Assiano is a rural district ("

quartiere A (; plural: ) is a territorial subdivision of certain Italian towns. The word derives from (‘fourth’) and was thus properly used only for towns divided into four neighborhoods by the two main roads. It has been later used as a synonymous ...

") of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, part of the Zone 7 administrative division. It is a border district, at the western end of the city area. Before being annexed to Milan (in 1841), it was an autonomous ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'', except for a brief period (1808-1816) when it was included in

Cusago Cusago ( lmo, Cusagh ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, r ...

. Although administratively part of Milan, Assiano is quite isolated from the urban area and has maintained its rural character. A distinctive feature of Assiano and nearby rural areas is the presence of several ancient "fontanili", i.e., artificial water springs. The most important historic building in Assiano is the eponymous ''

cascina Cascina () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pisa in the Italian region Tuscany, located about west of Florence and about southeast of Pisa. Cascina is located on the left shore of the Arno River, on a markedly plain terrain. ...

'' (farmhouse), i.e., Cascina Assiano. In the past, the cascina has been the property of several notable Milanese families, including the Agnelli, the Feltrinelli, and the Migliavacca. Until the early 20th century, Cascina Assiano was the main driving force of the economy of the area, on which a number of other activities depended. For example, the local dairy factory "Gambini" was established to process milk produced in Cascina Assiano. Today, Cascina Assiano is publicly owned and abandoned (while the Gambini dairy factory has survived).

History

A rural settlement in the area of Assiano has probably existed since

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

times; an ancient Roman plaque with the inscription "AXILIANVM" is exhibited in the

Sforza Castle The Castello Sforzesco (Italian for "Sforza's Castle") is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later reno ...

museum, and was reportedly found in "the area of Baggio" (which might actually mean in Assiano, as these two districts have been merged in the past). A place called "Axiliano" is also mentioned in legal documents of the mid-11th century.
Assiano e dintorni
' (in Italian) The first specific reference to the "comune of Assiano" is found in administrative documents dating back to the 14th century, where it is referred to as a part of the

pieve In the Middle Ages, a pieve (, ; la, plebe, link=no; plural ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. The Italian word ''pieve'' is descended from Latin ''plebs'' which, after th ...

Cesano Boscone Cesano Boscone ( lmo, Cesan ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southwest of Milan. Cesano Boscone borders the following municipalities: Milan, Corsico, Trezzano sul Nav ...

, named "Asliano". It remained part of the pieve through the 16th, 17th, and 18th century.
Comune di Assiano, 1757-1797
' Under

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

rule, Assiano was annexed to

, but regained its autonomy with the

Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia ( la, links=no, Regnum Langobardiae et Venetiae), commonly called the "Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom" ( it, links=no, Regno Lombardo-Veneto, german: links=no, Königreich Lombardo-Venetien), was a constituent land ...

. In 1841, Assiano was merged with Muggiano and in 1869, the two were annexed to Baggio. Baggio, in turn, became part of Milan in 1923.

Footnotes

{{coord, 45, 27, 15, N, 9, 03, 31, E, source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Districts of Milan Former municipalities of Lombardy