Historical Archives and Crypt of the Ca’ Granda

The Ca’ Granda, a Milanese story.

But how and when was theMilanese Hospital born? It was born as the Spedale dei Poveri at the behest of Francesco Sforza, who earmarked an area of his estates for the construction of a place of shelter for the destitute. Tuscan architects got their hands on it, including the famous Antonio Averlino, known as the Filarete, who remains in the memory of us all for the header of the central courtyard of what is now the headquarters of the State University. Thousands of men and women passed through here before the institution changed roles. And not all of them came out. Hospitalized in crosses, where beds were next to each other, organized to accommodate the poorest patients, the inmates did not always manage to recover from the diseases that besieged Milan in centuries past, one above all the terrible plague. Thus we understand the function of the Church of the Annunciata, an ancient hospital chapel set at the end of the complex’s central courtyard. Here, in the Crypt, the Fallen of the Five Days were also buried: during the insurrection, the cemeteries could not be reached and therefore the burial chambers of this crypt, no longer used since the seventeenth century, welcomed new remains. The Ca’ Granda, in short, collects the history of the Milanese, from the poorest to the most heroic patriots, in love with their city: a historical heritage of inestimable value, an almost unknown jewel in the center of Milan. Here among dust, darkness and mystery, is where to really get to know the city’s past!

Unknown treasures among the archives and crypt of the Ca’ Granda

At the heart of the Ca’ Granda and its wonderful history are the archives and crypt, treasures hidden in the complex of the historic Milanese hospital. The historical archives are housed in the splendid Chapter Halls of the Historical Archives, once the seat of the Board of Directors of theOspedale Maggiore, built in 1637. Here, on shelves 3 km long, precious volumes, maps, ancient parchments find their place. Thousands of medical records of hospitalizations from 1889 to 1972, administrative records and accounting documents, correspondence of medical management, but also purchases and documents that tell us about the Hospital’s immense real estate and land holdings. A precious casket tells the whole story of the city’s greatness. Beyond a secret courtyard, however, lies the access to the Crypt of the Ca’ Granda, which through a small staircase leads below the Church of the Annunciata: an extraordinary underground place with bays resting on pillars and punctuated by lowered vaults and wide cross vaults. Here is the Hospital Burial Ground: in the very rooms below the crypt hundreds of thousands of bodies of inpatients and other unfortunates who happened to be at Ca’ Granda were buried over the centuries. NEIADE Tour & Events currently does not organize guided tours at the Ca’ Granda Crypt and Archives complex: a hidden treasure of Milan that we hope to return to soon to tell you about!

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