Assago

Assago ( sˈsaːɡo Milanese: ''Assagh'' ˈsɑːk ''Sagh'' ɑːk is a town and ''comune'' of 9 326 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Milan, in the northern Italian region of Lombardy.

It is home of the headquarters of Nestlé's Italian branch and the Unipol Forum, one of Italy's most important indoor sports arena, used also for concerts and events.

Geography

Topography

Assago is located in the southwestern zone of the Metropolitan City of Milan, and borders directly the capital of said Metropolitan City, other than three more ''comuni'' : Buccinasco, Rozzano and Zibido San Giacomo. The town is crossed by the Autostrada A7 and the Autostrada A50.

Bordered by the Naviglio Pavese, the ''comune'' is located in the Parco Agricolo Sud Milano. Many other small canals for irrigations, originated by the Navigli or underground springs, flow through Assago's territory.

The elevation ranges from 102 to 111 meters, and the entirety of the municipality lies onto a single geological entity that dates back to the Pleistocene, made up by sand, gravel and silt brought by the rivers.

Climate

During the winter (January) the temperature drops to 3 °C with 65 mm of rainfall. Fog and frost can be observed. During the summer (July) the average temperature is of 25 °C with 65 mm of rainfall. Storms, accompanied by strong winds and rain, are frequent. Hailstorms can take place.

Etymology

There are two main hypothesis about the origin of the name:

* The name Assago could come from the Ecclesiastical Latin ''Assagum,'' union of the name ''Assius'' (name of the roman farmer who lived in the area were now the Church of San Desiderio is located), and ''ager'' (meaning "crop"). If so, Assago would mean "crop" or "Assius's crop". The translation thus indicates the origin of the town's toponoym to a single roman farmer who owned the fields in the ''comune'''s zone, who settled there first;
* Other hypothesis direct the attention to the suffix ''agh'' (which in Italian became ''ago''), a Lombard suffix typical of places near water courses. The root ''Ass'' would, too, be typical of localities near water, but with different origins. The name Assago would thus come from the union of two different names, given by different populations who inhabited the municipality's fertile and rich of water springs territory in different moments.

History

According to archeological studies made near the church of San Desiderio, remainings of a wall of roman origins and various objects were found, which indicate the existence of a roman villa built in the 1st century (1-100 AD). These remainings were used, during High Middle Ages, as burial site. Assago was first referenced in a document dating back to the year 1153: in a trial's sentence, between the testimonies, is mentioned someone called ''Azo de Axago.''

In 1346, Assago was part of the pieve of Cesano Boscone.

Modern age

During the 18th century, all of the territory controlled by the Duchy of Milan, thus Assago too, was measured and transcripted on paper. In 1722, Assago's territory was made up of four ''comuni'' : Assago, Bazzana Sant'Ilario, Bazzanella con Monte Gaudio and Pontirolo.

* The land and agricultural buildings were property of the marquises Corbella and Calderari. Bazzana Sant'Ilario was property of count Nicolò Maria Visconti and the marquises Gerolamo Ferreri and Giovanni Battista Resta.
* Bazzanella was property of the church and some bourgeois.
* Pontirolo was property of the marquis Corbella.
In 1771 Assago was inhabited by 730 people. Under the control of the First French Empire there were some short-lasting changes: in 1809 Bazzana and Bazzanella were united for the first time, while in 1811 all of these, Assago too, were put under the control of the ''comune'' of Corsico. Anyways, the Austrians then reverted the changes as they were in 1816.

Contemporary age

In 1841 the Austrians turned back and decided on the second and definitive annexation of Bazzana and Bazzanella. In 1854 Assago was inhabited by 762 people. The territory belonged mainly to five owners: Count Luigi Confalonieri, nobles Luigi and Benedetta Peluso, the parish and Luigi Simonetta. In 1881 the territory was divided between the families Galloni, Monfrini, Olginati, the municipality of Assago and the parish.

On 20 January 1900, the municipality bought a 768 m2 plot of land from the Olginati family at a cost of 14,500 lire for the construction of the town hall and primary school, which cost 17,300 lire. On 16 October 1906 the procedures for the construction of an electrical line were initiated, and on 1 October 1908 those for the construction of a telephone line. On 17 January 1915, the city council approved an expenditure of 15,500 lire (price then increased) for the construction of a 400 m2 kindergarten that would accommodate 70 children.

During the First World War, 167 Assaghesi left for the front; of these 28 did not return. The municipal administration decided to support the most needy families through an extraordinary compensation and a 20-year aid of 116 lire for war orphans.

On 13 August 1926 the podestà, Ernesto Moro, approved the construction of an electric cabin. In 1929 the prefecture of Milan started a project to merge the municipalities of Assago, Rozzano and Basiglio which though failed in short time.

In 1940, Assago had 100 inhabitants. On the night between 18 and 19 November 1940, five Vickers Wellington military bombers of the RAF Bomber Command, headed for the Pirelli factories, mistakenly hit the Cavallazza farm.

On 10 August 1944 two Assaghesi partisans, Giuseppe de Vecchi and Mario Idiomi, lost their lives in a military clash at Noviglio.

In 1946 the consequences of the war and the anti-fascist struggle were reported: 84 survivors returned, 25 still abroad, 13 missing and 2 partisans killed.

In 2008 the anti-mafia district of Milan documented through the Investigation Cerberus the monopoly of the calabrian ' ndrine Barbaro-Papalia in the area of Buccinasco, Assago and Corsico.

Simbols

The coat of arms and banner of the ''Comune'' di Assago were granted by decree of the Italian President on the 26th June 1973.

«Of blue, to the gear of gold, to three ears of grain to the natural, interlaced in the gear, tied of silver. External ornaments for Comune.»

The gear recalls the presence of factories and industries in the area, while the ears of wheat symbolize the cereal fields, which are multiple in the municipality's territory.

The banner is a yellow drape.

Honours

Since 2012, Assago has granted the honorary citizenship to come famous people: Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama; Rafael Correa, president of Ecuador; Giusy Versace, paralympic athlete.

Sport

Football Teams:''
GS ASSAGO
and O.S.M.

Twin towns

Assago is twinned with:

* Nozay, Essonne, France, since 2006
* Střelice, Czech Republic, since 2006

References

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