empty unreal unable to feel [stencil] -1 frosty vw beetle

 

drive round exhibitting the comments

get it seen / temporarily

it warms up

it melts

its gone

end of

 

Self-harm (SH) or deliberate self-harm (DSH) includes self-injury (SI) and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue without suicidal intent. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology. The older literature, especially that which predates the DSM-IV-TR, almost exclusively refers to self-mutilation. The term is synonymous with "self-injury." The most common form of self-harm is skin cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviours including, but not limited to, burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair pulling (trichotillomania) and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. Behaviours associated with substance abuse and eating disorders are usually not considered self-harm because the resulting tissue damage is ordinarily an unintentional side effect. However, the boundaries are not always clear-cut and in some cases behaviours that usually fall outside the boundaries of self-harm may indeed represent self-harm if performed with explicit intent to cause tissue damage. Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviour may be potentially life-threatening. There is also an increased risk of suicide in individuals who self-harm to the extent that self-harm is found in 40–60% of suicides. However, generalising self-harmers to be suicidal is, in the majority of cases, inaccurate

  

Porta Sempione is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The gate is marked by a landmark triumphal arch called Arco della Pace ("Arch of Peace"), dating back to the 19th century, although its origins can be traced back to a gate of the Roman walls of Milan.

 

It is neoclassical triumphal arch, 25 m high and 24 m wide, decorated with a number of bas-reliefs, statues, and corinthian columns. Bas-reliefs and statues are made of a variety of materials, including marble, bronze, wood, and stucco. Many of such decorations, especially bas-reliefs, are dedicated to major events in the history of Italy and Europe, such as the Battle of Leipzig, the foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the Congress of Vienna. Other decorations have classical mythology.

  

HISTORY

  

A gate that roughly corresponds to modern Porta Sempione was already part of Roman walls of Milan. It was called Porta Giovia and was located at the end of modern Via San Giovanni sul Muro. At the time, the gate was meant to control an important road leading to what is now Castelseprio. Very little remains of the original Roman structure; some Roman tombstones that used to be placed by the outer side of the walls have been employed in the construction of later buildings such as the Basilica of Saint Simplician (located in Corso Garibaldi).

 

In the Middle Ages, part of the Roman walls in the Porta Sempione area was adapted as part of the new walls. The gate itself was moved north, in a place that is now occupied by the Sforza Castle. The Castle itself was completed in the 15th Century, under Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, and the gate itself became part of the Castle.

 

In 1807, under the Napoleonic rule, the Arch of Peace was built by architect Luigi Cagnola. This new gate marked the place where the new Strada del Sempione entered Milan. This road, which is still in use today, connects Milan to Paris through the Simplon Pass crossing the Alps. At the time, the gate was still called Porta Giovia. When the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy fell and Milan was conquered by the Austrian Empire, the gate was not yet completed, and the construction was abandoned for a while.

 

The construction of the Arch was resumed, again by Cagnola, in 1826, for Emperor Francis II, who dedicated the monument to the 1815 Congress of Vienna. When Cagnola died in 1833, his project was taken over by Francesco Londonio and Francesco Peverelli, who brought it to completion in 1838.

 

The gate was the scene of several prominent events in the Milanese history of the 19th century. On 22 March 1848, the Austrian army led by marshal Josef Radetzky escaped from Milan through Porta Giovia after being defeated in the Five Days of Milan rebellion. On 8 June 1859, four days after the Battle of Magenta, Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II of Italy triumphally entered Milan through the gate.

 

SITE AND DECORATION

 

The Foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, bas-relief by Pompeo Marchesi, on the right-hand side of the Arch of Peace

The gate is located at the center of a wide round square known as Piazza Sempione ("Simplon Square"). It is adjacent to Simplon Park, the main city park of Milan, which was designed with the explicit intent of providing panoramic views encompassing both the Arch and the nearby Sforza Castle.

 

At the sides of the Arch of Peace there are two minor rectangular buildings that used to be the customs office [Wikipedia.org]

Porta Sempione is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The gate is marked by a landmark triumphal arch called Arco della Pace ("Arch of Peace"), dating back to the 19th century, although its origins can be traced back to a gate of the Roman walls of Milan.

 

It is neoclassical triumphal arch, 25 m high and 24 m wide, decorated with a number of bas-reliefs, statues, and corinthian columns. Bas-reliefs and statues are made of a variety of materials, including marble, bronze, wood, and stucco. Many of such decorations, especially bas-reliefs, are dedicated to major events in the history of Italy and Europe, such as the Battle of Leipzig, the foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the Congress of Vienna. Other decorations have classical mythology.

  

HISTORY

  

A gate that roughly corresponds to modern Porta Sempione was already part of Roman walls of Milan. It was called Porta Giovia and was located at the end of modern Via San Giovanni sul Muro. At the time, the gate was meant to control an important road leading to what is now Castelseprio. Very little remains of the original Roman structure; some Roman tombstones that used to be placed by the outer side of the walls have been employed in the construction of later buildings such as the Basilica of Saint Simplician (located in Corso Garibaldi).

 

In the Middle Ages, part of the Roman walls in the Porta Sempione area was adapted as part of the new walls. The gate itself was moved north, in a place that is now occupied by the Sforza Castle. The Castle itself was completed in the 15th Century, under Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, and the gate itself became part of the Castle.

 

In 1807, under the Napoleonic rule, the Arch of Peace was built by architect Luigi Cagnola. This new gate marked the place where the new Strada del Sempione entered Milan. This road, which is still in use today, connects Milan to Paris through the Simplon Pass crossing the Alps. At the time, the gate was still called Porta Giovia. When the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy fell and Milan was conquered by the Austrian Empire, the gate was not yet completed, and the construction was abandoned for a while.

 

The construction of the Arch was resumed, again by Cagnola, in 1826, for Emperor Francis II, who dedicated the monument to the 1815 Congress of Vienna. When Cagnola died in 1833, his project was taken over by Francesco Londonio and Francesco Peverelli, who brought it to completion in 1838.

 

The gate was the scene of several prominent events in the Milanese history of the 19th century. On 22 March 1848, the Austrian army led by marshal Josef Radetzky escaped from Milan through Porta Giovia after being defeated in the Five Days of Milan rebellion. On 8 June 1859, four days after the Battle of Magenta, Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II of Italy triumphally entered Milan through the gate.

