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Milan

The Expo site

From the Milan candidacy dossier

The Rho-Pero site

The Expo will be located on a site covering 1.7 million sq. m. in the north-west of Milan comprising part of the municipal territory of Pero and Rho.

During the first half of the last century, part of this area was occupied by manufacturing industries, while the remaining farm land has been gradually occupied by shipping warehouses and municipal services.

The realisation of the new Fiera Milano exhibition complex, based on an architectural project by Massimiliano Fuksas, is of such outstanding quality and economic importance that it has led to the transformation and regeneration of the entire area, with the retirement or relocation of existing facilities and the definition of new uses for former agricultural land.

The specific location has produced an extremely rich and integrated infrastructure:

  • The metro Line 1 1 connects the site to the city's public transport network, the existing Molino Dorino parking facilities and a new car park planned at the Fairgrounds

  • Three motorways - the A4 Turin-Milan-Venice, the A8/A9 Milan-Como Chiasso and Milan-Varese, plus the western orbital road which joins the A1 Milan-Rome-Naples motorway to the south. Access roads further supplement these routes, freeing local traffic from that in transit to and from the Expo site

  • A high-speed rail link will have its own station near the east entrance to the complex as well as serving two local railway lines connecting to the Milan metro

  • The site's geographical location, equidistant from Linate, Malpensa and Orio al Serio allowing rapid access to Milan's three airports.

As regards the natural environmental, the site is close to many areas of parkland: Parco delle Groane, WWF Oasis of Vanzago, Parco Sud and Parco dei Fontanili, as well as parks north-west of the city - Parco delle cave, Parco di Trenno, Monte Stella and the San Siro stadium and sports facilities.

Visitors interested in historic houses will find countless mansions, villas and palaces scattered throughout the province of Milan, including prestigious but lesser known treasures such as the castles at Rho and Bollate and the stately homes of Litta in Lainate, Valera in Arese and Burba in Rho.

Finally, there are trips to Lakes Maggiore, Como, Lugano and Varese, an area of outstanding natural beauty and cultural interest linked to the Expo experience via a series of parallel events (e.g. Villa Erba at Cernobbio).

OTHER AREAS THAT MIGHT POTENTIALLY BE USED

Among the built-up areas near to the Expo area, an area of 210 hectares in Arese might host some support and logistic services.

Very close to Rho-Pero, suitable final solutions still have to be decided for redevelopment of the site.

Another idea currently under examination by the Region of Lombardy regards the creation of a technology park focussing on innovative healthcare and environmental solutions, with a particular focus on low-emissions public transport.