![Arcopacemilano](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Arcopacemilano.jpg)
Porta Sempione ("Simplon Gate") is a city gate 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 ...
. The name is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding 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 ...
''), a part of the
Zone 1 division (the historic city centre), including the major avenue of
Corso Sempione. The gate is marked by a landmark
triumphal arch
A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crow ...
called Arco della Pace ("Arch of Peace"), dating back to the 19th century, although its origins can be traced back to a gate of the
Roman walls of Milan.
The gate
History
![02 Piazza Sempione, Milan, Lombardy, Italy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/02_Piazza_Sempione%2C_Milan%2C_Lombardy%2C_Italy.jpg)
A gate that roughly corresponds to modern Porta Sempione was already part of
Roman walls of Milan. It was called ''Porta Giovia'' ("Jupiter's Gate") and was located at the end of modern Via San Giovanni sul Muro. At the time, the gate was meant to control an important road leading to what is now
Castelseprio. Very little remains of the original
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 ...
structure; some Roman
tombstones that used to be placed by the outer side of the walls have been employed in the construction of later buildings such as the
Basilica of Saint Simplician (located in Corso Garibaldi).
In the Middle Ages, part of the Roman walls in the Porta Sempione area was adapted as part of
the new walls. The gate itself was moved north, in a place that is now occupied by 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 ...
. The Castle itself was completed in the 15th Century, under Duke
, and the gate itself became part of the Castle.
In 1807, under the
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, the Arch of Peace was built by architect
Luigi Cagnola
Marchese Luigi Cagnola (9 June 1762 – 14 August 1833) was a Neoclassical Italian architect.
Biography
Cagnola was born in Milan. He was sent at the age of fourteen to the Clementine College at Rome, and afterwards studied at the University of ...
. This new gate marked the place where the new Strada del Sempione entered Milan. This road, which is still in use today, connects Milan to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
through the
Simplon Pass
The Simplon Pass (french: Col du Simplon; german: Simplonpass; it, Passo del Sempione, Lombard: ''Pass del Sempiün'') () is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig in the canton of ...
crossing the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
. At the time, the gate was still called ''Porta Giovia''. When the Napoleonic
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
fell and Milan was conquered by the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
, the gate was not yet completed, and the construction was abandoned for a while.
The construction of the Arch was resumed, again by Cagnola, in 1826, for Emperor
Francis II, who dedicated the monument to the 1815
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
. When Cagnola died in 1833, his project was taken over by
Francesco Londonio
Francesco Londonio (Milan, 1723 – Milan, 1783)* was an Italian painter, engraver, and scenographer, active mainly in Milan in a late-Baroque or Rococo style.
Londonio trained as a painter under Ferdinando Porta and Giovanni Battista Sassi ...
and Francesco Peverelli, who brought it to completion in 1838.
The gate was the scene of several prominent events in the Milanese history of the 19th century. On 22 March 1848, the
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n army led by marshal
Josef Radetzky
Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz ( en, John Joseph Wenceslaus Anthony Francis Charles, Count Radetzky of Radetz; cz, Jan Josef Václav Antonín František Karel hrabě Radecký z Radče; sl, Janez Jožef Vencelj ...
escaped from Milan through Porta Giovia after being defeated in the
Five Days of Milan
The Five Days of Milan ( ) was an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the First Italian War of Independence. On 18 March, a rebellion arose in the city of Milan, and in five days of street fighting ...
rebellion. On 8 June 1859, four days after the
Battle of Magenta
The Battle of Magenta was fought on 4 June 1859 during the Second Italian War of Independence, resulting in a French-Sardinian victory under Napoleon III against the Austrians under Marshal Ferencz Gyulai.
It took place near the town of Magenta ...
,
Napoleon III
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
and
Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
en, Victor Emmanuel Maria Albert Eugene Ferdinand Thomas
, house = Savoy
, father = Charles Albert of Sardinia
, mother = Maria Theresa of Austria
, religion = Roman Catholicism
, image_size = 252px
, succession1 ...
triumphally entered Milan through the gate.