 

SITE AND DECORATION

 

The Foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, bas-relief by Pompeo Marchesi, on the right-hand side of the Arch of Peace

The gate is located at the center of a wide round square known as Piazza Sempione ("Simplon Square"). It is adjacent to Simplon Park, the main city park of Milan, which was designed with the explicit intent of providing panoramic views encompassing both the Arch and the nearby Sforza Castle.

 

At the sides of the Arch of Peace there are two minor rectangular buildings that used to be the customs office [Wikipedia.org]

... IMAGINE TO BE HERE...

after a pleasant walk inside the Park Sempione, completely surrounded by green and plants... walking slowly till this magic place...

....

Porta Sempione

("Simplon Gate") is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The name "Porta Sempione" is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding district ("quartiere"), a part of the Zone 1 division (the historic city centre), including the major avenue of Corso Sempione. The gate is marked by a landmark triumphal arch called Arco della Pace ("Arch of Peace"), dating back to the 19th century, although its origins can be traced back to a gate of the Roman walls of Milan.

History[edit]

 

Former toll house of Porta Sempione

A gate that roughly corresponds to modern Porta Sempione was already part of Roman walls of Milan. It was called "Porta Giovia" ("Jupiter's Gate") and was located at the end of modern Via San Giovanni sul Muro. At the time, the gate was meant to control an important road leading to what is now Castelseprio. Very little remains of the original Roman structure; some Roman tombstones that used to be placed by the outer side of the walls have been employed in the construction of later buildings such as the Basilica of Saint Simplician (located in Corso Garibaldi).

 

In the Middle Ages, part of the Roman walls in the Porta Sempione area were adapted as part of the new walls. The gate itself was moved north, in a place that is now occupied by the Sforza Castle. The Castle itself was completed in the 15th Century, under Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, and the gate itself became part of the Castle.

 

In 1807, under the Napoleonic rule, the Arch of Peace was built by architect Luigi Cagnola. This new gate marked the place where the new Strada del Sempione entered Milan. This road, which is still in use today, connects Milan to Paris through the Simplon Pass crossing the Alps. At the time, the gate was still called "Porta Giovia". When the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy fell and Milan was conquered by the Austrian Empire, the gate was not yet completed, and the construction was abandoned for a while.

 

The construction of the Arch was resumed, again by Cagnola, in 1826, for Emperor Francis II, who dedicated the monument to the 1815 Congress of Vienna. When Cagnola died in 1833, his project was taken over by Francesco Londonio and Francesco Peverelli, who brought it to completion in 1838.

 

The gate was the scene of several prominent events in the Milanese history of the 19th century. On 22 March 1848, the Austrian army led by marshal Josef Radetzky escaped from Milan through Porta Giovia after being defeated in the Five Days of Milan rebellion. On 8 June 1859, four days after the Battle of Magenta, Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II of Italy triumphally entered Milan through the gate.

 

Structure and location

 

The Foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, bas-relief by Pompeo Marchesi, on the right-hand side of the Arch of Peace

The Simplon Gate is located at the center of a wide round square known as "Piazza Sempione" (Simplon Square). It is adjacent to the Simplon Park, the main city park of Milan, which was designed with the explicit intent of providing panoramic views encompassing both the Arch and the nearby Sforza Castle.

 

It is neoclassical triumphal arch, 25 m high and 24 m wide, decorated with a number of bas-reliefs, statues, and corinthian columns. Bas-reliefs and statues are made of a variety of materials, including marble, bronze, wood, and stucco. Many of such decorations, especially bas-reliefs, are dedicated to major events in the history of Italy and Europe, such as the Battle of Leipzig, the foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the Congress of Vienna. Other decorations have classical mythology subjects such as Mars, Ceres, Minerva, Apollo, and Victoria-Nike. There are also a group of statues that are allegories of major rivers in North Italy such as the Po, the Adige and the Ticino. Notable artists that have collaborated to the decoration of the gate include Pompeo Marchesi, Luigi Acquisti, Grazioso Rusca, Luigi Buzzi Leone, Giovanni Battista Comolli, Luigi Marchesi, Nicola Pirovano, Francesco Peverelli, Benedetto Cacciatori, Giovanni Antonio Labus, Claudio Monti, Gaetano Monti, Camillo Pacetti, Antonio Pasquali, Giovambattista Perabò, Angelo Pizzi, Grazioso Rusca, Girolamo Rusca, and Francesco Somaini.

 

What came immediately to my mind while watching these three photos is the Roman Quadriga on top of the Arch.

Please, note that

ALL the other Quadriga all over the world and particularly in France and Germany are copies of the Roman Quadriga.

 

At the sides of the Arch of Peace there are two minor rectangular buildings that used to be the customs office.

 

References in popular culture

In his novella A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway mentions the Arch of Peace, expressing the belief that its orientation be parallel to those of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile in Paris.

FOR MORE INFORMATIONS:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porta_Sempione

www.aviewoncities.com/milan/arcodellapace.htm

 

FOR THE PLACE:

wikimapia.org/#lang=it&lat=45.473434&lon=9.174829...

 

*************************************************************************************

 

“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera…

 

they are made with the eye, heart and head.”

 

[Henry Cartier Bresson]

 

*************************************************************************************

  

Please don't use any of my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.

 

© All rights reserved

... IMAGINE TO BE HERE...

after a pleasant walk inside the Park Sempione, completely surrounded by green and plants... walking slowly till this magic place...

....

Porta Sempione

("Simplon Gate") is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The name "Porta Sempione" is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding district ("quartiere"), a part of the Zone 1 division (the historic city centre), including the major avenue of Corso Sempione. The gate is marked by a landmark triumphal arch called Arco della Pace ("Arch of Peace"), dating back to the 19th century, although its origins can be traced back to a gate of the Roman walls of Milan.

