What remains of Cascina del Colombo? You can find some of its remnants tucked away in the corner of Milan’s Adriano neighborhood. Cascina del Colombo, which means “Colombo’s Farmstead”, was once a bustling farm in the heart of the growing city. The Colombo family owned this property and their life revolved around its productivity. Paolo, the head of the family, was a transporter who hauled supplies, mostly hay and straw for the many horses working in the city, by using his own horses. His wife, Luigia, known to all as Luisina, was responsible for running the home and raising their seven children. She also found time to help work on the farm and did laundry for her family and others along the Naviglio canal near Cascina Bosco. Life here was a constant hustle for the Colombos. They rented land around the farmstead and cultivated fodder for the horses, as well as other crops like corn and wheat. Their farm even included a few cows that provided milk and butter for the family. The family’s good times came to a halt with the outbreak of WWII. Some of the Colombo sons were drafted, and the farm’s operations were disrupted. In the years after the war, the city continued to grow, changing the landscape of the countryside around Cascina del Colombo. By 1975, the city’s expansion project, known as the Adriano Plan, resulted in the farmstead losing a swath of land, including the family’s home. These buildings were torn down to accommodate the expansion of Via Adriano, which sadly removed a large portion of the original farmstead. The Colombo family’s history is a direct reflection of Milan’s own. As Milan grew, so did the area, and with this change, came the loss of much of the original farmstead. That’s why today, only a few remnants of its porticos and stables can still been seen on the outskirts of the Adriano neighborhood.
Nuovo Cimitero di Cologno Monzese
“A timeless sanctuary,” the old woman whispered, her gaze fixed on the rows of marble within Nuovo Cimitero di Cologno