Milan neighbourhoods
Bicocca
A city within the city, built on the former Pirelli factory.
- Market
- None on the street
- Transport
- M5 Bicocca, M5 Ponale; trams 7, 31; Greco Pirelli station; bus 87
- District
- 9
What it's like
Bicocca lies at the far northern edge of the city, beyond Greco and Centrale. Until the 1980s it was Pirelli territory, with the large tyre and cable factory that employed thousands of people and took its name from the 17th-century Bicocca degli Arcimboldi farmhouse, still standing.
After the plants closed, a plan by Vittorio Gregotti redesigned the whole area as a new district: the campus of the University of Milano-Bicocca, one of the largest universities in Lombardy, thousands of students, office blocks, the regional government tower and red-brick residences.
The two attractions that draw people from outside are the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, the large hall that stood in for La Scala during its restoration, and HangarBicocca, a former industrial shed turned contemporary-art space, with free entry and the permanent Anselm Kiefer installation.
The market
This neighbourhood has no weekly open-air street market. The nearest ones are in the neighbourhoods below.
Green space and the outdoors
Dog areas
- vie Sarca - Emanueli · 1069 m²
- vie Sesto San Giovanni - Padre Gerardo Beccaro · 736 m²
- viale Sarca - Silvestri · 364 m²
- viale Fulvio Testi - della Porta · 299 m²
- via Rucellai · 362 m²
- viali Sarca - Silvestri - Fulvio Testi · 714 m²
Playgrounds
- piazza dei Daini · 543 m²
- vie Sarca - Emanueli · 1006 m²
- vie Sesto San Giovanni - Padre Gerardo Beccaro · 1945 m²
- viale Fulvio Testi - della Porta · 407 m²
- via Grimm n. 11 · 1227 m²
- viale Sarca n. 145 · 639 m²
Where to eat and drink
Bicocca began as a district of offices and lecture halls, and its dining reflects that: university canteens, bars, chains and pizzerias around piazza della Scienza and the Arcimboldi.
For a street market you have to head down towards Niguarda or Maggiolina; HangarBicocca has an in-house café.
Getting there
The lilac M5 has reached Bicocca since 2015, with the Bicocca and Ponale stops serving the campus and the theatre.
On the surface there are trams 7 and 31, and the Greco Pirelli suburban-rail station is a few minutes away. The district is wide and grid-like, easy on foot between buildings.
M5 Bicocca, M5 Ponale; trams 7, 31; Greco Pirelli station; bus 87
Frequently asked questions
What is HangarBicocca in Milan?
It is an exhibition space for contemporary art in a former Pirelli industrial shed, in the Bicocca district. Entry is free and it hosts temporary shows and the permanent installation The Seven Heavenly Palaces by Anselm Kiefer.
How to get to the Teatro degli Arcimboldi?
By the lilac M5, Bicocca stop, a few minutes' walk from the theatre. Alternatively trams 7 and 31 or the Greco Pirelli railway station. On performance evenings shuttles from the M1 often run.
Nearby neighbourhoods
Data: City of Milan — weekly open-air markets (DS291), CC-BY. Reviewed .