Ghisolfa
Encyclopedia
Ghisolfa is a district of Milan
, Italy
, part of the Zone 8 administrative division of the city, located north-west of the city centre. It is named after the "Ghisolfa Bridge" ("Ponte della Ghisolfa") overpass, part of the external Circonvallazione ring road
enclosing the centre of Milan. In turn, the bridge was named after two cascine
(farm houses), "Cascina Ghisolfa" and "Cascina Ghisolfetta", that existed in the area before the urbanization of the mid 20th century. The bridge was completed in 1941, prolonged in the 1960s, and enlarged in the 1990s.
Ghisolfa is a small district that used to be an industrial area and is now mainly residential, much like the adjacent Bovisa
district. It is traversed by two railways, respectively operated by Ferrovie dello Stato
and Ferrovie Nord Milano
. The district is usually considered a symbol of the proletarian
Milan, as low-income housing (especially "ALER" buildings) is prevalent; in recent years, it has also become one of the Milanese districts where multi-ethnic immigration is most evident. As such, the district has a history of security issues (such as intense 'Ndrangheta activity in the 1990s and slums developing along certain traits of the railway).
The anarchist
circle of Giuseppe Pinelli
and Pietro Valpreda
, eponymously called "Circolo Anarchico Ponte della Ghisolfa", had its headquarters in this district.
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, part of the Zone 8 administrative division of the city, located north-west of the city centre. It is named after the "Ghisolfa Bridge" ("Ponte della Ghisolfa") overpass, part of the external Circonvallazione ring road
Ring road
A ring road, orbital motorway, beltway, circumferential highway, or loop highway is a road that encircles a town or city...
enclosing the centre of Milan. In turn, the bridge was named after two cascine
Cascina a corte
The Italian phrase cascina a corte or, equivalently, cascina lombarda or just cascina refers to a type of rural building traditional of the Po Valley, especially of Lombardy and of some areas of Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna. Cascine are reported in the Po Valley at least since the 16th century, but...
(farm houses), "Cascina Ghisolfa" and "Cascina Ghisolfetta", that existed in the area before the urbanization of the mid 20th century. The bridge was completed in 1941, prolonged in the 1960s, and enlarged in the 1990s.
Ghisolfa is a small district that used to be an industrial area and is now mainly residential, much like the adjacent Bovisa
Bovisa
Bovisa is a district of Milan, Italy, located north of the city center, in the Zone 9. The name is supposedly derived from the italian word bove, meaning ox, as the area developed from an ancient rural settlement....
district. It is traversed by two railways, respectively operated by Ferrovie dello Stato
Ferrovie dello Stato
Ferrovie dello Stato is a government-owned holding which manage infrastructure and service on the Italian rail network. The subsidiary Trenitalia is the main rail operator in Italy.-Organization:Ferrovie dello Stato subsidiaries are:...
and Ferrovie Nord Milano
Ferrovie Nord Milano
450px|thumb|Map of the main branch of the FNM lines. FNM operates also the [[Brescia]]-[[Edolo]] railway in eastern [[Lombardy]], not shown in map.Ferrovie Nord Milano is an Italian public transport company: the second largest railway company in Italy. It operates primarily in the northern Italian...
. The district is usually considered a symbol of the proletarian
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...
Milan, as low-income housing (especially "ALER" buildings) is prevalent; in recent years, it has also become one of the Milanese districts where multi-ethnic immigration is most evident. As such, the district has a history of security issues (such as intense 'Ndrangheta activity in the 1990s and slums developing along certain traits of the railway).
The anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
circle of Giuseppe Pinelli
Giuseppe Pinelli
Giuseppe "Pino" Pinelli was an Italian railway worker and anarchist activist, who died in the custody of Italian police in 1969 after being arrested. Pinelli was a member of the Milan Circle "Ponte della Ghisolfa". He was also the secretary of the Italian branch of the Anarchist Black Cross...
and Pietro Valpreda
Pietro Valpreda
Pietro Valpreda was an Italian anarchist, dancer and novelist. He was victim of a miscarriage of justice, sentenced to prison on charges of being responsible of the December 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing, before being cleared sixteen years later.Valpreda came from a poor working-class family in...
, eponymously called "Circolo Anarchico Ponte della Ghisolfa", had its headquarters in this district.