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GUASTALLA GARDEN

Between the Polyclinic Hospital and University is this small Italianate garden, created at the request of Paola Ludovica Torelli, Countess Guastalla, in 1555. One of Milan’s oldest parks, it contains a delightful 18th-century fish pond populated by carp and goldfish, a neoclassical temple by Luigi Cagnola and a 17th century shrine depicting Mary Magdalene and angels.

BRERA BOTANICAL GARDENS

What was simply the garden of Palazzo Brera was transformed into a botanical garden intended for study in the second half of the 18th century by Empress Maria Theresa of

Austria. In the same period, the adjacent astronomical observatory was established. Among the many plants present are two of the oldest gingko bilobas in Europe, a 40-meter-tall lime tree and a Caucasian walnut.

A public park and also a botanical garden in the Porta Nuova-Isola area. Inaugurated in 2018, it has been described as one of Europe’s most innovative parks, and compared to a library given the organization in ‘plant rooms’ with more than 100 different species, 500 trees arranged in 22 rings and 135,000 plants. The fountain, with spectacular water and light effects, is active from May to September.

It is a sort of green corridor connecting the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio, more suitable for relaxing and taking a break, as Milanese students often do, than to sporting activities such as jogging. The entrance is from behind the Basilica of San Lorenzo, with its spectacular apse that acts as a stunning backdrop. Designed by architects Bagatti Valsecchi and Grandi, it was conceived as an archaeological walk between the two basilicas, the columns of San Lorenzo and the ruins of the Roman amphitheatre on Corso di Porta Ticinese.