Piazza Del Duomo In Milan, One Of The Most Famous Squares In Italy

Every Italian has memories of piazza Duomo in Milan, one of the most famous squares in Italy. My own memories involve football and looking for truth.

22 May 2010

On May 22, 2010, the Argentine player Diego “El Principe” Milito scored the two goals that won the F.C. Inter in the 2009-2010 UEFA Champions League. That evening, the Municipality of Milan set up a screen in Piazza Duomo to allow Inter fans to watch their team’s most important match together. I was there with my childhood Inter friends. The joy was indescribable. The square was crowded with excited people who kept screaming. Almost everyone held flags, scarfs, or board for supporting the team.

That evening it seemed to live the song “Luci a San Siro”, one of the most famous pieces of Italian pop music. Through this 1971 song, the Inter fan singer-songwriter Roberto Vecchioni expresses his nostalgia for the youthful loves he lived above the San Siro stadium. You can listen to “Luci a San Siro” on Spotify and Apple Music.

I admit that I have not been a faithful fan. It was only during my childhood that I had a true passion for the Milan team Nerazzurri (The black and blues). That passion faded over time but I regain the passion in 2010. During that season, Inter looked like a perfect winning machine, thanks to beautiful and devoted players.

Many players reminded fans an ancient and noble football, such as goalkeeper Julio Cesar, full-back Maicon, midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, forwards Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito. The tenacity of the legendary captain Javier Zanetti and the charisma of the coach José Mourinho represented a touch of poetry that increased the romance of that victory.

Via Dante and Piazza Cordusio

Via Dante

We watched football match in Piazza Duomo because it represents the heart of the city of Milan, where every Italian carries his memories with the Piazza. For example, I remember that when my wife arrived in the square, a street vendor approached her immediately and grabbed some kernels of corn to squeeze into her hand before she realized what happened.

Suddenly many pigeons pounced on her. Then the street vendor forced her to pay € 5. My wife told me that her hand felt painful and the whole thing was like an ambush from the street vendor.

Travel tips: We recommend you to avoid the ambush from the street vendor. We suggest you to create a personal perspective of how the Duomo is by slowly reaching the square on foot from the “Cairoli” stop, on the M1 line, adjacent to the Castello Sforzesco. Otherwise, you can get off at the “Duomo” metro stop managed by the municipal ATM company , served by the M1 (red) and M3 (yellow) lines.

If you decide to get off at “Cairoli”, you can proceed in the opposite direction of the Castello Sforzesco along via Dante. Via Dante is one of the most important city walks, where you can see numerous shops of international brands. For example, you can eat an interesting hamburger from the American chain Five Guys, looking at the beautifully designed shoes by Aldo Shoes and the sparkling crystals by Swarovski.

Piazza Cordusio

Via Dante represents a modern connection between the castle and the Duomo. The Municipality of Milan built via Dante at the end of the nineteenth century and pedestrianized it at the end of the twentieth century. The street crosses Piazza Cordusio, once considered the parlor of Italian finance because the most important Italian banks and insurance companies were based here.

The square has changed recently because financial institutions have preferred to move to more modern skyscrapers. Since 2018, Piazza Cordusio hosts the first Starbucks store in Italy. The subway M1 serves the square through the “Cordusio” stop.

Piazza Duomo

From Piazza Cordusio you can walk along Piazza dei Mercanti or Via Orefici to quickly reach Piazza Duomo, one of the largest Italian squares. In a distant time, the area contained two large churches and two baptisteries. In the 14th century, the Milanese decided to tear down these buildings to build a grandiose cathedral.

The choice to build the cathedral also had political motivations. Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who became lord of Milan in a coup d’etat in 1385, seemed interested in moving his court to the nearby city of Pavia. The Milanese thought that the construction of the great church would help the city to maintain the status of capital.

Gian Galeazzo Visconti was so enthusiastic about the Duomo project that he wanted to build a decidedly ambitious church. Thus, a large square was created which overlooks the imposing cathedral. The project continued even when the Visconti family had to hand over power to the Sforza family. In 1500, the Sforza family also had to give up power. Milan first became a French and then a Spanish possession in the history.

The French rulers decided to abandon the Castello Sforzesco as the residence of the court. The French decided to renovate an old building on the south side of Piazza Duomo, to use it as the Royal Palace. Its construction gave birth to a smaller square, which is placed sideways to the main one. Today, the Royal Palace hosts interesting events . I had the opportunity to visit it during the exhibition that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of the artistic movement called Futurism.

Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery

The Project

In 1859, Lombardy became part of the Kingdom of Sardinia after the second Italian war of independence. The authorities proclaimed the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 and the municipality of Milan decided to modernize Piazza Duomo to celebrate the birth of the new state.

