Porta Garibaldi
Porta Garibaldi, previously known as Porta Comasina, is a city gate located in Milan, on a road which used to lead to Como. This neoclassical arch was built to commemorate the visit of Francis I of Austria in 1825. Built in the Doric style, the gate is flanked by two portals overlooking the street.
The history of Porta Comasina (now Porta Garibaldi) is very long.
At first, it was located close to the road that led to Como, but, after being destroyed, it was rebuilt in the 16th century by the Spanish, who did not really focus on decorations, but mostly on the protective function of the Porta. Luckily, some of the sculptures that had been made before its destruction, such as the representation of the Madonna and Saint Ambrogio, are now conserved and preserved in the Castello Sforzesco museum and can thus be admired even today.
During its evolution, Porta Garibaldi was conceived as a tool for the protection of the city of Milan, but, most importantly, also as a system of commercial control that allowed the governors and guards to check what was going on inside and outside of it.
The Porta was renovated in 1825 by the Italian architect Giacomo Moraglia, and his work was financed by the rich merchants of the city, and nearly 40 years later, in 1860, the building changed its name from Porta Comasina to Porta Garibaldi, because it was thought to honour Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was a very important figure in Italian national history, since he was key to the Italian unification and to the creation of the Kingdom of Italy.
Porta Garibaldi is now located at the centre of Piazza XXV Aprile and it is connected to Corso Garibaldi.
