Porta Ticinese

The gate of Porta Ticinese is one of the landmark buildings of Milan and a popular tourist attraction.

The name "Porta Ticinese" means "Gate to the Ticino", referred to the Ticino river, that traverses the Po Valley south-west of Milan. The name "Porta Cicca" came about during the Spanish rule of Milan in the 16th century, "Cicca" being a distortion of the Spanish word chica, i.e., "small". The name "Porta Marengo", which was used in the 19th century, refers to the village of Marengo located south-west of Milan, now called Spinetta Marengo, scene of the Battle of Marengo between the French army commanded by Napoleon and an Austrian army.

The gate

A "Porta Ticinese" was already part of the medieval walls of Milan (12th century); the medieval gate is one of the few remnants of the medieval walls that are still in place, and it is located in the same area as the modern "Porta Ticinese", but closer to the city centre (as the medieval walls enclosed a smaller area than the Spanish walls). The current location of the gate (in a plaza that is now called "Piazzale XIV Maggio") was established during the Spanish rule, in the 16th century. In the early 19th century, most of the Spanish gates were demolished and replaced with new structures that were meant to serve as toll-gates. This was also the case with Porta Ticinese. The new structure was designed by Luigi Cagnola in neoclassic style, and built between 1801 and 1814.

Cagnola's structure consists of massive pillars and ionic order columns surmounted by a large tympanum, and is considered one of the prominent examples of neoclassical architecture of Milan.

In 1815, after the Napoleonic wars, an inscription was added to the tympanum which reads "PACI POPVLORVM SOSPITAE" (in Latin, "to peace that frees peoples").