History[edit]

 

Former toll house of Porta Sempione

A gate that roughly corresponds to modern Porta Sempione was already part of Roman walls of Milan. It was called "Porta Giovia" ("Jupiter's Gate") and was located at the end of modern Via San Giovanni sul Muro. At the time, the gate was meant to control an important road leading to what is now Castelseprio. Very little remains of the original Roman structure; some Roman tombstones that used to be placed by the outer side of the walls have been employed in the construction of later buildings such as the Basilica of Saint Simplician (located in Corso Garibaldi).

 

In the Middle Ages, part of the Roman walls in the Porta Sempione area were adapted as part of the new walls. The gate itself was moved north, in a place that is now occupied by the Sforza Castle. The Castle itself was completed in the 15th Century, under Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, and the gate itself became part of the Castle.

 

In 1807, under the Napoleonic rule, the Arch of Peace was built by architect Luigi Cagnola. This new gate marked the place where the new Strada del Sempione entered Milan. This road, which is still in use today, connects Milan to Paris through the Simplon Pass crossing the Alps. At the time, the gate was still called "Porta Giovia". When the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy fell and Milan was conquered by the Austrian Empire, the gate was not yet completed, and the construction was abandoned for a while.

 

The construction of the Arch was resumed, again by Cagnola, in 1826, for Emperor Francis II, who dedicated the monument to the 1815 Congress of Vienna. When Cagnola died in 1833, his project was taken over by Francesco Londonio and Francesco Peverelli, who brought it to completion in 1838.

 

The gate was the scene of several prominent events in the Milanese history of the 19th century. On 22 March 1848, the Austrian army led by marshal Josef Radetzky escaped from Milan through Porta Giovia after being defeated in the Five Days of Milan rebellion. On 8 June 1859, four days after the Battle of Magenta, Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II of Italy triumphally entered Milan through the gate.

 

Structure and location

 

The Foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, bas-relief by Pompeo Marchesi, on the right-hand side of the Arch of Peace

The Simplon Gate is located at the center of a wide round square known as "Piazza Sempione" (Simplon Square). It is adjacent to the Simplon Park, the main city park of Milan, which was designed with the explicit intent of providing panoramic views encompassing both the Arch and the nearby Sforza Castle.

 

It is neoclassical triumphal arch, 25 m high and 24 m wide, decorated with a number of bas-reliefs, statues, and corinthian columns. Bas-reliefs and statues are made of a variety of materials, including marble, bronze, wood, and stucco. Many of such decorations, especially bas-reliefs, are dedicated to major events in the history of Italy and Europe, such as the Battle of Leipzig, the foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the Congress of Vienna. Other decorations have classical mythology subjects such as Mars, Ceres, Minerva, Apollo, and Victoria-Nike. There are also a group of statues that are allegories of major rivers in North Italy such as the Po, the Adige and the Ticino. Notable artists that have collaborated to the decoration of the gate include Pompeo Marchesi, Luigi Acquisti, Grazioso Rusca, Luigi Buzzi Leone, Giovanni Battista Comolli, Luigi Marchesi, Nicola Pirovano, Francesco Peverelli, Benedetto Cacciatori, Giovanni Antonio Labus, Claudio Monti, Gaetano Monti, Camillo Pacetti, Antonio Pasquali, Giovambattista Perabò, Angelo Pizzi, Grazioso Rusca, Girolamo Rusca, and Francesco Somaini.

 

What came immediately to my mind while watching these three photos is the Roman Quadriga on top of the Arch.

Please, note that

ALL the other Quadriga all over the world and particularly in France and Germany are copies of the Roman Quadriga.

  

At the sides of the Arch of Peace there are two minor rectangular buildings that used to be the customs office.

 

References in popular culture

In his novella A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway mentions the Arch of Peace, expressing the belief that its orientation be parallel to those of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile in Paris.

FOR MORE INFORMATIONS:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porta_Sempione

www.aviewoncities.com/milan/arcodellapace.htm

 

FOR THE PLACE:

wikimapia.org/#lang=it&lat=45.478700&lon=9.165173...

 

*************************************************************************************

 

“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera…

 

they are made with the eye, heart and head.”

 

[Henry Cartier Bresson]

 

*************************************************************************************

  

Please don't use any of my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.

 

© All rights reserved

empty unreal unable to feel [stencil] -1 frosty vw beetle windscreen

 

drive round exhibitting the comments

get it seen / temporarily

it warms up

it melts

its gone

end of

 

Self-harm (SH) or deliberate self-harm (DSH) includes self-injury (SI) and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue without suicidal intent. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology. The older literature, especially that which predates the DSM-IV-TR, almost exclusively refers to self-mutilation. The term is synonymous with "self-injury." The most common form of self-harm is skin cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviours including, but not limited to, burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair pulling (trichotillomania) and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. Behaviours associated with substance abuse and eating disorders are usually not considered self-harm because the resulting tissue damage is ordinarily an unintentional side effect. However, the boundaries are not always clear-cut and in some cases behaviours that usually fall outside the boundaries of self-harm may indeed represent self-harm if performed with explicit intent to cause tissue damage. Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviour may be potentially life-threatening. There is also an increased risk of suicide in individuals who self-harm to the extent that self-harm is found in 40–60% of suicides. However, generalising self-harmers to be suicidal is, in the majority of cases, inaccurate

  

... IMAGINE TO BE HERE...

after a pleasant walk inside the Park Sempione, completely surrounded by green and plants... walking slowly till this magic place...

....

Porta Sempione

("Simplon Gate") is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The name "Porta Sempione" is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding district ("quartiere"), a part of the Zone 1 division (the historic city centre), including the major avenue of Corso Sempione. The gate is marked by a landmark triumphal arch called Arco della Pace ("Arch of Peace"), dating back to the 19th century, although its origins can be traced back to a gate of the Roman walls of Milan.

History[edit]

 

Former toll house of Porta Sempione

A gate that roughly corresponds to modern Porta Sempione was already part of Roman walls of Milan. It was called "Porta Giovia" ("Jupiter's Gate") and was located at the end of modern Via San Giovanni sul Muro. At the time, the gate was meant to control an important road leading to what is now Castelseprio. Very little remains of the original Roman structure; some Roman tombstones that used to be placed by the outer side of the walls have been employed in the construction of later buildings such as the Basilica of Saint Simplician (located in Corso Garibaldi).

