Arco della Pace

The Arco della Pace is Milan's triumphal arch — a neoclassical marble gate at the northwestern end of Parco Sempione that was begun in 1807 to celebrate Napoleon's victories and completed in 1838 as a monument to peace after the Austrian Empire reclaimed Lombardy. The arch's political identity changed mid-construction, which is a very Milan story — the city has been conquered, liberated, and reconquered so many times that its monuments have learned to be diplomatically flexible.

The arch is modelled on the Roman triumphal arch tradition and is topped by a bronze quadriga (six-horse chariot) of the Goddess of Peace, originally facing Paris (toward Napoleon) and turned around after Waterloo to face the city (away from France). The reliefs on the arch depict Napoleon's victories and the Congress of Vienna, which means the monument simultaneously celebrates a conqueror and his defeat — an ambiguity that the Milanese, who have lived under French, Austrian, Spanish, and Italian rule, find entirely appropriate.

The arch sits at the end of a formal avenue that runs the length of Parco Sempione from the Castello Sforzesco, and the view through the arch — with the park stretching behind and the castle's tower visible at the far end — is the most satisfying architectural axis in Milan. The piazza around the arch is a popular aperitivo spot, with bars and cafés filling their terraces in the evening, and the sunset light on the marble gives the arch the warm glow that Napoleon's architects intended.