Cinisello Balsamo (; ) is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) of about 75,200 inhabitants in the

Metropolitan City of Milan The Metropolitan City of Milan (; , ) is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city (not to be confused with the Milan metropolitan area, metropolitan area) in the Lombardy region of Italy. It is the second most populous metropolitan ci ...

, in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region of

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

, about northeast of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

city center. Cinisello Balsamo borders the following municipalities:

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

Muggiò Muggiò (, ; Milanese: Mugg) is a city (municipality) in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree on September 27, 1992. ...

Nova Milanese Nova Milanese is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Monza and Brianza in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan. It received the honorary title of city with a presidential decree. Nova Milanese borders the following ...

Paderno Dugnano Paderno Dugnano ( Milanese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, in Lombardy, northern Italy. It is bounded by ''comuni'' of Senago, Limbiate, Varedo, Cusano Milanino, Cormano, Nova Milanese, Bollate, Novate Milane ...

Cusano Milanino Cusano Milanino (local ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Milan, in Lombardy. Cusano Milanino is about 13 kilometers far from the centre of Milan. It borders Paderno Dugnano, Cinisello Balsamo, Cormano, and Bresso. People ...

Sesto San Giovanni Sesto San Giovanni (; , ), locally referred to as just Sesto (), is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan, in the Italian region of Lombardy. It was awarded with the honorary title of ''città'' (city) by decree of 10 Apri ...

Bresso Bresso ( Milanese: ) is a municipality (''comune'') in the Metropolitan City of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan. As of 2025, it has a population of 26,530 inhabitants and a population density of 7,849 persons/k ...

. The current ''comune'' was formed in 1928 by the union of Cinisello and Balsamo, and received the honorary title of city through a presidential decree on 17 October 1972.

Etymology

Cinisello (from the Latin ''cinis'', "Ashes", through ''cinixellum'', indicating the fertility of the land from the ashen color, but traditional, though not exactly confirmed - even if you have found Roman remains in the area - is the theory that "Cinisello" comes from "Cinis Aelii", "Ash of Aelius", a Roman gens had here, probably, a branch of the Imperial Age) is the western part of the city. In another theory (also not exactly confirmed) resulting from studies done in the ''Historical Archive of Arms'' would be that both ''Cini'', both ''Sello'', were ancient and noble Houses from Trentino who settled in the area, providing their names to the same, which were decorated with the title of nobility with special merit achieved for works done in favor of the Fatherland. Balsamo (perhaps "the balsam tree", but it might just be the surname of a noble family and elders of the town in the Middle Ages) is the eastern half.

History

Until the late 1920s, Cinisello and Balsamo were two separate municipalities. By royal decree, on 13 September 1928 a merger was arranged to form the current commune. As a symbol, the emblem of the city now encompasses those of the two municipalities merged: the emblem of the pastoral and the sword on a red field in fact belongs to Balsamo, the rampant crowned lion on a blue field belongs to Cinisello.

Demographics

Main sights

* Church of Sant'Ambrogio (17th century) in Cinisello * Small church of Sant'Eusebio, dating from Lombard times * Shrine of St. Martin Bishop (16th century) * Church of San Martino (16th century) in Balsamo *

Villa Ghirlanda Silva Cipelletti The Villa Ghirlanda Silva is a 17th-century rural palace and park located in Cinisello Balsamo, just north of Milan, in the Province of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. History A residence at the site was originally commissioned by Donato I Silva, Count ...

(16th century) with one of the first

Landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "Landscape architecture, landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, r ...

in Italy, designed by count Ercole Silva in the early of 19th century * Piazza Gramsci, the main square of Cinisello, overlooked by the Church of Sant'Ambrogio and Villa Arconati * Church of Saint Pio X (1958) * Church of Saint Joseph worker (1957) * Church of Saint Peter (1968) * Church of Sacred Family (1965) * Church of Santa Margherita (1961) * Church of San Bernardino

People

Carino of Balsamo Blessed Carino Pietro of Balsamo (died 1293), sometimes called Saint Acerinus,Henry Charles Lea, ''A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages'' (Macmillan, 1887), 215. was the murderer of Saint Peter of Verona ("Peter Martyr") who later rep ...

(? – 1293),

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Dominican

lay brother Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choi ...

Carlo Oriani Carlo Oriani (5 November 1888 – 3 December 1917) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1913 Giro d'Italia. He died in the aftermath of the Battle of Caporetto from pneumoni ...

(1888), cyclist *

Valerio Ruggeri Valerio Ruggeri (12 February 1934 – 4 July 2015) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Biography Born in Cinisello Balsamo, which is located in the city centre of Milan, Ruggeri began his career on stage with Dario Fo and Franca Rame in the ear ...

(1934), voice actor *

Ernesto Castano Ernesto Castano (; 2 May 1939 – 5 January 2023) was an Italian professional footballer who played as a defender. Throughout his club career he played for Legnano, Triestina, and Juventus, winning domestic titles at the latter club. At interna ...

(1939), footballer *

Pierino Prati Pierino Prati (; 13 December 1946 – 22 June 2020) was an Italian footballer who played mainly as a forward. He began his career with Salernitana, and later played for several other Italian clubs, including a successful spell with AC Milan, w ...

(1946), footballer and coach *

Gaetano Scirea Gaetano Scirea (; 25 May 1953 – 3 September 1989) was an Italian professional footballer who is considered one of the greatest ever defenders. He spent most of his career with Juventus. Scirea is one of only six players in European football hi ...

(1953), footballer and coach *

Marco Veronese Marco Veronese (born 22 May 1976) is an Italian football manager and former player, who played as a forward, currently in charge of Liga II club Ceahlăul Piatra Neamț. Biography Inter Milan Born in Cinisello Balsamo in the Province of Mila ...

(1976), footballer and coach *

Roberto Cammarelle Roberto Cammarelle (born 30 July 1980) is an Italian amateur boxer, best known for winning the World Amateur Boxing Championships in 2007 (Chicago) and 2009 (Milan) as a super heavyweight and a gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing ...

(1980), boxer *

Sfera Ebbasta Gionata Boschetti (; born 7 December 1992), known professionally as Sfera Ebbasta (), is an Italian rapper. He rose to prominence after the release of ''XDVR'' (2015), recorded with the collaboration of producer Charlie Charles and DEACC, which ...

(1992), rapper *

Luciano Spinelli Luciano is an Italian, Spanish and Portuguese given name and surname. It is derived from Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of ''Lucius'' ("Light"). The French form is ''Lucien'', while the Basque form is '' Luken''. Single name *Luciano (rapper) ...

(2000), actor and Internet personality *

PANDA BOI Federico Hu (born 20 December), known online as PANDA BOI, is an Italian YouTuber and social media personality. He is known for being the most-subscribed and most viewed YouTube channel in Italy, for being in the top 5 most subscribed Youtube ch ...

, Internet personality

International relations

Cinisello Balsamo is twinned with: * Mazzarino, Italy

References

External links

Official website

{{authority control Cities and towns in Lombardy