 

In the Middle Ages, part of the Roman walls in the Porta Sempione area were adapted as part of the new walls. The gate itself was moved north, in a place that is now occupied by the Sforza Castle. The Castle itself was completed in the 15th Century, under Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, and the gate itself became part of the Castle.

 

In 1807, under the Napoleonic rule, the Arch of Peace was built by architect Luigi Cagnola. This new gate marked the place where the new Strada del Sempione entered Milan. This road, which is still in use today, connects Milan to Paris through the Simplon Pass crossing the Alps. At the time, the gate was still called "Porta Giovia". When the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy fell and Milan was conquered by the Austrian Empire, the gate was not yet completed, and the construction was abandoned for a while.

 

The construction of the Arch was resumed, again by Cagnola, in 1826, for Emperor Francis II, who dedicated the monument to the 1815 Congress of Vienna. When Cagnola died in 1833, his project was taken over by Francesco Londonio and Francesco Peverelli, who brought it to completion in 1838.

 

The gate was the scene of several prominent events in the Milanese history of the 19th century. On 22 March 1848, the Austrian army led by marshal Josef Radetzky escaped from Milan through Porta Giovia after being defeated in the Five Days of Milan rebellion. On 8 June 1859, four days after the Battle of Magenta, Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II of Italy triumphally entered Milan through the gate.

 

Structure and location

 

The Foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, bas-relief by Pompeo Marchesi, on the right-hand side of the Arch of Peace

The Simplon Gate is located at the center of a wide round square known as "Piazza Sempione" (Simplon Square). It is adjacent to the Simplon Park, the main city park of Milan, which was designed with the explicit intent of providing panoramic views encompassing both the Arch and the nearby Sforza Castle.

 

It is neoclassical triumphal arch, 25 m high and 24 m wide, decorated with a number of bas-reliefs, statues, and corinthian columns. Bas-reliefs and statues are made of a variety of materials, including marble, bronze, wood, and stucco. Many of such decorations, especially bas-reliefs, are dedicated to major events in the history of Italy and Europe, such as the Battle of Leipzig, the foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the Congress of Vienna. Other decorations have classical mythology subjects such as Mars, Ceres, Minerva, Apollo, and Victoria-Nike. There are also a group of statues that are allegories of major rivers in North Italy such as the Po, the Adige and the Ticino. Notable artists that have collaborated to the decoration of the gate include Pompeo Marchesi, Luigi Acquisti, Grazioso Rusca, Luigi Buzzi Leone, Giovanni Battista Comolli, Luigi Marchesi, Nicola Pirovano, Francesco Peverelli, Benedetto Cacciatori, Giovanni Antonio Labus, Claudio Monti, Gaetano Monti, Camillo Pacetti, Antonio Pasquali, Giovambattista Perabò, Angelo Pizzi, Grazioso Rusca, Girolamo Rusca, and Francesco Somaini.

 

What came immediately to my mind while watching these three photos is the Roman Quadriga on top of the Arch.

Please, note that

ALL the other Quadriga all over the world and particularly in France and Germany are copies of the Roman Quadriga.

 

At the sides of the Arch of Peace there are two minor rectangular buildings that used to be the customs office.

 

References in popular culture

In his novella A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway mentions the Arch of Peace, expressing the belief that its orientation be parallel to those of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile in Paris.

FOR MORE INFORMATIONS:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porta_Sempione

www.aviewoncities.com/milan/arcodellapace.htm

 

FOR THE PLACE:

wikimapia.org/#lang=it&lat=45.478700&lon=9.165173...

 

*************************************************************************************

 

“It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera…

 

they are made with the eye, heart and head.”

 

[Henry Cartier Bresson]

 

*************************************************************************************

  

Please don't use any of my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.

 

© All rights reserved

dont wage war on yourself.

 

Self-harm or deliberate self-harm includes self-injury and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue without suicidal intent. The most common form of self-harm is skin cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviours including burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair pulling (trichotillomania) and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. Behaviours associated with substance abuse and eating disorders are usually not considered self-harm because the resulting tissue damage is ordinarily an unintentional side effect. However, the boundaries are not always clear-cut and in some cases behaviours that usually fall outside the boundaries of self-harm may indeed represent self-harm if performed with explicit intent to cause tissue damage. Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviour may be potentially life-threatening.

  

empty unreal unable to feel [stencil] as used in the talking dirty set

 

Self-harm (SH) or deliberate self-harm (DSH) includes self-injury (SI) and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue without suicidal intent. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology. The older literature, especially that which predates the DSM-IV-TR, almost exclusively refers to self-mutilation. The term is synonymous with "self-injury." The most common form of self-harm is skin cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviours including, but not limited to, burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair pulling (trichotillomania) and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. Behaviours associated with substance abuse and eating disorders are usually not considered self-harm because the resulting tissue damage is ordinarily an unintentional side effect. However, the boundaries are not always clear-cut and in some cases behaviours that usually fall outside the boundaries of self-harm may indeed represent self-harm if performed with explicit intent to cause tissue damage. Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviour may be potentially life-threatening. There is also an increased risk of suicide in individuals who self-harm to the extent that self-harm is found in 40–60% of suicides. However, generalising self-harmers to be suicidal is, in the majority of cases, inaccurate

  

Porta Sempione is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The gate is marked by a landmark triumphal arch called Arco della Pace ("Arch of Peace"), dating back to the 19th century, although its origins can be traced back to a gate of the Roman walls of Milan.

 

It is neoclassical triumphal arch, 25 m high and 24 m wide, decorated with a number of bas-reliefs, statues, and corinthian columns. Bas-reliefs and statues are made of a variety of materials, including marble, bronze, wood, and stucco. Many of such decorations, especially bas-reliefs, are dedicated to major events in the history of Italy and Europe, such as the Battle of Leipzig, the foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the Congress of Vienna. Other decorations have classical mythology.

  

HISTORY

  

A gate that roughly corresponds to modern Porta Sempione was already part of Roman walls of Milan. It was called Porta Giovia and was located at the end of modern Via San Giovanni sul Muro. At the time, the gate was meant to control an important road leading to what is now Castelseprio. Very little remains of the original Roman structure; some Roman tombstones that used to be placed by the outer side of the walls have been employed in the construction of later buildings such as the Basilica of Saint Simplician (located in Corso Garibaldi).

