The 16 columns of San Lorenzo in Milan are one of the best known places by the Milanese. We take you to this corner of the city to show you what you can do and where you can drink to spend some time in San Lorenzo.
As the name suggests, the columns of San Lorenzo are an ancient construction of Roman times composed of 16 marble columns located in front of the famous basilica of San Lorenzo.
This imposing white monument is located in a nerve center of the city, between the succession of shops on the central Via Torino, the greenery of the Parco delle due Basiliche - Parco Vetra for the Milanese doc - and in the middle of the historic Corso di Porta Ticinese, where over time many of the new and strange trends in fashion and style.
Unlike most of the city's cultural attractions, which by their nature allow inhabitants and tourists to only be admired, or at most crossed, the columns of San Lorenzo are made to be lived in different ways and at various times of the day and night.
During the day, after a stroll through shops and of course cafes Porta Ticinese it is almost a must to enjoy a crepe or an ice cream sitting on the raised marble between one column and the other or on the benches placed in front.
It is during the evening, however, that this archaeological remnant really comes to life: once alternative destination compared to the panorama of the chic Milanese nightlife, it has now become the hub of the city's nightlife. In summer, large numbers of people surround the columns until they completely fill the square in which they are located. Unfortunately, for some years now, the beauty of this "piece" of the city has been compromised by a long line of barriers that are arranged around the columns in the evening to prevent people from leaning on them.
The large turnout of people is justified by the particularity of the place, by its central position and by a series of bars, stalls and tobacconist bars that sell cocktails at competitive prices and large beers in bottle for 2 euros.
First of all, the historical and irreplaceable Bar Rattazzo, which can boast its presence since 21 September 1961, when Piero Rattazzo raised the shutters of the bar for the first time in the period when Ticinese was still the poor and working-class neighborhood of the city.
In Milan that “there isn't much to visit”, “it's too gray” and “it's a city that lives for work”, the columns of San Lorenzo are a cultural institution to admire, but above all to experience.
