THE HISTORY OF MILAN

Origins and Roman period

Milan was born as a settlement of the Insubre Celts with the name of Mediolanum, then conquered by the Romans in 222 BC. It quickly became a strategic city and, in 286 AD, the emperor Diocletian elected it the capital of the Western Roman Empire. In Milan, in 313, the Edict of Constantine was promulgated which recognized freedom of worship for Christians.

Christian and Medieval Milan

With the fall of the Roman Empire, Milan was invaded by the Goths, Lombards and finally by the Franks. In the Middle Ages it became an important religious centre, thanks to the figure of Saint Ambrose, bishop and patron saint of the city, who gave impetus to Christianisation. In the 12th century it was established as a free municipality and was a protagonist in the struggles against the Empire, such as in the Battle of Legnano (1176).

The Visconti and Sforza era

From 1277, the Visconti family took over and transformed Milan into a powerful and refined lordship. Gian Galeazzo Visconti made Milan the capital of a vast duchy and began construction of the Cathedral in 1386. In 1450, the Sforza family rose to power, with Francesco Sforza and then Ludovico il Moro. The latter called Leonardo da Vinci to court, who painted “The Last Supper” here.

Foreign dominations: Spanish and Austrian

In 1499 Milan fell under French control, then passed to the Spanish in 1535. It was a difficult period: plague, famine and decadence. From 1706 to 1796 Milan was part of the Habsburg Empire, with a notable cultural and administrative recovery. The Milanese Enlightenment flourished thanks to intellectuals such as Cesare Beccaria and Pietro Verri.

Napoleon and the Risorgimento

In 1796, Milan was occupied by Napoleon Bonaparte, who made it the capital of the Cisalpine Republic and then of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. After the Congress of Vienna (1815), it returned to Austrian control. Milan was a protagonist of the Risorgimento uprisings, in particular the Five Days of Milan in 1848, which led to the temporary expulsion of the Austrians.

Milan in the united Italy and the 20th century

With the unification of Italy (1861), Milan became a key industrial and financial hub. Important companies were born (Pirelli, Edison, Alfa Romeo) and the railways developed. In the 20th century, Milan was hit hard by the bombings of the Second World War. In the 1950s and 1960s it became the heart of the Italian “economic miracle” and of fashion, design and advertising.

Famous people born in Milan

Culture, art and literature

Alessandro Manzoni (1785): author of The Betrothed, father of the modern Italian language.
Carlo Emilio Gadda (1893): writer and engineer, author of That Ugly Mess on Via Merulana.
Giorgio Strehler (1921): theatre director, founder of the Piccolo Teatro in Milan.

Music

Giuseppe Verdi (of Emilian origin, but lived in Milan and debuted at La Scala).
Lucio Dalla (from Bologna but artistically raised here).
Mina (born in Busto Arsizio but a Milanese icon of the 60s).
Tiziano Ferro (not Milanese by birth, but an artist with ties to the city).
Mahmood, Fedez, Chiara Ferragni: new contemporary pop icons.

SOME PHOTOS AND HISTORICAL POSTCARDS OF MILAN