The monuments of Sempione Park, hunting for hidden treasures

Among the most beaten avenues and lesser-known paths, strolling through Parco Sempione thanks to our guided tour it will not be difficult to come across evocative places rich in history: be it an imposing monument, such as theArch of Peace, theArena or theCivic Aquarium, or a curious corner, such as the Acqua Marcia Fountain or the Little Mermaid Bridge! Our prize? Hearing anecdotes and trivia about this beautiful park and admiring its natural and architectural beauty.

Simplon Park among treasures and historical-artistic monuments

Shall we set off? Past the beautiful 15th-century courtyards of the Castello Sforzesco, we will enter Sempione Park, built at the end of the 19th century but located on the area that once belonged to the Barcho, the ducal hunting estate of the Visconti-Sforza era, and then the site of the ancient Piazza delle Armi in the Spanish era, to explore, among the tree-lined avenues, the many monuments that characterize it. The green heart of Milan, designed by architect Emilio Alemagna, Sempione Park lends itself to an “aquatic” itinerary that from the Fountain of the Acqua Marcia leads us to the romantic Bridge of the Little Mermaids (once suspended over the Naviglio…), to arrive at Giorgio De Chirico’s Mysterious Baths (a treasure sometimes forgotten by the Milanese themselves) and theCivic Aquarium. The latter is welcomed by a beautiful building, a particular example of architecture and decorativism Liberty and the only surviving building of the exhibition apparatus built for the Universal Exposition held in Milan now more than a century ago, in 1906. Not far from the Aquarium, at the edge of the park we also discover theArena Civica, now a temple of sports in the city center: it was Napoleon who wanted it that way. An amphitheater that could accommodate thirty thousand people for festivities and public performances under the Milanese sky.

From Napoleon to the present day

And to recall the splendor (and shadows) of the Napoleonic era, let us not forget to admire theArch of Peace, a neoclassical masterpiece built at the beginning of Corso Sempione by architect Luigi Cagnola. The Sestiga della Pace, placed at its top, dominates the whole area: from here you can enjoy at a glance a varied panorama, between the park and the city, between the green trees and the traffic of Corso Sempione, channeled between the buildings of a modern but perhaps a little too gray city. Finally, dominating the southern side of Sempione Park is the Palazzo dell’Arte, home of the Milan Triennale, with the Branca Tower designed by Gio Ponti, 20th-century reminders of a different artistic style, rational and almost austere, modern and vibrant. Don’t miss these two guided tours immersed in the greenery of Sempione Park to discover its many and diverse treasures: away from the city traffic we will fall even more in love with Milan, grasping in one case its historical-artistic and architectural richness and in the other also its greener and more naturalistic side.

Nature in the city: a Botanical Tour among the flowers and trees of Sempione Park

For nature lovers, and perhaps aspiring green thumbs, here’s another unique tour to discover even more of Milan’s greener side: with the arrival of Spring and the approach of Earth Day, we’re going into Simplon Park not in search of historical monuments, but botanical treasures. This will be a walk in the green guided by our botanist Mario Beretta, a researcher at the University of Milan, who will teach us to recognize the wide variety of flower, shrub and tree species growing in the vast area of the park. What better way to appreciate the nature of our city at the return of spring and beautiful season or in the magical colors of autumn foliage? Even before entering the park, it is already possible to observe the ruderal flora, on the walls of the Castle: among the species present, one can even spot the caper, a typically Mediterranean rupicolous little plant! Entering the park, the botanical sampler is all to be discovered: between April and May, the undisputed protagonist is the colorful bloom of snapdragons, camellias, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, roses and azaleas. Among the trees that provide shade to the park’s meadows with their foliage are elms, horse chestnuts, Caucasian walnuts, beeches, cedars, red oaks, yews and limes, as well as a surprising variety of maples. Not to mention the many tall trees: pines, poplars, holm oaks and magnolias, black walnut, ginkgo and liquidambar, and, in wetter places, black alder and bald cypress.

Photo of the Little Mermaid Bridge by: Pmk58, taken from wikipedia