Site and decoration
![Arco della Pace 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Arco_della_Pace_5.jpg)
The gate is located at the center of a wide round square known as ''Piazza Sempione'' ("Simplon Square"). It is adjacent to
Simplon Park, the main city park of Milan, which was designed with the explicit intent of providing panoramic views encompassing both the Arch and the nearby
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 ...
.
It is
neoclassical triumphal arch, 25 m high and 24 m wide, decorated with a number of
bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...
s,
statue
A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
s, and
corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to:
*Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible:
**First Epistle to the Corinthians
**Second Epistle to the Corinthians
**Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox)
*A demonym relating to ...
columns. Bas-reliefs and statues are made of a variety of materials, including
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...
,
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
,
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
, and
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...
. Many of such decorations, especially bas-reliefs, are dedicated to major events in the history of Italy and Europe, such as the
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...
, the foundation of 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 ...
, the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
. Other decorations have classical mythology subjects such as
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
,
Ceres
Ceres most commonly refers to:
* Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid
* Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture
Ceres may also refer to:
Places
Brazil
* Ceres, Goiás, Brazil
* Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...
,
Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...
,
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
, and
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
-
Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...
. There are also a group of statues that are
allegories
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...
of major rivers in North Italy such as the
Po, the
Adige
The Adige (; german: Etsch ; vec, Àdexe ; rm, Adisch ; lld, Adesc; la, Athesis; grc, Ἄθεσις, Áthesis, or , ''Átagis'') is the second-longest river in Italy, after the Po. It rises near the Reschen Pass in the Vinschgau in the prov ...
and the
Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
. Notable artists that have collaborated to the decoration of the gate include
Pompeo Marchesi
Pompeo Marchesi (; 7 August 1783, in Saltrio, near Milan – 6 February 1858, in Milan) was a Lombard sculptor of the neoclassical school.
Biography
He first studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. In 1804 he won a scholarship ...
,
Luigi Acquisti
Luigi Acquisti (1745–1823) was an Italian sculptor mainly known for his works in the neoclassical style.
He was born in Forlì the 29 March 1747 and died in Bologna in 1823. His works are distributed throughout Italy. Among them are reliefs ...
,
Grazioso Rusca, Luigi Buzzi Leone,
Giovanni Battista Comolli
Giovanni Battista Comolli (19 February 1775 – 26 December 1831) was an Italian sculptor.
He became a pupil of the Milanese sculptor Giuseppe Franchi at the Brera Academy, but was strongly influenced by Antonio Canova.
In 1798, he support ...
,
Luigi Marchesi
Luigi Marchesi (; 8 August 1754 – 14 December 1829) was an Italian castrato singer, one of the most prominent and charismatic to appear in Europe during the second half of the eighteenth century. His singing was praised by the likes of Mozart ...
, Nicola Pirovano, Francesco Peverelli, Benedetto Cacciatori, Giovanni Antonio Labus, Claudio Monti,
Gaetano Monti,
Camillo Pacetti
Camillo Pacetti (Rome, 2 May 1758 - Milan, 16 July 1826) was an Italian sculptor. He was the brother of Vincenzo Pacetti, another sculptor.
A student of the Accademia di San Luca, he later worked in various churches in Rome and Milan. In 1804 ...
, Antonio Pasquali, Giovambattista Perabò,
Angelo Pizzi
Angelo Pizzi (1775 – Venice, 1819) was an Italian sculptor, active in a Neoclassical style.
He was pupil of Giuseppe Franchi. He completed the statues of Saints Matthew and Simon for the Duomo of Milan. He made a model for a colossal statue o ...
,
Grazioso Rusca, Girolamo Rusca, and
Francesco Somaini.
At the sides of the Arch of Peace there are two minor rectangular buildings that used to be the customs office.
Bas-reliefs of the Arch
Arco della Pace interno sx.jpg, ''Congress of Prague'', internal bas-relief
Arco della Pace interno dx.jpg, internal bas-relief
Arco della Pace 10.jpg, bas-relief
Arco della Pace 12.jpg, bas-relief
Arco della Pace 17.jpg, bas-relief
Arco della Pace 5.jpg, ''Foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia'', by Pompeo Marchesi
Pompeo Marchesi (; 7 August 1783, in Saltrio, near Milan – 6 February 1858, in Milan) was a Lombard sculptor of the neoclassical school.