 

In the Middle Ages, part of the Roman walls in the Porta Sempione area was adapted as part of the new walls. The gate itself was moved north, in a place that is now occupied by the Sforza Castle. The Castle itself was completed in the 15th Century, under Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, and the gate itself became part of the Castle.

 

In 1807, under the Napoleonic rule, the Arch of Peace was built by architect Luigi Cagnola. This new gate marked the place where the new Strada del Sempione entered Milan. This road, which is still in use today, connects Milan to Paris through the Simplon Pass crossing the Alps. At the time, the gate was still called Porta Giovia. When the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy fell and Milan was conquered by the Austrian Empire, the gate was not yet completed, and the construction was abandoned for a while.

 

The construction of the Arch was resumed, again by Cagnola, in 1826, for Emperor Francis II, who dedicated the monument to the 1815 Congress of Vienna. When Cagnola died in 1833, his project was taken over by Francesco Londonio and Francesco Peverelli, who brought it to completion in 1838.

 

The gate was the scene of several prominent events in the Milanese history of the 19th century. On 22 March 1848, the Austrian army led by marshal Josef Radetzky escaped from Milan through Porta Giovia after being defeated in the Five Days of Milan rebellion. On 8 June 1859, four days after the Battle of Magenta, Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II of Italy triumphally entered Milan through the gate.

 

SITE AND DECORATION

 

The Foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, bas-relief by Pompeo Marchesi, on the right-hand side of the Arch of Peace

The gate is located at the center of a wide round square known as Piazza Sempione ("Simplon Square"). It is adjacent to Simplon Park, the main city park of Milan, which was designed with the explicit intent of providing panoramic views encompassing both the Arch and the nearby Sforza Castle.

 

At the sides of the Arch of Peace there are two minor rectangular buildings that used to be the customs office [Wikipedia.org]

Porta Sempione ("Simplon Gate") is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The name is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding district (quartiere), a part of the Zone 1 division (the historic city centre), including the major avenue of Corso Sempione. The gate is marked by a landmark triumphal arch called Arco della Pace ("Arch of Peace"), dating back to the 19th century, although its origins can be traced back to a gate of the Roman walls of Milan.

 

The gate

A gate that roughly corresponds to modern Porta Sempione was already part of Roman walls of Milan. It was called Porta Giovia ("Jupiter's Gate") and was located at the end of modern Via San Giovanni sul Muro. At the time, the gate was meant to control an important road leading to what is now Castelseprio. Very little remains of the original Roman structure; some Roman tombstones that used to be placed by the outer side of the walls have been employed in the construction of later buildings such as the Basilica of Saint Simplician (located in Corso Garibaldi).

 

In the Middle Ages, part of the Roman walls in the Porta Sempione area was adapted as part of the new walls. The gate itself was moved north, in a place that is now occupied by the Sforza Castle. The Castle itself was completed in the 15th Century, under Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, and the gate itself became part of the Castle.

 

In 1807, under the Napoleonic rule, the Arch of Peace was built by architect Luigi Cagnola. This new gate marked the place where the new Strada del Sempione entered Milan. This road, which is still in use today, connects Milan to Paris through the Simplon Pass crossing the Alps. At the time, the gate was still called Porta Giovia. When the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy fell and Milan was conquered by the Austrian Empire, the gate was not yet completed, and the construction was abandoned for a while.

 

The construction of the Arch was resumed, again by Cagnola, in 1826, for Emperor Francis II, who dedicated the monument to the 1815 Congress of Vienna. When Cagnola died in 1833, his project was taken over by Francesco Londonio and Francesco Peverelli, who brought it to completion in 1838.

 

The gate was the scene of several prominent events in the Milanese history of the 19th century. On 22 March 1848, the Austrian army led by marshal Josef Radetzky escaped from Milan through Porta Giovia after being defeated in the Five Days of Milan rebellion. On 8 June 1859, four days after the Battle of Magenta, Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II of Italy triumphally entered Milan through the gate.

 

Site and decoration

The gate is located at the center of a wide round square known as Piazza Sempione ("Simplon Square"). It is adjacent to Simplon Park, the main city park of Milan, which was designed with the explicit intent of providing panoramic views encompassing both the Arch and the nearby Sforza Castle.

 

It is neoclassical triumphal arch, 25 m high and 24 m wide, decorated with a number of bas-reliefs, statues, and corinthian columns. Bas-reliefs and statues are made of a variety of materials, including marble, bronze, wood, and stucco. Many of such decorations, especially bas-reliefs, are dedicated to major events in the history of Italy and Europe, such as the Battle of Leipzig, the foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the Congress of Vienna. Other decorations have classical mythology subjects such as Mars, Ceres, Minerva, Apollo, and Victoria-Nike. There are also a group of statues that are allegories of major rivers in North Italy such as the Po, the Adige and the Ticino. Notable artists that have collaborated to the decoration of the gate include Pompeo Marchesi, Luigi Acquisti, Grazioso Rusca, Luigi Buzzi Leone, Giovanni Battista Comolli, Luigi Marchesi, Nicola Pirovano, Francesco Peverelli, Benedetto Cacciatori, Giovanni Antonio Labus, Claudio Monti, Gaetano Monti, Camillo Pacetti, Antonio Pasquali, Giovambattista Perabò, Angelo Pizzi, Grazioso Rusca, Girolamo Rusca, and Francesco Somaini.

 

At the sides of the Arch of Peace there are two minor rectangular buildings that used to be the customs office.

 

References in popular culture

In his novella A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway mentions the Arch of Peace, expressing the belief that its orientation be parallel to those of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile in Paris.

 

The district

The area surrounding Porta Sempione is a prominent historic district of Milan. The district also includes part of Corso Sempione, a large avenue leading to Porta Sempione from the northwest. Some of the most important streets in the area are Via Canonica, Via Luigi Cagnola, Via Abbondio Sangiorgio, Via Mario Pagano, Via Agostino Bertani, Via Antonio Canova, and Via Francesco Melzi d'Eril. Via Melzi d'Eril and Via Antonio Canova form a half circle concentric to Piazza Sempione.

