UNIVERSITA' DEGLI STUDI DI MILANO: 
SOME HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Founded in 1924, Università degli Studi di Milano has its main campus in the Renaissance "Spedale dei Poveri" (Hospital of the Poor), built to the order of Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, in the fifteenth century. The work of the Tuscan architect Antonio Averlino, known as "il Filarete" (1400-1469), the design is based on a square and conveys a clear religious symbolism: the building's layout is a rectangle formed by ten equal squares, with a Church located in a central position. The side wings, constructed in the shape of a cross as a reminder of human sufferance, were for the patients. Building work started in April 1456 and was only completed in the nineteenth century, funded by donations and legacies from citizens of Milan, who felt they had a duty to contribute to the completion and running expenses of the hospital, which is also known as "la Ca' Granda". "Filarete" himself designed the ground floor façade, while the first floor is the work of his successor Guininforte Solari, from 1465 to 1481. Subsequent structural work was also done by Amadeo, Gianbattista Pessina (from 1625 until 1634) and Richini, who designed the great baroque courtyard. For centuries, the architectural complex constituted a fine example of advanced hospital design in Italy and Europe. The building was still a hospital until the Second World War, when it was almost entirely destroyed by bombing in 1943. At the end of the war, it was assigned to the Università degli Studi di Milano, which moved in after a long period of reconstruction, introducing its scientific and didactic activities in 1958. The central campus of the Università degli Studi di Milano now houses the Rector's offices, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy. Other University facilities are located all over the city. Most of the Scientific faculties are concentrated in an area of the city known as "Città degli Studi".

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