The Gorla district
Before telling the story of the bombing of the school of Gorla, it is appropriate to mention the history of this district in Milan: in addition to the current inhabitants will certainly be useful to those who live in the city or its surroundings, think that Gorla is just a stop of the red line of the Milanese Metro.
Around the IV-V century AD the area was probably occupied by a military camp of the late Roman Empire; confirming this, an altar dedicated to the goddess Diana was found. As for the name Gorla, this derives from a contraction of the dialectal Lombard term "gorula", small gorge, with reference to a depression - today "della Torre" street - where a small stream flowed that went to merge into the "Fontanone" - today "Chioggia" street - and then get lost in the countryside of Turro.
On July 1st, 1457 the Lord of Milan Francesco Sforza ordered the construction of a new canal, called "Naviglio della Martesana", while his wife Bianca Maria Visconti, on September 11th, 1465, with a decree established the way to use the water for the irrigation.
The canal was mainly built for the transport of goods from the Lombard lakes in Milan and from Milan to the Po river, joining the "Tombone di San Marco" to the Naviglio of the inner city of Milan and from here, through the Porta Ticinese docks to the Ticino river and to the Po river, according to a project conceived by Leonardo da Vinci. Another use of the canal was to use its waters to irrigate the surrounding countrysides, for which Gorla initially developed as a farming community. The complete navigability of the Naviglio took place between 1470 (when the Gorla dock was built) and 1496, the year in which Ludovico il Moro (the fourth son of Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti) made the last stretch of the Martesana.
The canal, however, had a lack of inflow of water, a problem that was solved by eliminating the Gorla dock and modifying the stretch called "Cassina di Pomm", with a different solution for the outflow of water. In 1574 the Naviglio was further expanded. Between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the main family of Gorla was that of the Boschetti, owner of the area located between the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) and the bridge on Monza Avenue which, due to their surname, was called "Boschetto". On that area today is the famous cabaret club "Zelig".
In 1805, by order of Napoleon, the construction of Monza Avenue began, a road necessary to facilitate communications between Milan and Monza, and from there to the whole region called Brianza; the construction was then continued by the Austrians who considered it an important military road.
The opening of this new way of communication transformed the area: not only broke it in two distinct areas but the possibility of rapid communication between the various population centers allowed, between the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the development of a high industrial concentration that extended without interruption from Milan to Sesto San Giovanni. The destiny of the district was transformed from an agricultural to an industrial one, with the birth of a new working class that replaced the farmers.
After the unification of Italy in 1861, at the town was officially assigned the name of "Gorla", then changed in 1864 to "Gorla Primo". Meanwhile, the number of inhabitants rose from 391 in 1861 to 6210 in 1921. After being joined to the nearby municipality of Precotto (1920), in 1923 was incorporated into the largest municipality of Milan (common destiny in those years to many municipalities of the Milan area).
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The map on the left shows the low urbanization rate of the Municipality of "Gorla Primo" in 1900 |
In the year 1923 the Municipality of "Gorla-Precotto", like other 10 municipalities similar in size, was aggregated to the City of Milan with a City Council resolution led by the Mayor Mangiagalli who, with the occasion, addressed a "good wishes" to the new citizens of Milan, without asking themselves if they had preferred to express their opinion before adopting a similar decision ... |
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In addition to Gorla, also the municipalities of Greco, Turro Milanese, Precotto and Crescenzago had now become neighborhoods of the big city, although they tried to preserve the village structure. The 1940 saw the realization (by the regime of the time) of the building complex called "Crespi Morbio Foundation" whose homes were intended for large families with at least 5 children.
In the still green areas between Gorla and Crescenzago there were numerous quarries from which gravel and sand were obtained for the building industry; one of these (in Ponte Nuovo street) was suppressed to make way for the new central electric receiver inaugurated by Benito Mussolini.
In the post-war period the presence in the area of such a high number of industrial realities (thanks also to the proximity to Sesto San Giovanni) allowed a notable increase in the number of residents, immigrants also from other Italian regions; this determined, given the impossibility of continuing to build along the Monza Avenue and the presence of the railway station towards Greco, expansion of housing in the free land towards Crescenzago. The last decisive event to consider a single urban area all the districts of the area was the construction (1958-1964) of the first line of the Milanese Underground (up to Sesto) that was to replace the famous Milan-Gorla-Sesto-Monza Regio Parco tram (first with horses then electrified).
