Long ago Gamboloita was more than a street name. It was a thriving agricultural village. Gamboloita nestled near Corso Lodi. It bordered Rogoredo. This area was once known as Corpi Santi di Porta Romana. The Corpi Santi were established in 1782. They included farms and villages outside Milan’s Spanish walls.
Gamboloita’s name possibly comes from a medieval family. The De Gambaloyta or De Gambaloyti family. Another theory suggests the name derives from the Latin campus. It might mean fields of rye. Many old farms were named after their crops. Some believe Campus Lautus is the origin. This translates to rich field.
Gamboloita was also called Gamba la vita. This was a nickname. It was more of a phonetic similarity than a true meaning. The area featured the Cascina Gamboloita. This was a large farmhouse with stables and barns. A guard tower stood near a mock grotto. This grotto was made of concrete in the late 19th century.
Close by was Casa Gambaloita. It is also known as Cascina Guglielmesa. Part of it survives. You can see it from a supermarket parking lot. It’s a one-story building. A bank and apartments now occupy it. Across Corso Lodi was the Cà Vegge. These were old houses. The Cascina Musocco stood nearby. This was also known as Musocchino. It was a separate district.
Gamboloita’s rural character disappeared. New roads and buildings transformed the area. The village’s cascine were demolished between the 1920s and 1950s. Only Cascina Guglielmesa remains. The name Gamboloita lives on as a street name. As Milan changed fewer Milanese lived there. Immigration increased. Corvetto replaced Gamboloita in common usage. Corvetto refers to the whole district.
Today a building stands at Corso Lodi 122. It is at the corner of Via Gamboloita. It’s an eclectic-Deco style building. Ariodante Bazzero designed it. It was built in 1931. The building was approved for occupancy in 1936. This building is a reminder of Gamboloita’s past. The street serves as a memory of a lost Milanese village. A silent witness to the passage of time. Gamboloita’s story is a reminder of Milan’s evolution.