Monluè is a district ("
quartiere
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 title of ().
Formed a ...
") 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 ...
, part of the
Zone 4 administrative division, located east of the city centre. It is a small residential district that originated as a rural settlement. As a consequence of its isolation from the city proper, it has maintained wide green areas (the most notable of which is Monluè Park) and the general appearance of a small country town. The prominent landmark of the district is the eponymous Cascina Monluè, an ancient abbey built by the
Humiliati religious order, that has been later adapted as a ''
cascina
Cascina () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pisa in the Italy, Italian region Tuscany, located about west of Florence and about southeast of Pisa.
Cascina is located on the left shore of the Arno River, on a markedly plain ter ...
'' (farmhouse) and is now used as the venue for a number of concerts and cultural events, especially in summer.
[Casina Monluè](_blank)
Also of interest is the Church of Saint Lawrence, also built by the Humiliati in the 13th century.
History
A distinct rural settlement in Monluè is reported at least since the Middle Ages; it was originally called ''Mons Luparium'' (in
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, meaning "mountain - or hill - of the wolves"). This toponymy suggests that, back then, the area was probably more hilly than it is today, and that the forests between Monluè and Milan used to be infested by wolves.
Despite the inhospitable environment, friars from the
Humiliati religious order founded an
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 Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
in Monluè in the 13th century. They reclaimed the land, and a small rural town gradually developed in the surroundings of the abbey.
When the Humiliati religious order was suppressed in 1571, all their belongings were confiscated by the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
, who adapted the abbey as a farmhouse. The church was modified in 1584 and restored in 1877. In the early 20th century, the Monluè complex was ceded to the
Pio Albergo Trivulzio (a humanitarian Milanese institution). The ex abbey (now Cascina Monluè) is now owned by the city of Milan; the church of Saint Lawrence is still consecrated and in use.
As a difference with other border districts of Milan, such as
Ponte Lambro
Ponte Lambro (Brianzöö: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Como in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about east of Como.
Ponte Lambro borders the following municipalities: Caslino d'Erba, C ...
to the south, Monluè has never experienced a true industrialization process; on the other hand, agricultural activities in the area have been gradually dismissed, so that the population has been decreasing rather than increasing over time, an unusual trend in the Milanese area.
External links
Monluè on The Campanile Project
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monlue
Districts of Milan