According to historian Tito Livio, Milan’s history began with the laying of the first stone by the Gallic leader Balloveri in 1603 BC, on a small hill in an area of numerous marshes. Milano rose on the border between a dry zone and a zone with numerous marshes, destined today for rice fields and grasslands. In 222 BC, the Roman legions conquered the area, which gradually assumed strategic and commercial significance and underwent development. Unfortunately, they had to reckon with Hannibal and the Milanese themselves, but in 169 BC they managed to regain all the territories, and in 49 BC Julius Caesar entered. In turn, he elevated Milan to the status of a magistracy and gave it to its inhabitants.
In 286 AD,Mediolanum was chosen as the residence of the Roman Emperor Massimianowho ordered the construction of a great amphitheater near the current Via Arena, the Forumnear piazza San Sepolcro and, above all, a new wall encircling the city, which doubled from 50 to 100 hectares of built-up area and which contained the current area between via Montenapoleone, piazza San Babila, Corso Europa, il Verziere, piazza Missori, piazza Vetra, via Cappuccio, via San Giovanni sul Muro and via Monte di Pieta’. What remains of this wall as a testament to the past is a field tower and a piece of the Maggiore Order, as well as remnants of the Porta Ticinese. Roman Milan occupied a zone northwest of the piazza Duomo and its SO-NE, NO-SE orientation reflects that of today.
In the meantime, Milan had become an important Christian center, and in 313 Emperor Costantino promulgated an edict promising freedom of Christian worship, and Milan continued to grow and develop. In the aftermath, barbarian invasions spread across Italy and the Huns led by Attila entered Milan in 452, the Ostrogoths with Theoderic in 489, the Goths and Burgundians in 538, and finally in 569 the Longobards, from whom the region “Lombardy” was named. During the reign of the Longobardian king Agilulf, the city lost its power after Milan and Pavia were divided between two royal sons and Pavia became the most important center in the kingdom.
Only with Carlo Magno, who preferred Milan to Pavia, did the city regain its importance also because he chose it as his new headquarters.
After Carlo Magno’s death, bishops gained in importance, among whom Ariberto d’Intimiano, ordained in 1018 as archbishop of Milan, stood out. The latter nominated Emperor Corrado II and asked him to help him fight the “valvassors,” the archbishop’s vassals, who became agitated, but Corrado was subsequently driven out by the Milanese and followed after strengthening himself by imprisoning Ariberto, who refused to give up his role as spokesman for the Ambrosian church.
Following Corrido’s death, a new economic class of bankers, land owners, and merchants began to emerge. This group demanded a greater say in the governance of the city. After Ariberto’s death in 1045, Milan was characterized by a corrupt government and a sanctimonious curia under the leadership of Archbishop Guido da Velate. Popular discontent eventually led to an uprising, with the people demanding a return to the original poverty of the Church. The corrupt bishop was banished from the city and eventually converted, marking a significant victory for the protesting populace.
From the cooperation between the archbishopric and the bourgeoisie, a new system of city government was created and developed. The city is under the rule of the bishop but pursues its goal of widening communication routes to increase trade, thus also capturing the cities of Lodi and Como, important strategic points.
Only Federico Barbarossa managed to stop the growth of Milan, which was destroyed during the last siege. But in 1176 the Milanese succeeded in defeating Barbarossa, led by the Lombard Legion, at the Battle of Legnano, and with the conclusion of the Peace of Costanza in 1176, the recognition of the Milanese consulate and the right of the Milanese to elect consuls, without the meddling of the archbishop, was approved.
After the Peace of Costanza, the new bourgeois class sought to increase its power and in 1216 the institution of regular mayoral government is consolidated, ensuring legal equality for all residents. During this period, the wool and metal industries flourish, and trade grows significantly, mainly due to the construction of the Navigli (canals), and the construction of the Castle and Duomo (cathedral) begins.
Along with trade, conflicts over the rule of the city also grow, and so rule passes from the hands of the Torriani to the Visconti and to the Sforzas, whose dynasty would reign until 1535, coinciding with the Italian Renaissance and culminating in the rule of Lodovico il Moro.
After the Sforzas, Milan, which had hitherto experienced years of great intellectual artistic exaltation that gave place to stately works (the Castle-Castello was converted into a lavish residence, the construction of the imposing cathedral continued, the precious church of Santa Maria delle Grazie and the magnificent Hospital Maggiore or Ca’ Granda were erected), plunged into the dark ages of Spanish domination.
The Spaniards, who controlled the city from 1535 to 1713, imposed taxes and duties on every kind of good and commodity, and the city also experienced two major plague epidemics that reduced Milan’s population to a historic minimum.
The resurgence of economic and social growth has to wait until 1740 1740 until the accession to the throne of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, who initiates important reforms thus giving rise to a time of cultural, economic, and architectural growth, which caused a boom in trade and industry and, above all, causes the writing of the cadastre, which came into effect 1760.
History of Milan
In 1796 Napoleon entered Milan and in 1797 the city was chosen as the capital of the Cisalpine Republic. Milan continued to grow, flourish and develop its culture with la Scala, infrastructure, palaces, and public works. But at the same time, there was growing general discontent over unfair taxes, and compulsory military conscription, which was a contribution that was too bloody.
After the fall of Napoleon, Radetzky appeared, but the Milanese were already politicized and many of them joined the revolutionary movements in 1821. It was not until March 18, 1848, during the “Cinque Giornate di Milano” (Five Days of Milan) that the people succeeded in driving out the Austrians. This is how Milan was annexed to Piedmont and then in 1861, to the Kingdom of Italy.
Politically, socially and economically, Milan was the foundation for Italy’s development in the following years. The railroad network was expanded, new industries and banks emerged, urban infrastructures and functions developed (aqueducts, sewers, gas networks), and electric streetcars appeared.
The first socialist movements found fertile ground in the urban proletariat. The interventionist movement, Futurism, and promiscuity appear in Milan, which in 1922 also witnesses the birth of the Fascist party. During the fascist era, the city sees the construction of impressive buildings such as the Stazione Centrale (Central Station), the Palazzo di Giustizia (Court Building), the San Siro stadium, the cycling track, and the Idroscalo (waterfront airport). In the following year, a number of border towns are annexed to the city, which, from being a rural town with a mainly agricultural economy, becomes an urban periphery. In 1942 and 1943 Milan was almost razed by bombing, but after the war, the city began to recover rapidly, its successes, also thanks to some great mayors approved the current role of the economic and financial center.
Today Milan, the economic and financial capital, is Italy’s true gateway to Europe. The city of stock exchanges and banks offers a fascinating combination of tradition and innovation, wealth and style, culture and fashion. A visit to a historical building can be interesting on par with a stroll through the via Montenapoleone area, where great stylists have erected their “temples.” A stop at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana can be as enjoyable as meeting a contemporary author in a downtown bookstore. But Milan’s main strength is contained in its ability to renew itself without interruption, often ahead of fashion and customs.
Origin of the name “Milano”
There are many hypotheses about the origin of the name “Milano.” One of the most plausible is that it is derived from the word “Midland”, located in the middle, indicating a particularly fortunate position in the center of Europe, which was an important crossroads, a meeting point of different cultures, and a center to which the most fertile products from all over the continent flowed.
Another very plausible theory is that the name is derived from Milan’s oldest symbol: the woolly sow, which is still visible on a large part of the city’s banners. Etymologically, the name “Milano” here would come from the Latin phrase “di medio lanae,” which refers to the wool of the sow.