History
There are towns in luck for a while, then they go into eclipse for ever…
There are towns in luck for a while, then they go into eclipse for ever. Other towns flourish anew after hard times. Because their power comes from material and natural reasons – and not from man. Milan is like this.
Carlo Cattaneo, Dell'insurrezione di Milano nel 1848 e della successiva guerra. Memorie, Lugano, Tipografia della Svizzera Italiana, february 1849.
Milan was founded by the Insubres, an indigenous tribe having Celtic origin and belonging to the so-called “culture of Golasecca” in the Protostoric Age. According to the tradition reported by Titus Livius and also by Bonvesin De La Riva in his De Magnalibus Urbi Mediolani in the Middle Ages, Milan was founded about the year 600 BC by Belovesus, a grandson of the Biturigi Gauls’ king, who settled in the middle of the Po valley and defeated the Etruscans.
The most important town of the Insubres, it was conquered by the Romans in 222 BC, following the heavy siege by Consuls Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus and Marcus Claudius Marcellus. This conquest was opposed by Hannibal’s Descent. As a matter of fact, this Carthaginian General was able to form an alliance with the local population. It was only in the early second century BC that the Insubres and the Boii submitted to the Roman rule.
The Romans called it Mediolanum (meaning: in the midst of the plain), possibly after a Celtic place-name. According to legend, upon the Romans’ arrival, the Insubres took their gilded emblems from the temple of Belisama (this Celtic goddess was identified with Minerva by the Romans) and brought them safely to the mountain.
Due to its military, political and economical relevance, it gained the title of “municipium”, then of “colonia” until it was declared the capital of Transpadania and, later on, the capital of the Western Roman Empire - and also Emperor’ siege - from 286 to 402 AD.
Coat of Arms
The coat of arms of Milan’s City Council consists of a white or silver shield with a superimposed red cross. The shield is surmounted by a black or golden crown. Sideways it is encompassed by a branch of laurel and a branch of oak tied by a tricolour band. It was developed in 11th century from the aristocrats’ insignia (red colour ) and the populace’s insignia (white colour). In 1167, upon the Oath of Pontida, an alliance (the so-called Lombard League) was established among the main towns in northern Italy in order to fight against the Emperor and gain the independence. The League adopted the Milan emblem as their symbol. In 1176, when the triumphal battle of Legnano was fought, this emblem was fluttering on the "carroccio", a sacred war wagon. Since that time the Milan emblem became the symbol of authority and freedom and was espoused by many towns in northern Italy.
Cities Decorated With A Gold Medal For Their "Meritorious Conduct During The Italian Unification Process”
To remind the heroic acts performed by the Milanese population during the Five Days of Milan in 1848. The popular uprising broke up on March 18, 1848 upon the news of the revolution in Wien and the revolt in Venice. On March 23 the insurgents forced marshal Radetzki to withdraw from the city and retreat to Verona. About 300 insurgents died.
Gold Medal for Military Valour Awarded To The Municipality Of Milan – March 15, 1948
“During the Five Days of Milan it rebelled and drove out a powerful army, thus showing how valuable can be the popular ardour supported by an inexhaustible thirst for justice, freedom and independence against tyranny. With its handful of martyrs and heroes faithful to Mazzini's principles or rising up against the oppressors since the early Italian Unification years, then in the period from 1943 to 1945, even if disfigured and covered in blood by fiery war attacks, it was able to offer a sharp resistance to the ruthless enemies of all times through the pride and impetus of its defenders engaged in an unrelenting fight while giving the blood of its best children, being able to defeat the enemy by an triumphant insurrection on April 25, 1945. The Republic of Italy honours this astonishing model of civic and military virtues.” March 18 to 22, 1848 – February 6, 1853 – September 9, 1943 – April 25, 1945.