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Before being transformed into a park, Milan’s fruit and vegetable market was housed in this very area; its commercial heritage can be still identified in the beautiful Art Nouveau building which is now in the center of the park. In the more ancient past, General Radetzky’s fort used to be here during the Austrian rule. Today, the park is dedicated to Vittorio Formentano, the founder of the Blood Donors Association (1927), also celebrated by the bronze sculpture of two blood donors, by Eva Olàh.

The fountain-monument that gave this park its name was built to commemorate the sailors who lost their lives during the Second World War – it was built in 1967 by the internationally acclaimed Francesco Somaini, and features a 23-ft high winged victory in the center.

The liberty building used to be the seat of the Theater Collective of Dario Fo and Franca Rame until 1980, while today it is home to various cultural activities in the area.
On the 17 acres of the park, there are areas reserved for dogs, basketball and volleyball courts, picnic areas, and green lawn for the children the elderly.

The main tree species are Norway maple (Acer platanoides), field maple (Acer campestre), boxelder maple (Acer negundo), sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), East Asian Cherry (Prunus serrulata “Kanzan”), black alders (Alnus glutinosa), Italian alder (Alnus cordata), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica), Lebanon cedar (Cedrus libani), maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba), European horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanumum), magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), elm (Ulmus spp.), empress tree (Paulownia tomentosa), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), London plane (Platanus hybrida), sophora (Sophora japonica), small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata); among all the trees, the impressive Lebanese cedar stands out, not far from the fountain dedicated to the fallen workers.
A huge horse chestnut root is also worth mentioning, as it looks like a trunk lying on the ground.

photo source: https://zero.eu/it/luoghi/10781-parco-vittorio-formentano-marinai-ditalia,milano/

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)