Biography
He first studied at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. In 1804 he won a scholarship ...
, on the right of the Arch of Peace
Arco-della-Pace-istituzione-della-Corona-Ferrea-di-Giambattista-Perabò.jpg, Institution of the Iron Crown by Giovanni Battista Perabò
References in popular culture
In his novella ''
A Moveable Feast
''A Moveable Feast'' is a 1964 memoir '' belles-lettres'' by American author Ernest Hemingway about his years as a struggling expat journalist and writer in Paris during the 1920s. It was published posthumously. The book details Hemingway's firs ...
'',
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
mentions the Arch of Peace, expressing the belief that its orientation be parallel to those of the
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel
The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel () ( en, Triumphal Arch of the Carousel) is a triumphal arch in Paris, located in the Place du Carrousel. It is an example of Neoclassical architecture in the Corinthian order. It was built between 1806 and 1808 t ...
and the
Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile
The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...
in Paris.
The district
![20110725 Arco della Pace Milan 5612](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/20110725_Arco_della_Pace_Milan_5612.jpg)
The area surrounding Porta Sempione is a prominent historic district of Milan. The district also includes part of Corso Sempione, a large avenue leading to Porta Sempione from the northwest. Some of the most important streets in the area are Via Canonica, Via
Luigi Cagnola
Marchese Luigi Cagnola (9 June 1762 – 14 August 1833) was a Neoclassical Italian architect.
Biography
Cagnola was born in Milan. He was sent at the age of fourteen to the Clementine College at Rome, and afterwards studied at the University of ...
, Via
Abbondio Sangiorgio
Abbondio Sangiorgio (16 July 1798 – 2 November 1879) was an Italian sculptor of the neoclassical period.
Biography
Born in Milan, Sangiorgio studied at the city's Accademia di Brera. During his early career he worked for the Fabbrica del Duo ...
, Via
Mario Pagano, Via
Agostino Bertani
Agostino Bertani (19 October 1812 – 10 April 1886) was an Italian revolutionary and physician during Italian unification.
Revolutionary
Bertani was born in Milan on 19 October 1812. His father was an administrator for the Napoleonic govern ...
, Via
Antonio Canova
Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cl ...
, and Via
Francesco Melzi d'Eril
Francesco Melzi d'Eril, Duke of Lodi, Count of Magenta (6 March 1753 – 16 January 1816) was an Italian politician and patriot, serving as vice-president of the Napoleonic Italian Republic (1802–1805). He was a consistent supporter of the Ita ...
. Via Melzi d'Eril and Via Antonio Canova form a half circle concentric to Piazza Sempione.
The main landmark of the area is 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 ...
, which dominates the
Simplon Park, the largest and most important city park in the centre of Milan. The park houses other renowned monuments and places of interest, such as the
Branca Tower, 108 m high, the Palazzo dell'Arte (one of the seats of the
Triennale
The Triennale di Milano is a design and art museum in the Parco Sempione in Milan, in Lombardy in northern Italy. It is housed in the Palazzo dell'Arte, which was designed by Giovanni Muzio and built between 1931 and 1933; construction was fina ...
art expo), sculptures by
Giorgio de Chirico
Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian
artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly influ ...
, and the
public aquarium
A public aquarium (plural: ''public aquaria'' or ''public Water Zoo'') is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, which houses living aquatic animal and plant specimens for public viewing. Most public aquariums feature tanks larger than those kept b ...
.
The whole area is one of the centres of the Milanese night life, with a number of bars, pubs, restaurants, and discos; since the
RAI
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
public television company, as well as some major
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
s, have their headquarters in the area, frequent appearances of celebrities contribute to the popularity of the Sempione's night life venues.
Il camper del Corriere al Sempione
/ref>
Notes
References
Sources
*
{{Districts of Milan
Neoclassical architecture in Milan
Tourist attractions in Milan
Districts of Milan
Triumphal arches in Italy