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We are in 1885, the era of public transport on iron in Monza Avenue begins with the horse-drawn tram that had to tow the weight of the coach added to that of 10-15 people, involving frequent substitutions. This is the oldest image we could find of that means of transport. |
A sample of that tram is still visible in perfect state of conservation at the "Museum of Transportation" in the municipality of Ranco (VA). Soon it will be transferred to the museum "Volandia", near the Malpensa Airport. |
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The need to make public transport more efficient, by increasing the number of people transported and the speed reached, led to the replacement of the horse-drawn tram with the electrically powered trams As the postcard says, Milan in February 1899 could boast the first railway of that kind in Italy. |
In 1964 the first Milan underground line was inaugurated, which followed the route of the avenue from Sesto Marelli to Loreto and then proceeded towards the city center. |
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In just thirty years, this part of Milan had gone from a situation of small, independent agricultural countries to a single urbanized area marked by industrial development, mainly mechanical. Before the war, in the thirties, Gorla was mainly characterized by the Martesana canal, which flowed placid in a picturesque area in which there were numerous luxury houses and gardens; in one of these, Villa Angelica, found the location of the "Canottieri Gorla". In the Martesana you could fish and the boys, like the other inhabitants of Gorla and Crescenzago, had fun bathing (until 1960).
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A look from the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) towards Villa Angelica ... |
... where the "Canottieri Gorla" was based |
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The evolution of Monza Avenue in the decades
Around 1850 "Monza Road", in the section between Gorla and Precotto looking south, towards Loreto. It looks like a quiet street in the open country, crossed only by horses that pull carts, in what looks like a rainy day. |
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Around the year 1880 - towards Villa San Giovanni It is possible to notice the double row of trees on each side of the avenue |
beginning of the 20th century - after Precotto On the right the tram rails leading to Sesto San Giovanni and Monza |
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Year 1910 - crossing of Gorla The house of Monza Avenue, 185 is still far to come |
Year 1920 - Gorla Some children play quietly in the middle of the avenue, if it were not for the tram, at most they would risk seeing a few cart pulled by the horse pass by ... On the right the restaurant "Rotonda" and the Finzi street |
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Year 1930 - Gorla The tram to Monza stops in front of the "Boschetto" (you can see the entrance on the right) Also on the right, between the two buildings, the "Fratelli Pozzi" street that led to Redipuglia Square, where the school "Francesco Crispi" was located |
Year 1950 - between Loreto Square and Pasteur The avenue is now a succession of buildings on both sides |
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Anno 1955 - Turro The economic boom leads to an increase in car traffic and the tram, which we see here passing under the railway bridges in Rovereto, begins to turn out to be an anachronistic presence |
Year 1956 - crossing of Gorla The three images that follows, are probably the last where we can see the Monza avenue "old style", will soon begin the works for the construction of the underground line 1. The view is towards Precotto. |
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Always towards Precotto, but on the opposite side of the avenue. On the left you can see the restaurant "Rotonda" with the public weighbridge. |
Another view from the same point but towards Loreto square. |
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End of the 50s, the Metro arrives
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Years 1958-60 - Gorla The avenue looks like a trench of the First World War, not having "the mole" available yet to create the tunnels as more recently done for lines 3, 4 and 5, the excavations are open-air, with the consequence that the life of the neighborhood is revolutionized and many commercial activities close due to lack of customer flow Progress has its cost ... On the right the Monza Avenue 154 building.
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Here on the right another image of the works for the construction of the underground line 1 ... |
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... with the workers at work. Safety equipment limited to a hat and a pair of boots, climbed on a wooden scaffolding without other safety measures to prevent injuries due to possible falls. The important thing was to do soon, the future was coming. |
Year 1958 - Gorla The works for the construction of the underground also involve the Martesana canal: being impossible to close the normal water flow to the branch from the Adda river, are made of metal pipelines that allow the water to bypass the building site without flooding it Clever solution ... Today, for the EXPO works, the water will be closed for almost a year without considering that this will ruin the adjacent vegetation, including tall trees At the end of the exhibition, what will remain will be this "gift"... |
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Year 1963 - between the railway bridges Looking towards Loreto, the tunnel where the trains will travel has already been covered, the works continue to create the mezzanine floor. |
Year 1964 - Precotto Square The subway line 1 is over: underneath, the trains circulate regularly, on the surface after the re-paving of the avenue the last works like public lighting remain to be finished. |
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Year 1963 - Gorla Looking from the bridge over the Naviglio, towards the Greco district, we can see the Tofane street with the restaurant "Cancello Rosso" (red gate); |
Year 1970 - Gorla The avenue now has the aspect that we are used to seeing, with the municipal market (now closed) that also held a social function keeping the population aggregated On the extreme right of the image, the Fratelli Pozzi street no longer leads to the school, but to the monument to the Little Martyrs |
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January 2009 - Gorla Despite the heavy snowfall makes them almost unrecognizable, the houses bear witness to the history of the generations who lived through the events of the last century. |
Today, almost twenty years after the beginning of the new century, we must unfortunately note that after the years of the economic boom, even our avenue, like the whole city, is "touching the bottom": most of the shops and workshops they disappeared (also due to the birth of the shopping centers), the manufacturing factories that guaranteed wellbeing to the population moved abroad or ceased their activity, also due to the prolonged economic crisis.