In the center of the square, the Municipality erected a large equestrian monument dedicated to the Piedmontese ruler who created the unity of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II. The monument was started by the sculptor Ercole Rosa and was finished under the supervision of Ettore Ferrari, former author of the statue of Giordano Bruno in Campo de ‘Fiori in Rome.

Architect Giuseppe Mengoni designed the new square. Mengoni intended to carry out a pharaonic redevelopment, which included a gallery, a palace and a royal loggia. The project was immediately the subject of controversy due to its pomp and large costs.

To build the gallery

The work on the gallery started immediately and affected the north side of the square. The project involved the construction of a cross-shaped gallery, covered by four vaults of iron and glass. The vaults and the large central dome meet in the middle of the gallery. In 1867, the workers finished the main structure. However financial problems began which delayed the completion of the works at that time.

The large entrance arches were completed on December 30, 1877. The next day, the municipality inaugurated the gallery dedicated to King Vittorio Emanuele II. Giuseppe Mengoni was unable to attend the inauguration.

In fact, the architect died the day before. Falling from the highest scaffolding of the gallery, on which he had climbed to give directions to the workers. In the official version, Giuseppe Mengoni’s death was a misfortune. At the same time, people whispered that the architect committed suicide due to the accumulated tension.

The gallery represents one of the first shopping centers in the world. Today it hosts some important fashion stores such as Fendi, Prada and Tod’s. You can also find a Feltrinelli bookshop and some luxurious restaurants. For example, you can refresh yourself at the restaurant of the starred chef Carlo Cracco or in the historic Biffi restaurant.

The Duomo

Next to the Gallery, there is the Duomo, the largest church located in the Italian Republic. It is the most famous monument in Milan. Today the Cathedral is a grandiose building, which shines in its Gothic style. Travelers get lost in observing its spiers and statues that appear infinite. Some famous architects and sculptors collaborated in the construction of the church, such as Giulio Romano, active at the court of Mantua, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, famous for his works in Rome.

In 1386 the authorities began construction of the church. Pope Martin V first consecrated the Cathedral in 1418 when the church was only a little more than a construction site. San Carlo Borromeo, archbishop of Milan, required to speed up the works and consecrated the Duomo again in 1577, despite the fact that the facade was not yet completed.

In 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte accelerated the work in view of his coronation as king of Italy and the facade was finally completed a few years later. Throughout the nineteenth century, the workers continued to erect spiers and statues.

In 1774, the sculptor Giuseppe Perego created the most famous statue, that of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The Milanese renamed that statue “Madonnina” and loved it. The Madonnina stands on the top of the main spire, 108 meters high. The statue represented the Virgin Mary with open arms, as if she were asking God to bless Milan.

The statue is the very symbol of the city. For many years, as a sign of respect, the municipality forbade building taller buildings than the Madonnina. When modernity imposed the construction of skyscrapers taller than 108 meters, the city decided to place a copy of the Madonnina on top of these skyscrapers.

Looking for truth

Piazza Fontana Bombing

My most personal memory of the area is closely linked to what happened in Piazza Fontana that located just behind the Duomo many years ago. On 1969 December 12, many years before I was born, a bank crowded with peasants was blown up in Piazza Fontana. A bomb exploded killing 17 and injuring 88.

It was the first serious terrorist attack in Italy after the Second World War. Even today it is indicated as a dark massacre that probably saw the participation of some military apparatuses of the state. I still get angry today thinking how far the truth about that event is.

We know that the fascists organized the massacre, trying to put the blame on anarchist groups. The bomb was supposed to fuel a feeling of insecurity so that the population would be induced to demand a stronger and more authoritarian state. This would have facilitated the preparation of a coup d’état aimed at establishing a dictatorship of the extreme right.

The strength of democratic institutions

Fortunately, the population defended the democratic institutions that the fascists wanted to attack. A coup attempted by fascists and the military failed before it began. The tension that erupted that night, however, did not subside. Intrigues, bombs, attacks and kidnappings continued for about twenty years.

These tangles represent the saddest and most complicated pages of the Italian Republic. As a young man I wanted to know the truth in every way. Today, more realistically, I am afraid that the truth will always remain covered by a dark patina. The efforts of the Italian democratic parties and institutions were able to give a peaceful future to the country but not to solve the mysteries of that time.

In these peaceful moments, we can look at the past in a more relaxing way. If you want to find out more about it, I recommend the outstanding film by director Marco Tullio Giordana “Romanzo di una strage” (Novel of a massacre), available on Google Play and Amazon.

Written by Enrico, Translated by Hua and Photo from Hua