Crescenzago ( lmo, Crescenzagh , historically ) is a district () of

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, part of the Zone 2 administrative division, north-east of the city centre. It became part of Milan in 1923; prior to that, it was an independent '' borgo'' (town). The town is traversed by the

Naviglio Martesana The Naviglio della Martesana ( lmo, Nivili de la Martexana or ''Martesanna'' ) is a canal in the Lombardy region, Northern Italy. Running from the Adda river, in the vicinity of Trezzo sull'Adda, to Milan, it was also known as Naviglio Piccolo ( ...

canal. The district houses several historical buildings, most notably a 12th Century

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

and several

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

s from the 18th Century. It also has notable green areas, such as part of the Lambro park, as well as industrial archeological features, most notably the abandoned Ovomaltina factory. The

Milan Metro The Milan Metro ( it, Metropolitana di Milano) is the rapid transit system serving Milan, Italy, operated by Azienda Trasporti Milanesi. The network consists of 5 lines, identified by different numbers and colours, with a total network length of ...

subway ( Line 2) stops at Crescenzago.

History

The name "Crescenzago" is supposedly of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

origin, from

latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''Crescentii ager'' ("Crescentius' field"). In the Middle Ages it mostly consisted in the abbey of Santa Maria Rossa (founded in 1140).Santa Maria Rossa abbey
(in italian) It was also the main access point to Milan for travellers coming from

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

. In the 18th Century, several large villas were built in Crescenzago to serve as country residences for rich Milanese families. Crescenzago was an independent

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...

until 1923, when it became part of Milan.

Footnotes

Districts of Milan Former municipalities of Lombardy {{Milan-geo-stub