The name Martinitt refers to a historical boy
orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...
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 ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, that was established in the 16th Century, now part of
Pio Albergo Trivulzio, a public Milanese institution that provides aid to needy orphans, elders and other people experiencing social difficulties. The name comes from
Saint Martin, as the orphanage was originally based in the eponymous oratory. The orphan boys themselves were thus referred to as ''Martinitt'', a plural of ''Martinett'' ("little Martin") in
Lombard language
The Lombard language (,Classical Milanese orthography, and . ,Ticino, Ticinese orthography. Modern Western orthography and Classical Cremish Orthography. or ,Eastern Lombard, Eastern unified orthography. depending on the orthography; pronuncia ...
. The Martinitt played an important role in the history of Milan, most notably in the
Five Days of Milan
The Five Days of Milan ( ) was an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutions of 1848, Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the First Italian War of Independence. On 18 March, a rebellion arose in the city of Milan which in five day ...
.
History
The Martinitt orphanage was founded by
Gerolamo Emiliani
Gerolamo Emiliani, CRS ( also Jerome Aemilian, Hiëronymus Emiliani) (1486 – 8 February 1537) was an Italian humanitarian, founder of the Somaschi Fathers, and is considered a saint by the Catholic Church.
Born in Venice, he spent some time i ...
, who had previously created an orphanage for the poor in
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
. In 1528, Duke
Francesco II Sforza
Francesco II Sforza (4 February 1495 – 1 November 1535) was Duke of Milan from 1521 until his death. He became duke of Milan after Emperor Charles V reconquered it from the French. He fought at Bicocca against the French, but in 1526 joine ...
of Milan decided to transfer to Emiliani the oratory of Saint Martin, located in the very centre of Milan (now Via Manzoni), to be used as Milan's orphanage.
Federico Borromeo
Federico Borromeo (; 18 August 1564 – 21 September 1631) was an Italian cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan, and prominent figure of the Counter-Reformation in Italy. His acts of charity, ...
later decided to give out another building, the "Spedale dei Mendicanti" ("beggars' hospital"), which was used for orphan girls. The orphan boys were called ''Martinitt'', while the orphan girls were called ''Stelline''.
In 1776, Empress
Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...
moved the orphanage to
Gessate, east of Milan. At the same time, it was decided that the orphans would be housed in the orphanage until the age of 18, and that they would be taught a job.
In 1796, when
Napoleone Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
conquered Milan, he transformed the orphanage in a military hospital. The Martinitt then moved again, first in some buildings in
Brera, then in an abandoned convent, and finally (1803) back to their original seat in Via Manzoni. In 1848, during the
Five Days of Milan
The Five Days of Milan ( ) was an insurrection and a major event in the Revolutions of 1848, Revolutionary Year of 1848 that started the First Italian War of Independence. On 18 March, a rebellion arose in the city of Milan which in five day ...
(when the Milanese population rebelled against the Austrian rule), the Martinitt contributed to the success of the Milanese serving as couriers, bringing dispatches from barricade to barricade.
In 1932, a new seat for the Martinitt was established by
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...
in Via Pitteri, near
Lambrate
Lambrate ( ) is a district (''quartiere'') of Milan, Italy, located within the Zone 3 administrative division, north-east of the city centre. It owes its name to the Lambro river that traverses the area. Lambrate houses one of the major railway ...
.
Today, the Martinitt (and the Stelline orphanage for girls) have merged into a wider social care institution called
Pio Albergo Trivulzio. A museum dedicated to the history of the Martinitt and the Stelline has been established in 2009 in Corso Magenta 57, in the building next to the "Stelline Palace" (the original seat of the Stelline orphanage).
Museo Martinitt e Stelline
(in Italian)
Notable ''Martinitt'' orphans
* Angelo Rizzoli
Angelo Rizzoli, OML (; 31 October 1889 – 24 September 1970) was an Italian publisher and film producer.
Early life
Rizzoli was born in Milan on 31 October 1889. Orphaned at a young age and raised in poverty, he rose to prosperity. He appren ...
, founder of RCS MediaGroup
RCS MediaGroup S.p.A. (formerly Rizzoli Editore and Rizzoli-Corriere della Sera), based in Milan and listed on the Italian Stock Exchange, is an international multimedia publishing group that operates in daily newspapers, magazines and books, ra ...
, one of Italy's prominent publishing houses
* Leonardo Del Vecchio
Leonardo Del Vecchio (22 May 1935 – 27 June 2022) was an Italian billionaire businessman, the founder and chairman of Luxottica, the world's largest producer and retailer of glasses and frames, with 77,734 employees and over 8,000 stores. At t ...
, founder of Luxottica
Luxottica Group S.p.A. is an Italian glasses, eyewear multinational corporation headquartered in Milan. As a vertically integrated company, Luxottica designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails its eyewear brands through its own subsidiaries ...
, the world's largest eyewear company
* Edoardo Bianchi
Edoardo Bianchi (17 July 1865, Milan – 3 July 1946, Varese) was an Italian entrepreneur and inventor who founded the bicycle manufacturing company Bianchi in 1885 and the Italian automobile manufacturer Autobianchi
Autobianchi () was an Ita ...
, founder of Bianchi Bicycles, a pioneering bicycle-making factory
Footnotes
See also
* Stelline
''Stelline'' (; : ''stellina''), also known as ''stelle'' (), are a form of pasta of tiny size.
Made of wheat flour and in most varieties also containing egg, ''stelline'' are produced in different sizes, and are characterized from a star shape ...
External links
Association of Ex Martinitt
(in Italian)
{{Authority control
History of Milan
Organisations based in Milan
Orphanages in Italy
Hospitals in Milan