Parco Sempione

Town Hall 1
Entrance: via Pagano, via Bertani, Piazza Castello, viale Elvezia, viale Milton, viale Gladio, viale Alemagna and viale Legnano. Via Principe Eugenio and Via Ammiraglio Caracciolo
Timetables:

  • 6:30 - 23:30, summer time
  • 6am to 30pm, October to April 

How to get: M1 Cairoli, Cadorna/M2 Cadorna, Lanza

Area: 386.000 sqm
Year of creation: 1893, restored in 2003
Designer: Emilio Alemagna, restoration of the Technical Office of the Municipality of Milan

What to do at the park

  • equipped fitness trail; 
  • running and cycling along the avenues; 
  • equipped children's play area; 
  • 1 basketball court; 
  • nursery; 4 dog areas; 
  • stroll; stop and relax; 
  • kiosks including one for souvenirs; 
  • visit the museums: Castello Sforzesco - Triennale, with De Chirico's Mysterious Baths, Palazzo dell'Arte - Civic Aquarium
  • observe the Teatro Continuo Burri, with the six wings along the optical telescope from the Torre del Filarete to the Arco della Pace; 
  • go to the Library of the Sempione Park
  • participate in a cultural or sporting event at the Arena Civica. 

The park in brief

Symbol of Milan, Sempione park is a large English garden, with majestic trees, paths, bridges, a pond and is located in the heart of the city, easily accessible by all public transport. Once a parade ground located near the Sforzesco Castle, the park was created at the end of the nineteenth century, and hosted the first Universal Exhibition in Milan in 1906.

On its sides you can admire some of the most famous monuments of our city, such as the Arco della Pace, the Arena Civica, the Triennale and the Castello Sforzesco. Parco Sempione offers many opportunities for recreation. Nearby there are museums that offer international level exhibitions. Inside there is a library. Attractive cultural and sporting events take place at the Arena.

Those who want to spend hours of leisure can immerse themselves in its tree-lined paths, as well as doing various sports. Two distinct educational routes organized by the Volunteer Ecological Guards (GEV) lead to the discovery of 50 tree species labeled and illustrated in a small free guide. Among the monumental trees there is an elm on the belvedere in front of the statue of Napoleon III, a horse chestnut near the "Ponte delle Mermaid" and hanging beech trees near the Triennale garden. Climbing the Torre Branca to look at it from above together with the center of Milan is an unforgettable experience.

The flooring is in limestone and natural stone; the park has many SOS columns and is periodically monitored by GEVs.

It represents the second park built in Milan and owes its name to the fact that it is located along the route that leads from the Duomo, through the Arco della Pace, to the Simplon Pass. Located on the site of the ancient Piazza d'Armi, it was built starting in 1890 by the architect Alemagna with an irregular layout designed to contrast with the regular structure of the urban context.

Already at the time of its construction it became the site of public initiatives, such as the International Exhibition of 1906 of which the Art Nouveau pavilion of the Civic Aquarium, designed by the architect, remains as evidence. Locati, restored in 2006.

Alemagna's design idea was that of a large English park, composed of waterways, paths, short hills, such as the Monte Tordo hill, with a magnificent play of perspective between the Castle and the Arco della Pace. In 1973, the works “History of the Earth” by A. Paradiso, “Accumulation musical” by Arman and “Bagni mysteriousi” by Giorgio De Chirico were placed in the park. In 1957, a project to reorganize the area was conceived by the architect Vittoriano Viganò and the landscape designer Pietro Porcinai.

In 2003, the important restoration begun in 1996 was concluded, thanks to which the fence was completed and the protected surface area increased from 167.000 to 386.000 m². On a botanical level, many shrub and ground cover species in use at the time of the park's construction have been planted.

In addition to the Palazzo dell'Arte, there is the pavilion of the Civic Aquarium, by the architect. Sebastiano Locati, the Torre del Parco or Torre Littoria, built by Giò Ponti in 1932.

Also noteworthy is the pavilion for the Louis Antonietti.

Among the sculptures we note the equestrian monument of Napoleon III by the sculptor Francesco Barzaghi and the works "History of the Earth" by Antonio Paradiso, "Musical Accumulation" by Arman (Armand Pierre Fernandez), the "Mysterious Baths" by Giorgio De Chirico and the Bridge of the Little Mermaids by Francesco Tettamanzi.

Among the tree species

  • holly (Ilex aquifolium)
  • catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides)
  • Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica)
  • Himalayan cedar (C. deodara) and California cedar (Calocedrus decurrens)
  • beech trees (Fagus sylvatica 'Aspelinifolia', F. 'Pendula', F. 'Purpurea')
  • ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
  • horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum)
  • holm oak (Quercus ilex)
  • liquidambar (Liquidambar styraciflua)
  • magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora)
  • Caucasian walnut (Pterocarya fraxinifolia)
  • black walnut (Juglans nigra)
  • black alder (Alnus glutinosa)
  • paulownia (Paulownia tomentosa)
  • pines (Pinus wallichiana and P. strobus)
  • Canadian poplar (Populus x canadensis)
  • Cypress poplar (Populus nigra 'Italica')
  • sophora (Sophora japonica).

Beautiful groups of red oaks (Quercus rubra), yews (Taxus baccata), limes (Tilia Americana and platyphyllos) and bald cypresses (Taxodium distichum) and an interesting choice of maples (Acer negundo, A. campestre, A. pseudoplatanus, A. platanoides and A. saccharinum). Among the other valuable specimens, we note a specimen of elm on the belvedere in front of the statue of Napoleon III and a horse chestnut near the "Bridge of the Little Mermaids".

For information on guided tours of the parks and educational activities of the Volunteer Ecological Guards, click here

Among the shrubby species

  • witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis and H. virginiana)
  • winter-flowering shrubs sarcococca (Sarcococca gigante)
  • azaleas
  • Calicanto (Chimonanthus praecox).
  • camellia (Camellia sasanqua)
  • camellias
  • cornus (Cornus alba, C. controversy, C. florida, C. kousa, C. nuttalii and C. sanguinea)
  • specimens of trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata)
  • Loropetalum (Loropetalum chinense)
  • mahonia (Mahonia japonica)
  • hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens, H. macrophylla, H. paniculata and H. villosa)
  • osmanths (Osmanthus spp.)
  • rhododendrons
  • ancient roses
  • viburnums (Viburnum x bodnantense, V. carlesii, V. davidii, V. opulus, V. plicatum, V. x pragense, V. x rhytidophylloides, V. tinus)

Among the perennial herbaceous plants

  • water hemp (Eupatorium cannabinum)
  • hosta (Hosta plantaginea), lysimachia (Lysimachia punctata)
  • potentilla (Potentilla fruticosa), iris (Iris spp).

Fauna

Ducks in the pond, turtles, various birds.

Water and surroundings

The fenced lake is suggestive, with the cast iron bridge of the "Little Mermaids" and the "rotten water" fountain.

Subjects: 

Updated: 18/04/2024