Living in Bicocca, Milan
Affitto stanza singola tra privati Living in Bicocca, Milan - senza agenzia - Milan
The former Pirelli industrial heart of northern Milan, redesigned by the Progetto Bicocca (Vittorio Gregotti) into a 'city within the city' of universities, offices and culture. Next to it, the quieter residential village of Greco.
Bicocca was born in the early 20th century around the Pirelli factories, of which it was the industrial heart of northern Milan. From the 1980s-90s the former-industrial area was redesigned by the Progetto Bicocca, the great masterplan of architect Vittorio Gregotti, into a "city within the city" that blends university, corporate headquarters, research, housing, culture and greenery. Next to it is Greco, an older residential district with a village character, annexed to Milan in 1923 and today a quiet area re-valued by its proximity to the university and the Porta Nuova axis. Here are based the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca (founded in 1998), the Pirelli HangarBicocca - a contemporary art space in a former Pirelli factory, with free admission, home to the permanent installation "The Seven Heavenly Palaces" by Anselm Kiefer - and the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, inaugurated in 2002, which hosted the productions of the Teatro alla Scala during the restoration of the Piermarini, until 2004.
Who lives here
Italian and international students, university teaching staff and personnel, employees of the corporate headquarters and research centres, alongside neighbourhood residents. Greco remains more residential and middle-class.
By day
A modern, planned district: campus, offices, laboratories and green public spaces set the rhythm, with a strong student and work presence. Greco instead preserves the square with the church, the oratory and the historic shops of an old village. The HangarBicocca and the Teatro degli Arcimboldi are the cultural hubs of the area.
By night
The campus and office areas empty out outside lecture and work hours. Evening life revolves above all around the shows and concerts of the Teatro degli Arcimboldi and the area's shopping and entertainment hubs. It is not a nightlife district.
Getting around
The M5 lilac line serves the area with the Bicocca and Ponale stops (right by the campus) and Bignami, the northern terminus. Greco is served by the Milano Greco Pirelli railway station, on the suburban regional lines (S). On the surface run the trams 7 and 31. It is an area of the north, outside the historic centre, but well connected.
Eating and shopping
An offering geared towards students and workers: snack bars, cafés and service venues around the campus and offices, alongside the shops and local stores of the Greco village. Practical rather than spectacular.
When NOT to choose it
If you are looking for the charm of the historic centre or nightlife. The planned part of Bicocca, made of large orderly blocks of university and offices, can come across as a little institutional and impersonal, and several areas remain silent outside work and lecture hours. It is also the northern outskirts, far from the centre.
Bicocca-Greco works for students, researchers and those who work in the area's offices and want a modern, orderly and well-served district, with major cultural hubs on their doorstep. Those looking for historic charm or nightlife are better off in Brera or the Navigli; Greco is the quieter, more residential alternative right next door.