The Pio Albergo Trivulzio, formally Azienda di servizi alla persona Istituti Milanesi Martinitt e Stelline e Pio Albergo Trivulzio, commonly referred to as Baggina, is an ancient retirement home and hospital in

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 ...

. Still active today, it dates back to 1766.

History

In 1766, the Milanese aristocrat Tolomeo Trivulzio, at his death, devolved his belongings to the foundation of a shelter for the "poor old", to be housed in his own palace in the Verziere district (Via della Signora). The hospital began functioning in 1768, and later became part of a larger charity association which also included the two main traditional orphanages of Milan, that of the

Martinitt The name Martinitt refers to a historical boy orphanage of Milan, Italy, that was established in the 16th Century, now part of Pio Albergo Trivulzio, a public Milanese institution that provides aid to needy orphans, elders and other people experien ...

(for orphan boys) and that of the Stelline (for orphan girls). In the early 20th century the Trivulzio was relocated on the road connecting Milan to Baggio, and was thereafter nicknamed "the Baggina". In 1992, the Trivulzio received much media attention as a consequence of the

Tangentopoli ''Mani pulite'' (; Italian for "clean hands") was a nationwide judicial investigation into political corruption in Italy held in the early 1990s, resulting in the demise of the so-called " First Republic" and the disappearance of many Italian ...

political scandal, as its president Mario Chiesa was the first politician to be arrested in the

Mani Pulite ''Mani pulite'' (; Italian for "clean hands") was a nationwide judicial investigation into political corruption in Italy held in the early 1990s, resulting in the demise of the so-called " First Republic" and the disappearance of many Italian ...

trial.

References in popular culture

Due to its longevity, the "Baggina" is well known to the Milanese population and referred to in Milanese pop culture and folklore, e.g., in a number of Milanese dialectal

idiom An idiom is a phrase or expression that typically presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase; but some phrases become figurative idioms while retaining the literal meaning of the phrase. Categorized as formulaic language, ...

s (for example, ''sun bun per la Baggina'', "I'm good for the Baggina", meaning "I'm old").La Baggina
/ref> Singer-songwriter

Fabrizio De André Fabrizio Cristiano De André (; 18 February 1940 – 11 January 1999) was an Italian singer-songwriter, the most prominent ''cantautore'' of his time. His 40-year career reflects his interests in concept albums, literature, poetry, political pro ...

mentioned ''"Il poeta della Baggina"'' ("The poet from the Baggina") in his song ''La domenica delle salme'', included in 1990's album

Le Nuvole ''Le nuvole'' (''The Clouds'') is an album by Italian singer-songwriter Fabrizio De André, released in 1990. The songs were written by Fabrizio De André and Mauro Pagani. As Pagani revealed in an interview within the 2011 DVD biographical docum ...

Footnotes

External links

Official site
{{Authority control Hospitals in Milan Culture in Milan Hospitals established in the 1760s