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A guide and leaflet to rediscover and explore a fragment of nineteenth-century Milan through historic architecture and gardens

In the Gorla district, hidden among the centuries-old trees of its park, is Villa Finzi; in an oasis of public greenery, where you can relax and meet friends.

Having become the property of the Municipality of Milan in the early years of the last century, it is now home to the local senior citizens' centre, who use it as a place of aggregation and leisure.

In its Park there are also various other social services, schools and professional institutes, which perpetuate the humanitarian initiatives started by Countess Fanny Finzi-Ottolenghi.

With the aim of enhancing a historical corner near the Naviglio Martesana, little known by many Milanese, but capable of holding interesting historical-environmental surprises; the Environment Commission of the Zone 2 Council in collaboration with the Volunteer Ecological Guards and the Green Area, Agriculture and Urban Furnishings created a guide and a leaflet in 2009.

The 180 pages of the book, in addition to describing with texts and images the 53 tree species and 15 shrub species present in the park and chosen by the Ecological Guards for the botanical route, tell the story of the park and the villa and of some architectural presences such as the Temple of Night and the Acqualunga Fontanile. 

The leaflet illustrates the map of the park and the botanical route with the position of the tree and shrub species described in the guide.

The garden of Villa Finzi thus offers its visitors the opportunity for a pleasant walk, but also the possibility of learning how history and architecture, intertwined, develop unusual but important cultural and artistic paths for creating new tourism in the city .