In its 100-year history, the Milan stadium known as San Siro has seen plenty of action: hard-fought derbies between the city’s two professional soccer teams, A.C. Milan and Inter Milan; legendary boxing matches; and memorable concerts, from Bob Marley to Bruce Springsteen.
Its turn on Friday as the host of an Olympic opening ceremony may be one of its last global events.
After A.C. Milan and Inter Milan bought the stadium last year, they announced plans to demolish it and build a new one. UEFA, European football’s governing body, ruled that the stadium is outdated, stripping San Siro of the rights to host its title match, the Champions League final, in 2027.
But for those in Milan, and soccer fans of every stripe, San Siro is special. With more than 75,000 seats, it is the largest stadium in Italy and is deeply entrenched in the city’s history.
“It’s an overused adjective, but San Siro is iconic,” said Claudio Sanfilippo, a Milanese songwriter who has co-written two books on the stadium. Along with Milan’s Gothic cathedral, Leonardo’s Last Supper and La Scala opera theater, “San Siro is one of the most important symbols of the city,” he said.
Located in a neighborhood in Milan of the same name, the stadium was built a century ago by Piero Pirelli, then the owner of A.C. Milan. Some 20 years later, its crosstown rival, Inter, began playing there, too.
Because two popular teams play there, “over the decades it became an essential point of reference,” for sports fans, Sanfilippo said. A museum at the stadium houses the teams’ trophies and other memorabilia and is one of the most visited places in the city, he said.
The original stadium was expanded with a second tier in 1955. A third tier was added before the 1990 World Cup.
“It kept giving dreams to more and more people,” said Gianfelice Facchetti, an actor and director who has also written a book on the stadium. The Rolling Stones played there, as have Bob Dylan, Madonna and Beyoncé.
Plans for the new stadium call for it to be built near the original structure, partly in an area known as the Park of the Captains, one of whom was Giacinto Facchetti, Gianfelice’s father, an Inter player and the captain of Italy’s national team from 1966 to 1978. The Italian news media report that the new stadium should be ready around 2031. Almost all of the old stadium is expected to be torn down.
In 1980, the stadium’s official name changed to Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, after a beloved local player who died the previous year. A two-time world champion, he spent most of his career at Inter and held the club record for most goals. He also spent two seasons at A.C. Milan.
For most people, however, it remains known as San Siro.
“San Siro has had a kaleidoscopic history,” Facchetti said. “You shake it, look inside, and you can get lost in everything that has happened there.”
Elisabetta Povoledo is a Times reporter based in Rome, covering Italy, the Vatican and the culture of the region. She has been a journalist for 35 years.
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