 

The main landmark of the area is the Sforza Castle, which dominates the Simplon Park, the largest and most important city park in the centre of Milan. The park houses other renowned monuments and places of interest, such as the Branca Tower, 108 m high, the Palazzo dell'Arte (one of the seats of the Triennale art expo), sculptures by Giorgio de Chirico, and the public aquarium.

 

The whole area is one of the centres of the Milanese night life, with a number of bars, pubs, restaurants, and discos; since the RAI public television company, as well as some major radio stations, have their headquarters in the area, frequent appearances of celebrities contribute to the popularity of the Sempione's night life venues.

 

Milan is a city in Northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has 3.22 million residents The urban area of Milan is the fourth largest in the EU with 5.27 million inhabitants. According to national sources, the population within the wider Milan metropolitan area (also known as Greater Milan), is estimated between 4.9 million and 7.4 million making it by far the largest metropolitan area in Italy and one of the largest in the EU. Milan is the economic capital of Italy and is a global financial centre. Milan is, together with London, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich and Paris, one of the six European economic capitals.

 

Milan is a leading alpha global city, with strengths in the fields of art, chemicals, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media (communication), services, research and tourism. Its business district hosts Italy's stock exchange (Italian: Borsa Italiana), and the headquarters of national and international banks and companies. In terms of GDP, Milan is the wealthiest city in Italy, has the third-largest economy among EU cities after Paris and Madrid, and is the wealthiest among EU non-capital cities. Milan is viewed along with Turin as the southernmost part of the Blue Banana urban development corridor (also known as the "European Megalopolis"), and one of the Four Motors for Europe. Milan is one of the international tourism destinations, appearing among the forty most visited cities in the world, ranking second in Italy after Rome, fifth in Europe and sixteenth in the world. Milan is a major cultural centre, with museums and art galleries that include some of the most important collections in the world, such as major works by Leonardo da Vinci. It also hosts numerous educational institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total of enrolled students.

 

Founded around 590 BC under the name Medhelanon by a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture, it was conquered by the ancient Romans in 222 BC, who latinized the name of the city into Mediolanum. The city's role as a major political centre dates back to the late antiquity, when it served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire. From the 12th century until the 16th century, Milan was one of the largest European cities and a major trade and commercial centre; consequently, it became the capital of the Duchy of Milan, one of the greatest political, artistic and fashion forces in the Renaissance. Having become one of the main centres of the Italian Enlightenment during the early modern period, the city subsequently became the industrial and financial capital of modern Italy. Capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, after the Restoration it was among the most active centres of the Risorgimento, until its entry into the unified Kingdom of Italy.

 

Milan has been recognized as one of the world's four fashion capitals. Many of the most famous luxury fashion brands in the world have their headquarters in the city, including: Armani, Prada, Versace, Moschino, Valentino and Zegna. It also hosts several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair, which are among the world's biggest in terms of revenue, visitors and growth. The city is served by many luxury hotels and is the fifth-most starred in the world by Michelin Guide. It hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015. In the field of sports, Milan is home to two of Europe's most successful football teams, AC Milan and Inter Milan, and one of Europe's main basketball teams, Olimpia Milano. Milan will host the Winter Olympic and Paralympic games for the first time in 2026, together with Cortina d'Ampezzo.

 

Milan, Italy is an ancient city in northern Italy first settled under the name Medhelanon in about 590 BC by a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture.[1][2] The settlement was conquered by the Romans in 222 BC and renamed it Mediolanum. Diocletian divided the Roman Empire, choosing the eastern half for himself, making Milan the seat of the western half of the empire, from which Maximian ruled, in the late 3rd and early 4th century AD. In 313 AD Emperors Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, which officially ended the persecution of Christians. In 774 AD, Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks.

 

During the Middle Ages, the city's history was the story of the struggle between two political factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Finally the Visconti family took power (signoria) in Milan. In 1395 Emperor Wenceslas made Milan a duchy, thus raising the dignity of the city's citizens. In the mid-15th century the Ambrosian Republic was established, taking its name from St. Ambrose, a beloved patron saint of the city. The two rival factions worked together to create the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. However, the republic fell apart in 1450 when Milan was conquered by Francesco Sforza of the House of Sforza, which ushered Milan into becoming one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.

 

From the late 15th century until the mid 16th century, Milan was involved in The Italian Wars, a series of conflicts, along with most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice and later most of Western Europe. In 1629 The Great Plague of Milan killed about 60,000 people out of a total population of about 130,000, by 1631 when the plague subsided. This event is considered one of the last great outbreaks of what was a pandemic that ravaged Europe for several centuries, beginning with the Black Death. In 1713-1714 treaties gave sovereignty to Austria over most of Spain's Italian possessions, including Lombardy and its capital, Milan. Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, and later declared Milan the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. After Napoleon's occupation ended the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy and Milan to Austrian control in 1815. This is the period when Milan became a center for lyric opera.

 

The Milanese staged a rebellion against Austrian rule on March 18, 1848. The Kingdom of Sardinia joined the rebels, and a vote was held in Lombardy which voted to unify with Sardinia. The Austrians defeated the Sardinians on 24 July and reasserted their domination over Milan and northern Italy. Just a few years later another insurgency by Italian nationalists succeeded in ousting the Austrians with the help of Sardinia and France in 1859. Following the Battle of Solferino Milan and the rest of Lombardy joined the Kingdom of Sardinia, which soon achieved control of most of Italy. In 1861 the re-unified city-states and kingdoms became the Kingdom of Italy once again.

 

With the unification of the country, Milan became the dominant commercial center of northern Italy. In 1919 Benito Mussolini rallied the Blackshirts for the first time in Milan, and later they began their March on Rome from Milan. During World War II Milan was extensively damaged by Allied bombings. Upon the surrender of Italy in 1943 German forces occupied northern Italy until the end of the war in 1945. Members of the Italian resistance in Milan took control of the city and executed Mussolini, his mistress, and other leaders of his Fascist government by hanging in Piazzale Loreto, Milan.

