5. Ripamonti, Vigentino

An area whose rural vocation has been replaced by the opening of major industrial sites, as testified by the Parco delle Memorie Industriali. Today, the redevelopment of many former factories has initiated an important regeneration process which can be seen in the creative liveliness of the Fondazione Prada and the innovative Symbiosis project.

This area is experiencing an interesting regeneration process thanks to the opening of cultural centers and companies which will ensure greater connections to the public transportation system. Colorful markets, numerous local stores and nonprofit organizations create a strong sense of community and support among locals, which can be felt in traditional places like the historic Trattoria al Laghett. Many former factories have been turned into trendy creative offices, sharing the area with coworking and digital innovation spaces (like Talent Garden), schools and sport centers.

If you want to live in an area where the industrial past coexists with a creative and multiethnic liveliness with a smart and green soul and prices are still affordable, then this is the right place for you. Here, you can easily travel by car but also by bike using the pedestrian and cycle paths crisscrossing the surrounding greenery and revealing the passage from an urban landscape to a rural one.

This area is not meant for those who love the liveliness of urban living. Instead, it can be appreciated by those who love nature and the cultural offering resulting from community engagement.

The area is mainly residential, offering XX-century buildings, many working-class apartment buildings built during the economic boom, farmsteads which have been partly recovered and former industrial complexes refurbished or under renovation. There are also more recent residential complexes like the ex OM area with its residential towers.

In this area you will love the Ciribiciaccola, the fourteenth-century bell tower of the Chiaravalle abbey, which marked the prayer and working time both for monks, and farmers. Close to the village of Chiaravalle, you can also admire the stretch of fields, which suddenly appears upon leaving the city behind and gives the illusion of a jump back in time.

The area is close to the Bocconi University, the Parco Ravizza, the San Donato Metanopoli and the Le Rovedine Golf Club.