These gardens layer formal geometry, picturesque landscaping, and later civic institutions in central Milan. Begun under Piermarini in the 1780s on former monastic land, they were reshaped in the nineteenth century and renamed for journalist Indro Montanelli in 2002.
Guide preview
The paths here carry two different ideas of nature. The gardens began between 1782 and 1786 on land from suppressed monasteries, laid out by architect Giuseppe Piermarini with geometric beds and straight, framing avenues in a formal French style.
Continue exploring
Discover the full story
Keep reading with a travel pass and explore every full guide and tour.
UpgradeQuick facts
- Piermarini designed the original gardens in the 1780s.
- Balzaretti introduced picturesque landscape features in 1862.
- The gardens were renamed for Indro Montanelli in 2002.
More places in Milan
ADI Design Museum – Compasso d’Oro
ADI Design Museum presents the Compasso d’Oro design award collection in a converted industrial complex near Milan’s Monumental Cemetery. The museum links celebrated everyday objects with the spaces and processes that brought them into being, making design history a story of use as well as appearanc
Arco della Pace
Arco della Pace began as a Napoleonic victory arch, then acquired a new dedication after political power changed hands. Its marble reliefs and bronze chariot preserve that transition from imperial triumph to a monument named for peace.
Armani/Silos
Armani/Silos repurposes a 1950s granary as an exhibition space devoted to Giorgio Armani’s work. Its plain, geometric exterior preserves the logic of industrial storage, giving visitors a building whose form reflects the designer’s preference for order and simplicity.
Backdoor 43
Backdoor 43 compresses a cocktail bar into four square metres, creating an unusually close exchange between bartender and guest. Its tiny footprint is the design story: a conventional bar experience becomes a deliberate exercise in intimacy, scale, and concentrated service.
Bagatti Valsecchi Museum
The Bagatti Valsecchi Museum preserves a late nineteenth-century Milanese home arranged in a Renaissance style. Its rooms combine historical art and furnishings with modern comforts that were advanced for the period, revealing how its owners staged domestic life.
BAM Biblioteca degli Alberi
BAM Biblioteca degli Alberi organizes greenery into planted “rooms” and winding paths among Milan’s Porta Nuova towers. Designed as contemporary public landscape, the ten-hectare park joins botanical variety, open space, and a changing city skyline.