Parco Papa Giovanni Paolo II ("Pope John Paul II Park"),Parco Papa Paolo Giovanni II, ex Parco delle Basiliche
(official site of the Comune of Milan) best known by its historic name Basilicas Park (Parco delle Basiliche in Italian) is a city park 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 ...

, located in Zone 1. It owes its name to the fact that it connects two major

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

s, the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the

Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio The Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio is a church in Milan in northern Italy, which is in the Basilicas Park city park. It was for many years an important stop for pilgrims on their journey to Rome or to the Holy Land, because it was said to contain the ...

. The park has an overall area of 40.700 m², bisected by Via Molino delle Armi, one of the avenues comprising the Cerchia dei Navigli

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...

(this was originally intended to be adapted into an underpass, but the plan was never implemented).

History

In 1925, the authorities of Milan started a revitalization project for the area surrounding the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the nearby Colonne di San Lorenzo (a double

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

that is one of the major

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 ...

ruins in Milan). At the time, the area had marshes of polluted water produced by the

tanneries Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

located in the adjacent Piazza della Vetra, as well as old buildings in a state of decay. The area was cleared in 1934, but it was only after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

that it was actually redesigned as a green public space. Architects Pier Fausto Bagatti Valsecchi and

Antonio Grandi Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

, enrolled in 1956, conceived the new park as a sort of archaeological promenade connecting the two basilicas, the Colonne di San Lorenzo, and the ruins of a Roman

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

. The area surrounding the park and the Colonne di San Lorenzo is one of the most popular night-life districts of Milan, with a number of bars, pubs, disco clubs, and other venues of the so-called "Milanese movida". In the last decades of the 20th century, security issues were repeatedly reported, including

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term f ...

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

, excessive noise and abusive parking. These problems were addressed in the park renovation that took place in 2000, on the occasion of the

Great Jubilee The Great Jubilee in 2000 was a major event in the Catholic Church, held from Christmas Eve (December 24) 1999 to Epiphany (January 6) 2001. Like other previous Jubilee years, it was a celebration of the mercy of God and forgiveness of sins. T ...

; specifically, the whole area of the park was fenced and security cameras were installed. On the same occasion, the green area was also partially redesigned, and the name of the park was formally changed to "Parco Papa Paolo Giovanni II".Parco Giovanni Paolo II
/ref>

Features

Besides its architectural and archaeological sites of interests (i.e., the two basilicas and the Roman ruins), the park is renowned for its ornamental trees; tree species that can be found in the park include several species of

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

s (''Acer'') such as maple ash (''A. negundo''), Norway maple (''A. platanoides''), and silver maple (''A. saccharinum''),

European hornbeam ''Carpinus betulus'', the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family (botany), family Betulaceae, native species, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It require ...

(''Carpinus betulus''), cherry plum (''Prunus cerasifera''), European beech (''Fagus sylvatica''), French oak (''Quercus robur''), several species of

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

(''Ulmus''),

black poplar ''Populus nigra'', the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section ''Aigeiros'' of the genus ''Populus'', native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa.Flora Europaea''Populus nigra''/ref> ...

(''Populus nigra''), European black pine (''Pinus nigra''),

London plane London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

(''Platanus × acerifolia''), and

pagoda tree ''Styphnolobium japonicum'', the Japanese pagoda tree (also known as the Chinese scholar tree and pagoda tree; syn. ''Sophora japonica'') is a species of tree in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. It was formerly included withi ...

(''Sophora japonica'').

Footnotes

External links

{{Milan landmarks Geography of Milan Urban public parks Gardens in Milan Tourist attractions in Milan Parks in Milan

History

Features

See also

Footnotes

External links