Piazza San Babila
Historic city square marked by a medieval basilica and once a flashpoint of nineteen seventies political unrest.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Piazza San Babila in Milan opens in the 1970s, when a far-right youth subculture called the sanbabilini claimed this square as their turf, dressing in a specific uniform and gathering at bars around the piazza to be seen. You'll hear who they were, what set them apart from other Milanese teenagers, and how the square built a reputation for who was safe to walk through it. The guide follows the piazza to April 12, 1973, the day Milan still calls Black Thursday, when an unauthorized march set off from near this spot. It also reaches back far earlier, to the church that has stood on this ground since around 1095, built over relics carried from Antioch.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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