Turro is a 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, part of the Zone 2 administrative division, located north-east of the city centre. Before being annexed to Milan in 1918, 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 ...

''. The name derives from ''tur'', the Lombard word for "tower". The

Milan Metro The Milan Metro ( it, Metropolitana di Milano) is the rapid transit system serving Milan, Italy, operated by Azienda Trasporti Milanesi. The network consists of 5 lines, identified by different numbers and colours, with a total network length of ...

subway ( Line 1) has a stop at Turro.

History

A settlement in Turro is reported at least since 1489; it probably originated around a much older tower, depicted in maps dating back to 950 and referred to as "Tauris Turris" (in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, "bull's tower"; hence the name "Turro"). Under the

Napoleonic Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eur ...

rule, in 1808, Turro was annexed to Milan, but it returned to an autonomous status in 1816, after 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 ...

. In 1861, Turro reportedly had a population of 319, and in 1864 its name was changed to "Turro Milanese". The rural area of Turro was largely the property of noble Milanese families such as the Melzi, the Dal Verme, the

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

and the Parravicini. In early 20th century, several factories were established in the area of Turro, with a consequent rapid increase in population (raising from 555 in 1901 to 7,883 in 1911 and to 20,000 in the 1930s). In 1918, Turro was once again, and definitively, annexed to Milan. Until the 1980s, Turro maintained its industrial character; then, as the factories were abandoned, it gradually evolved in a residential and tertiary district.

Environment

Turro is traversed by the

Naviglio Martesana The Naviglio della Martesana ( lmo, Nivili de la Martexana or ''Martesanna'' ) is a canal in the Lombardy region, Northern Italy. Running from the Adda River, Italy, Adda river, in the vicinity of Trezzo sull'Adda, to Milan, it was also known as Na ...

canal, and has maintained large green areas despite its industrial and residential development. It has two main city parks, Parco Martesana (which is connected by a bike lane to the larger

Parco Sempione Parco Sempione ("Simplon Park") is a large city park in Milan, Italy. Established in 1888, it has an overall area of , and it is located in the historic centre of the city, inside the Zone 1 administrative division. The park is adjacent to the g ...

) and Parco Trotter.

Monuments

A prominent monument of the Turro district is the church of Santa Maria Assunta in Turro, one of the oldest churches in the outskirts of Milan; it was built at the beginning of the 19th century, replacing an older 16th-century church. It has a neoclassical facade and fresco decorations.

References

{{Districts of Milan Districts of Milan Former municipalities of Lombardy