 

Since the end of World War II, Italy experienced an economic boom. From 1951 until 1967 the population of Milan grew from 1.3 million to 1.7 million. The city was reconstructed, but in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the city suffered from a huge wave of street violence, labor strikes and political terrorism during so called Years of Lead. During the 1980s, Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The rise of financial services and the service economy during the late 20th century further strengthened Milan’s position as the Italian economic capital. The city’s renewal in the 21st century was marked, among others, by hosting of the World Expo 2015 or big redevelopment projects such as Puorta Nuova or CityLife.

 

Antiquity

Around 590 BC, a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture settled the city under the name Medhelanon. According to Titus Livy's comments, the city was founded around 600 B.C. by Belloveso, chief of the Insubres. Legend has it that Belloveso found a mythological animal known as the scrofa semilanuta (in Italian: "half-woollen boar") which became the ancient emblem of the city of Milan (from semi-lanuta or medio-lanum). Several ancient sources (including Sidonius Apollinaris, Datius, and, more recently, Andrea Alciato) have argued that the scrofa semilanuta is connected to the etymology of the ancient name of Milan, "Mediolanum", and this is still occasionally mentioned in modern sources, although this interpretation has long been dismissed by scholars. Nonetheless, wool production became a key industry in this area, as recorded during the early Middle Ages (see below).

 

Milan was conquered by the Romans in 222 B.C. due to its strategic position on the northern borders of the Empire and was renamed Mediolanum. When Diocletian decided to divide the Empire in half choosing the Eastern half for himself, Milan became the residence of Maximian, ruler of the Western Roman Empire. The construction of the second city walls, roughly four and a half kilometers long and unfurling at today's Foro Bonaparte, date back to his reign. After the abdication of Maximian (in 305 A.D.) on the same day on which Diocletian also abdicated, there were a series of wars of succession, during which there was a succession of three emperors in just a few short years: first Severus, who prepared the expedition against Maxentius, then Maxentius himself in a war against Constantine, and finally Constantine himself, victor of the war against Maxentius. In 313 A.D. the Emperors Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan (Edict of Constantine), ending the persecutions against Christians.

 

The beginning of the 5th century was the start of a tortuous period of barbarian invasions for Milan. After the city was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence was moved to Ravenna. An age of decadence began which worsened when Attila, King of the Huns, sacked and devastated the city in 452 A.D.

 

Middle Ages

In 539, the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In the summer of 569, a Germanic tribe, the Lombards (from which the name of the Italian region Lombardy derives), conquered Milan, overpowering the small Byzantine army left for its defense. Some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule, but the city was eclipsed by the nearby Lombard capital of Pavia during the next two centuries.

 

Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks in 774. The aristocracy and majority of the clergy had taken refuge in Genoa. In 774, when Charlemagne took the title of "King of the Lombards", he established his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. Before then the Germanic kingdoms had frequently conquered each other, but none had adopted the title of King of another people. The Iron Crown of Lombardy (i.e. referring to Charlemagne's kingdom and not to the Italian region), which was worn by Charlemagne, dates from this period. Milan's domination under the Franks led by Charlemagne did nothing to improve the city's fortune, and the city's impoverishment increased and Milan became a county seat.

 

The 11th century saw a reaction against the control of the Holy Roman Emperors. The city-state was born, an expression of the new political power of the city and its will to fight against feudal overlords. Milan was no exception. It did not take long, however, for the city states to begin fighting each other to try to limit neighbouring powers. The Milanese destroyed Lodi and continuously warred with Pavia, Cremona and Como, who in turn asked Frederick I Barbarossa for help. In a sally, they captured Empress Beatrice and forced her to ride a donkey backwards out through the city. These acts brought the destruction of much of Milan in 1162. A fire destroyed the storehouses containing the entire food supply: and within just a few days Milan was forced to surrender.

 

A period of peace followed and Milan prospered as a centre of trade due to its position. As a result of the independence that the Lombard cities gained in the Peace of Constance in 1183, Milan returned to the commune form of local government first established in the 11th century. In 1208 Rambertino Buvalelli served a term as podestà of the city, in 1242 Luca Grimaldi, and in 1282 Luchetto Gattilusio. The position was a dangerous one: in 1252 Milanese heretics assassinated the Church's Inquisitor, later known as Saint Peter Martyr, at a ford in the nearby contado; the killers bribed their way to freedom, and in the ensuing riot the podestà was almost lynched. In 1256 the archbishop and leading nobles were expelled from the city. In 1259 Martino della Torre was elected Capitano del Popolo by members of the guilds; he took the city by force, expelled his enemies, and ruled by dictatorial powers, paving streets, digging canals, and taxing the countryside. He also brought the Milanese treasury to collapse; the use of often reckless mercenary units further angered the population, granting an increasing support for the della Torre's traditional enemies, the Visconti. The most important industries in this period were armaments and wool production, a whole catalogue of activities and trades is given in Bonvesin della Riva's "de Magnalibus Urbis Mediolani".

 

On 22 July 1262, Ottone Visconti was made archbishop of Milan by Pope Urban IV, against the candidacy of Raimondo della Torre, Bishop of Como. The latter started to publicise allegations that the Visconti had ties to the heretic Cathars and charged them with high treason: the Visconti, who accused the della Torre of the same crimes, were then banned from Milan and their properties confiscated. The ensuing civil war caused more damage to Milan's population and economy, lasting for more than a decade. Ottone Visconti unsuccessfully led a group of exiles against the city in 1263, but after years of escalating violence on all sides, in the Battle of Desio (1277) he won the city for his family. The Visconti succeeded in ousting the della Torre permanently, and proceeded to rule Milan and its possessions until the 15th century.

 

Much of the prior history of Milan was the tale of the struggle between two political factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Most of the time the Guelphs were successful in the city of Milan. Eventually, however, the Visconti family were able to seize power (signoria) in Milan, based on their "Ghibelline" friendship with the Holy Roman Emperors. In 1395, one of these emperors, Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (1378–1400), raised Milan to the dignity of a duchy. Also in 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti became Duke of Milan. The Ghibelline Visconti family was to retain power in Milan for a century and a half from the early 14th century until the middle of the 15th century.

 

In 1447 Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, died without a male heir; following the end of the Visconti line, the Ambrosian Republic was enacted. The Ambrosian Republic took its name from St. Ambrose, popular patron saint of the city of Milan. Both the Guelph and the Ghibelline factions worked together to bring about the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. Nonetheless, the Republic collapsed when, in 1450, Milan was conquered by Francesco Sforza, of the House of Sforza, who made Milan one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.