The years in which Gorla was defined "the little Paris" are now very far away, it seems to be proper to talk about the last century ...
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The memory of the old Gorla lives on only in the paintings ... |
An important element of the neighborhood is the parish church, built at the end of the twenties and dedicated to St. Teresa of the Child Jesus. The complex, also characterized by the presence of the oratory, kindergarten and parish halls, still characterizes social life of the inhabitants of Gorla. It was commissioned by the parish priest Don Paolo Locatelli, buried inside the church itself.
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The church of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus was built in 1927 to replace the small church of San Bartolomeo (whose bell tower is visible on the left side of the photo) which had become insufficient due to the demographic increase In the background, behind the scaffolding, we see the houses of Monza Avenue 150 On the right the area that will host the future kindergarten |
A visit of the technicians between the scaffolding in a moment of pause of the workers |
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The Church of St. Teresa of the Child Jesus, where the funerals of the children took place, in an image of our days |
Until then, due to the low number of residents, the parish church function had been carried out by the small church of San Bartolomeo; by the way, after having been replaced from the largest St. Teresa, it was shortened by a span to allow the widening of Asiago street, an operation made necessary also due to the increase in vehicular traffic. Today, after being deconsecrated, it houses the Parish Library and some Associations.
Below two images of before and after the cut
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Just in front of the church of San Bartolomeo is still present a farmhouse built in the nineteenth century, where the parish priest lived at the time (then moved to Aristotele street). Since the 70s this building housed the restaurant "Vecchia Gorla" (Old Gorla); then became "Il Molo" (the pier), now closed. |
It would be a real pity that a corner so characteristic of our neighborhood, after overcoming the bombing of 1944 and the building increase of the '60s, fell victim to speculation by some manufacturer only for economic interest.
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On the front of the building is an image of the Madonna called "La Santella di Gorla" (The little Saint of Gorla). |
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Among the buildings on the opposite side of Monza Avenue, more precisely in Finzi street, at the beginning of the '900 there was a carding (with an adjoining house), transformed in the 1920s into "Casa del Fascio" and subsequently in the "Carabinieri" station (still active).
Another noteworthy property was the "Villa Angelica", built in the seventeenth century in neo-Gothic style by Count Du Prais for his wife. In the sixties the villa was demolished to make room for the Monastery of St. Chiara managed by the Clarisse nuns, inaugurated by Cardinal Montini, who later became Pope Paul VI. The tower visible in the photos below was demolished only a few years later as it was considered unsafe, except for a part still visible with a single-storey round plan, at that time it could have been the caretaker's house.
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A final image of "our" Naviglio, in Tofane street, where the old houses that are reflected in the water do not fear the comparison with the neighboring buildings built after the war. |
On the other side of the Martesana canal, near Stamira d'Ancona street, there is still a working branch (also visible in the 1900 map above), which was used to irrigate the land towards Turro; today this moat (called "el Taveggia", from the name of the farmers who cultivated the fields of the Dal Verme counts) remains visible only for a hundred meters, then goes underground to get to the Rogoredo district. Just taken from the Martesana, the water was channeled into what was the first outdoor swimming pool in Milan, called "El Bagnin de Gorla" (the basin of Gorla), where the residents allowed themselves to cool off in the summer months. The land was then sold to the Magnaghi company (mechanical constructions); today only condominiums are located on the area.
Although the Gorla so far described could appear as a small paradise or rather, a "little Paris", let's not forget the reason for this narration: the Second World War, which had spared the inhabitants up to now (except those recalled at the front) but who presented its account on October 20, 1944.
