Arco della Pace

The Arco della Pace is situated in Milan, in the centre of the large Piazza Sempione. The building of this monument began in 1807 on the basis of a design by Luigi Cagnola and for want of Napoleon. In the French Sovreign's mind, the arch was to represent a triumphal entrance to the city of Milan, entrance which he would have crossed every time he arrived from Paris.

Work was non completed before the fall of the Napoleon regime, and it was inaugurated many years later by the Hapsburg Emperor and King of the Lombard and Veneto Regions, Ferdinando I, in 1838. The name of this structure was an idea of the King who wanted to dedicate the Arch to the peace gained in Europe thanks to the Vienna Congress in 1815.

As well as from an historical point of view, the Peace Arch is important for its high level artistic and architectural works. The monument was sculpted in granite and decorated with various statues and sculptures. On the top there is the "Sestigia della Pace" which shows a horse-drawn carriage driven by Peace.

For the construction of the Arco della Pace, architects from Milan took example from the Arco Amalia which, at that time, was in the area of Porta Orientale, not far from the Public Gardens in Milan.

The Arch is to be found in the centre of Milan, close to Castello Sforzesco and Parco Sempione. Tourists interested in visiting this historical monument and the other beauties of the city can stay in one of the numerous hotels in Milan, where there is every service a tourist could desire.