Milan neighbourhoods
Bovisa
Former factories and gasometers, now between the Politecnico and an unsettled future.
- Market
- Wed · Fri · Sat · 3 markets see below ↓
- Transport
- Milano Bovisa Politecnico and Milano Villapizzone stations (S suburban lines and Malpensa Express); tram 2, 90/91; buses 82, 92
- District
- 9
What it's like
Bovisa lies to the north-west, beyond the Farini rail yard, in an area squeezed between bundles of tracks.
From the late 19th century it was Milan's industrial quarter: refineries, chemical factories, the Carlo Erba works, and the two large circular gasometers that still dominate the skyline.
With the deindustrialisation of the 1980s the quarter emptied out. Then the Politecnico opened its Campus Bovisa here, with the Design and Aerospace Engineering faculties, and students, workshops and a few cultural spaces in the sheds arrived.
The gasometer area, called the Goccia (the drop) for its shape, is a large green void that has awaited a redevelopment plan for decades. The rest is a working-class, railway quarter, unpretentious, with good links to the rest of Lombardy.
The market
Green space and the outdoors
Dog areas
- parco Testori · 1664 m²
- piazzale Lugano · 741 m²
- vie Bovisasca - Cosenz · 648 m²
- vie Castelli - Fusinato - Riccione · 691 m²
- vie Maffucci - Acerenza · 463 m²
- giardino Carmelo Bene · 1106 m²
Playgrounds
- vie Colico - Varè · 213 m²
- piazza Schiavone · 254 m²
- vie Bovisasca - Cosenz · 535 m²
- vie Ardissone - Ercolano - Castellino da Castello · 557 m²
- giardino Pierluigi Torregiani · 196 m²
- piazzale Lugano · 432 m²
Where to eat and drink
Bovisa's food is that of a student and working-class quarter: canteens, pizza al taglio, historic bars like the Dropico, and a few newer places around the Politecnico campus. The via Catone market, on Fridays, handles the area's shopping.
Getting there
Bovisa has no metro, but it has one of the best-served railway stations in Milan: Bovisa Politecnico, on the suburban rail and the Malpensa line, with trains every few minutes to the centre and the airport. On the surface there are tram 2 and the 90/91 trolleybus.
Milano Bovisa Politecnico and Milano Villapizzone stations (S suburban lines and Malpensa Express); tram 2, 90/91; buses 82, 92
Frequently asked questions
Where is Bovisa in Milan?
Bovisa is in District 9, to the north-west, beyond the Farini rail yard, between the railway lines. It borders Dergano, Villapizzone and the Goccia area with the gasometers.
What is the Goccia in Bovisa?
The Goccia is the green area around Bovisa's two former gasometers, closed for decades and long undergoing clean-up. It is the subject of a redevelopment plan for a park, Politecnico facilities and new public uses.
Nearby neighbourhoods
Data: City of Milan — weekly open-air markets (DS291), CC-BY. Reviewed .