Author: admin

Long before they reached the Duomo (do you remember them?), brought by an American coffee shop chain, the palms arrived in Milan, in Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, almost a century earlier.  

In 1915, the first stone of the Città Studi complex was laid, and shortly afterwards the first palm trees were also planted. Postcards from the past, which bring us greetings from that era, show us that the palm trees were there even in the 1930s and 1940s. In that “expanse of Lambrate fields”, as Carlo Emilio Gaddadescribed it, there rose an exotic landscape; an African panorama under which the first students began to write our story. In 1920, the author of Quer pasticciaccio brutto de via Merulana. graduated in Electronic Engineering at the Politecnico. A year earlier, Gio Pontigraduated in Architecture. In the shade of a palm tree, they prepared for their future.  

The postcards reached us thanks to the great virtual archive project Milano Sparita e da Ricordare, (Milan Disappeared and to Remember), a Facebook page that collects images and photos of the Milan of the past. There are many comments and shares of the photos of the Politecnico at the time of the palm trees. Someone writes “My father would remember it like this” and another tells us “They were replaced immediately after the war with black locusts and holly bushes.” Behind this collection is the desire to rediscover together the wonders of the past and present “of a city that many think is just fog and smog,” say the administrators of the page. And instead, we add, it is also vintage palm trees. 

See the gallery: 

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Brembo serves the teams that compete in the Formula One world championship. One challenge after another at a very fast pace, as explained in Gazzetta Motori by Andrea Algeri, Brembo F1 Manager and Politecnico Alumnus in Mechanical Engineering.

There are 10 Formula One teams equipped with Brembo braking and clutch systems: “In the racing world, substance is still dominant,” says Algeri. “The story began almost 50 years ago, in 1975, with the first cast iron brakes.” Today, this story is more than a challenge; it is a total revolution, as the engineer defines the new change in regulations. Which is certainly not the first. Revolutions that have knock-on effects on everyone, because motorsport is the largest field of automotive experimentation; a collective laboratory and a place where, in addition to skill, you also need imagination and vision:

“We are slightly further ahead than you may think. We try to imagine the future and what it will be like. Now, it is electric; energy recovery is the focus of the attention of our technicians and designers.”

Imagination unites all the Alumni who work in Formula One: like Lucia Conconi, Alumna Ingegneria Aerospaziale and Head of Vehicle Performance in the Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN, who described to the Alumni editorial staff the dual spirit—that in the laboratory and that on the track—of each F1 team; or Alberto Taraborrelli, Trackside Control Systems Engineer in the Alpine F1 Team, who described the days leading up to the start of the world championship: “They are among the toughest and most difficult of the year, especially because the cars are so different and therefore so unfamiliar". Taraborrelli has always dreamed of working in Formula One. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in mechatronics and robotics and his best memory of the Poli is the Dynamis PRC, Formula Student Team at the Politecnico di Milano.

Discover also: World record for the self-driving car from the Politecnico

Credits header: Sole24ore

10 years on social media is a long time, and what we have noticed during all this time together with you Alumni is that there is no greater positive or negative trigger (none!) – above all positive! – than a beautiful trip down Poli memory lane! 

So we decided to jot down places and situations that tickle your nostalgia, and the result was a a very long list. After a careful selection, we have managed to narrow it down to the ‘10 things you miss about the Politecnico’. There are certainly more, certainly some we have forgotten or that have failed to reach the Top 10: if so, let us know in the comments! Who knows, maybe there will be a second episode... 

Are you ready? Let's get started! 

1. The swimming pool in via Ponzio 

Those who had lessons or exams in the Trifoglio (building 13) in the summer knew that their spirits would be tested not only by the study but also by the echo of the dives coming through the open windows. One thing is certain: you came out the other side both physically and morally tougher. 

2. The colours and the street art in Bovisa 

Blue, red and yellow are the colours that come to mind when you think about Bovisa, but for the youngest – also the numerous murals that have transformed it into a veritable open-air museum. 

3. Study nights on the architecture patio 

How can you forget the patio, which in the evening became a melting pot of faculties, the place of crazy and desperate study sessions and discussions (and even for getting together to watch Italy in international matches). 

4. Silent study under the eye of Guernica in the library 

This is a 1:1 reproduction of the famous work by Pablo Picasso, produced in 1973 by the Student Movement.  

5. Aperitifs at the Harp Pub/al bar di via Ampère, all’ombra di un albero in piazza

Perfect for relaxing after lessons and exams.

6. The “differently comfortable” benches in the Aula Natta 

Lessons in religious silence (with the odd paper aeroplane every now and then ...) 

7. Heroic journeys carrying your models

The incredible effort to reach the classroom with models still intact, travelling by car, underground, train, tram... 

8. And speaking of trams: obviously the sadly departed No 23! 

How could we forget? It accompanied generations of students to the Leonardo Campus until 2017, when it was sent into retirement. 

9. One of the greatest mysteries of Bovisa: the unreachable door 

Does anyone know why it is there? 

10. The never-ending “rivalry” between engineers, architects and designers 

Even if, after all, what really unites us is that we are all proud politecnici!