Line 4: De Amicis station
Archaeological excavation in via De Amicis, Milan
The archaeological surveys
The preventive archaeological excavation carried out in Via De Amicis under the scientific direction of the Supervisory Authority for the Archaeological Heritage of Lombardy, was intended to create a final design for the De Amicis station on the future Line 4 and formed part of the protective archaeological work planned for the areas considered to be of significant historical interest in the urban fabric. The excavation covered an area of about 370 m², one section consisting of what would be the area occupied by the station; two other excavations were located at the corner of Via Cesare Correnti and in Piazza della Resistenza Partigiana, close to the future entrances to the metro with the escalators and stairs.
The Roman era
The archaeological surveys carried out in the last few decades have helped to define the area as an important area of the southern suburbs of the City which was crossed, probably at Via Cesare Correnti, by the road linking Mediolanum (Milan) and Habiate (Abbiategrasso), coming from Porta Ticinese. From the late republican era (1st century BC) craft and trade activities flourished here, helped by the presence of river links, but there were also areas designated for burial, normally in areas immediately outside the walls. The archaeological research portrays the suburb as especially vital up to the 6th century, probably due in part to the proximity of the amphitheatre, which in the Roman world was a great attraction in the same way that football stadiums are today.
Medieval, Renaissance and modern times
In medieval times, the area was close to the line of the City walls, largely coinciding with the section of the Naviglio, also known as the Inner Ditch, which from 1894 was gradually covered over during construction of the new City sewerage system. The minor excavations at the corner of Via Cesare Correnti revealed the existence, as had already been conjectured, of remains of the foundations of an abutment to the Pusterla de’ Fabbri, one of the gates of the medieval City walls, demolished in 1900 and rebuilt – the outer face only – as the entrance to the Sala della Cancelleria in the Castello Sforzesco. The demolition of the gate was in response to the need to straighten an older road to create the present-day Via Correnti and widen the crossroads, in accordance with the requirements of the new Beruto urban development plan, approved in 1889. In the area left vacant, a five-story block of flats was built: this was subsequently destroyed by bombing during the Second World War.