, THE ADDA RIVER AND THE LEONARDO
DA VINCI’S CANALS
Leonardo da Vinci dedicated several years to the
study of Adda and its canalization, to Navigli canals
and their improvement. Leonardo has always been
fascinated with misteries, games and with the rules
of water. It was particularly impressed with the
similarities between water and air. Leonardo was
the most eminent figure among the intellectuals at
the court of Ludovico Il Moro. It gained such great
fame that the imagination of those who wanted to
see its name in the way of the Naviglio was vivid.
It was even attributed to Leonardo the invention of
the locks, but they have been already in use when
Leonardo was not born yet. In 1496 Ludovico il
Moro commissioned the execution of the last part
of the conjunction between Martesana Naviglio and
the internal moat of Milan. In this way, through the
internal moat, Martesana water would have met
Great Naviglio water and this would have allowed
the navigation from Adda to Ticino, through Milan
indeed. Leonardo was one of the main protagonist
and promoter of this project. Furthermore the
construction of San Marco lock, one of the most
famous and characteristic lock in Milan, situated
in Brera, has been attributed to the cleverness of
Leonardo. After the Great Naviglio the other ones
followed :Martesana Naviglio, Bereguardo Naviglio,
Paderno Naviglio and Pavia. For almost twenty years,
from 1482 to 1500, the Martesana land was home
to the genius of Leonardo da Vinci who, while at the
court of Ludovic the Moor, produced many of his
most famous works, from the Virgin of the Rocks to
the Last Supper, from literary compositions to his
contributions to the Duomo and the Sforza Castle.
A great deal of da Vinci’s exceptional talent was
expressed at Villa Melzi, very close to the
Adda river and the Martesana Canal, which had
been diverted from the Adda a few years earlier
to import materials from the Bergamo area, studying
its locks, designing bridges and ferries, which
were to turn this river into an important route for
carrying iron from Lecco, inspiring some of his
31
works, like for example the background for his
Virgins of the Rocks, writing and leaving copies of
his famous notes on culture and technology known
today as the Atlantic Codex. Leonardo da Vinci
spent a good deal of his time in the service of the
Duke of Milan as a guest of his pupil, Francesco
Melzi, in the large family villa with a terraced garden
sloping down to the river Adda. A Leonardo da Vinci
in close contact with nature and its waterways; a
friendly nature that lent itself to the commercial
requirements of the time, that had already turned
Milan into the European capital of industry, trade and
technological progress.
MARTESANA TO TASTE: GORGONZOLA CHEESE
It goes without saying that the town of Gorgonzola is
regarded as the original home - according to some
sources since the end of the 10th century of the characteristic blue cheese that is one of
Italy’s most distinctive and best-loved. It is made
from pasteurized cow’s milk from local farms,
to which starter cultures and selected moulds
are added to provide the streaks of blue veining.
Mild gorgonzola is ripened for about two months,
the natural (sharp-tasting) variety for more than
three. Gorgonzola now has now obtained official
designation - Denomination of Protected Origin
(“DOP” in Italian) - from the EU. Each cheese,
weighing about 12 kg, has the mark of origin
stamped on both faces and is wrapped in aluminium
sheets with the DOP mark.
32
Useful informations
VIA
VIA
VIA VIVA
MA
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ON
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SE
PALAZZO
ISIMBARDI
P.ZA
SCALA
CORSO
CORSO MATTEOTTI
RTE
MONFO
PIAZZA
S. BABILA
E
ONE
ODR
IDONI
VIA CORR
VIA
VIS
CO
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NT
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RS
OE
UR
PIAZZA
DUOMO
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DI M
ORIO
VITT
OP
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SO
COR
EL
ANU
Informazioni Aeroporti Linate e Malpensa
Linate and Malpensa Airport Information
ph. +39 02.74852200
www.Sea-aeroportimilano.it
Linate Airport
7 km from the city centre
To reach the city: Bus 73 A.T.M. arriving at
piazza S. Babila (on the corner with c.so
Europa). Connection to Underground line M1
San Babila
Journey time: 20 minutes
ZA
OR
VIA
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CORSO DI PORTA VITTORIA
MILAN CITY CENTRE
I.A.T.
Ufficio Informazioni e Accoglienza Duomo
Cathedral Reception and Information Centre
piazza Duomo 19/a
www.milanoinfotourist.it
[email protected]
Branch Office Piazza Castello, 1
20121 Milano
ph. +39 02 805 806 13 -14 -15
fax +39 02 805 806 25
Opening hours
Monday to Saturday 9 am - 6 pm
Branch Office Via Marconi, 1
(on the corner with piazza Duomo) 20121 Milano
ph. +39 02 72524301
fax +39 02 72524350
Opening hours
Monday to Saturday 8.45 am - 1 pm and 2 - 6 pm
Sunday and Bank Holidays 9 am - 1 pm and 2 - 5 pm
Branch Office Stazione Centrale
Galleria delle partenze departures corridor, Milano
ph. +39 02 72524360
Opening hours
Monday to Saturday 9 am - 6 pm
Sunday and Bank Holidays 9 am - 5 pm
Urban Center
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, 11/12
20121 Milano
ph. +39 02.88456370
For information on musical and theatrical events
Malpensa Airport
45 km from the city centre
To reach the city: Malpensa Express, arriving at
Cadorna Northern Railway Station. Connection
to underground lines M1 - M2 Cadorna
Journey time: 50 minutes
Orio al Serio Airport
45 km from the city centre
To reach the city: Autostradale Coach Service,
arriving at Piazza Luigi di Savoia
Journey time: 60 minutes
Radiotaxi
ph. +39 02 4040 / +39 02 8585 /
+39 02 8383
Underground, trams, and buses
tel. +39 800016857
www.atm-mi.it
State Railways
ph. +39 02.892021
www.trenitalia.com
Central Station
piazza Duca d’Aosta - 20124 Milano
Connection to Underground lines M2 - M3
Centrale F.S.
ph. +39 02.63711
Porta Garibaldi Station
Piazza Sigmund Freud, 1 - 20154 Milano
Connection to Underground line M2
Garibaldi F.S.
ph. +39 02.63716306
Northern Railways - Cadorna Station
Piazzale Cadorna Luigi, 14/16
20123 Milano (M1 - M2 Cadorna)
ph. +39 02.20222
in casa
Supplemento a La Provincia in Casa, n. 12 NS - Dicembre 2007
N 04 International
laProvincia
www.provincia.milano.it/provinciaincasa
[email protected]
THE BIOTECH
Expo 2015
THE MILANESE METROPOLIS
AT THE CENTER OF THE WORLD