 

Early modern

The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, and later most of the major states of Western Europe. Milan's last independent ruler, Lodovico Sforza, called French king Charles VIII into Italy in the expectation that France might be an ally in inter-Italian wars. The future King of France, Louis of Orléans, took part in the expedition and realised Italy was virtually defenceless. This prompted him to return a few years later in 1500, and claim the Duchy of Milan for himself, his grandmother having been a member of the ruling Visconti family. At that time, Milan was also defended by Swiss mercenaries. After the victory of Louis's successor Francis I over the Swiss at the Battle of Marignan, the duchy was promised to the French king. When the Habsburg Emperor Charles V defeated Francis I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, northern Italy, including Milan, returned to Francesco II Sforza, passing to Habsburg Spain ten years later on his death and the extinction of the Sforza line.

 

In 1556, Charles V abdicated in favour of his son Philip II and his brother Ferdinand I. Charles's Italian possessions, including Milan, passed to Philip II and remained with the Spanish line of Habsburgs, while Ferdinand's Austrian line of Habsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire.

 

Great Plague of Milan

The Great Plague of Milan in 1629–31 killed an estimated 60,000 people out of a population of 130,000. This episode is considered one of the last outbreaks of the centuries-long pandemic of plague that began with the Black Death.

 

War of the Spanish Succession

In 1700 the Spanish line of Habsburgs was extinguished with the death of Charles II. After his death, the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1701 with the occupation of all Spanish possessions by French troops backing the claim of the French Philippe of Anjou to the Spanish throne. In 1706, the French were defeated at the Battle of Turin and were forced to yield northern Italy to the Austrian Habsburgs. In 1713–1714 the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt formally confirmed Austrian sovereignty over most of Spain's Italian possessions including Lombardy and its capital, Milan.

 

Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, and Milan was declared the capital of the Cisalpine Republic. Later, he declared Milan the capital of the Kingdom of Italy and was crowned in the Duomo. Once Napoleon's occupation ended, the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy, and Milan, along with Veneto, to Austrian control in 1814. During this period, Milan became a centre of lyric opera. Here in the 1770s Mozart had premiered three operas at the Teatro Regio Ducale. Later La Scala became the reference theatre in the world, with its premières of Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi. Verdi himself is interred in the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, his present to Milan. In the 19th century, other important theatres were La Cannobiana and the Teatro Carcano.

 

Wars of the 19th century

On 18 March 1848, the Milanese rebelled against Austrian rule, during the so-called "Five Days" (Italian: Le Cinque Giornate), and Field Marshal Radetzky was forced to withdraw from the city temporarily. The Kingdom of Sardinia stepped in to help the insurgents; a plebiscite held in Lombardy decided in favour of unification with Sardinia. However, after defeating the Sardinian forces at Custoza on 24 July, Radetzky was able to reassert Austrian control over Milan and northern Italy. A few years on, however, Italian nationalists again called for the removal of Austria and Italian unification, with riots consuming the city in 1853. In 1859 Sardinia and France formed an alliance and defeated Austria at the Battle of Solferino. Following this battle, Milan and the rest of Lombardy were incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia, which soon gained control of most of Italy and in 1861 was rechristened as the Kingdom of Italy.

 

Early industrialization

The political unification of Italy cemented Milan's commercial dominance over northern Italy. It also led to a flurry of railway construction that had started under Austrian patronage (Venice–Milan; Milan–Monza) that made Milan the rail hub of northern Italy. Thereafter with the opening of the Gotthard (1881) and Simplon (1906) railway tunnels, Milan became the major South European rail focus for business and passenger movements e.g. the Simplon Orient Express. Rapid industrialization and market expansion put Milan at the centre of Italy's leading industrial region, including extensive stone quarries that have led to much of the air pollution we see today in the region. In the 1890s, Milan was shaken by the Bava-Beccaris massacre, a riot related to a high inflation rate. Meanwhile, as Milanese banks dominated Italy's financial sphere, the city became the country's leading financial centre.

 

Late modern and contemporary

In 1919, Benito Mussolini's Blackshirts rallied for the first time in Piazza San Sepolcro and later began their March on Rome in Milan. During the Second World War Milan suffered extensive damage from Allied bombings.[18] When Italy surrendered in 1943, German forces occupied most of Northern Italy until 1945. As a result, resistance groups formed. As the war came to an end, the American 1st Armored Division advanced on Milan – but before they arrived, the resistance seized control of the city and executed Mussolini along with several members of his government. On 29 April 1945, the corpses of Mussolini, his mistress Clara Petacci and other Fascist leaders were hanged in Piazzale Loreto.

 

During the post-war economic boom, a large wave of internal migration (especially from rural areas of Southern Italy), moved to Milan. The population grew from 1.3 million in 1951 to 1.7 million in 1967. During this period, Milan was largely reconstructed, with the building of several innovative and modernist skyscrapers, such as the Torre Velasca and the Pirelli Tower. The economic prosperity was however overshadowed in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the so-called Years of Lead, when Milan witnessed an unprecedented wave of street violence, labour strikes and political terrorism. The apex of this period of turmoil occurred on 12 December 1969, when a bomb exploded at the National Agrarian Bank in Piazza Fontana, killing seventeen people and injuring eighty-eight.

 

In the 1980s, with the international success of Milanese houses (like Armani, Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana), Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The city saw also a marked rise in international tourism, notably from America and Japan, while the stock exchange increased its market capitalisation more than five-fold. This period led the mass media to nickname the metropolis "Milano da bere", literally "Milan to drink". However, in the 1990s, Milan was badly affected by Tangentopoli, a political scandal in which many politicians and businessmen were tried for corruption. The city was also affected by a severe financial crisis and a steady decline in textiles, automobile, and steel production.

 

In the early 21st century, Milan underwent a series of sweeping redevelopments. Its exhibition centre moved to a much larger site in Rho. New business districts such as Porta Nuova and CityLife were constructed. With the decline in manufacturing, the city has sought to develop on its other sources of revenue, including publishing, finance, banking, fashion design, information technology, logistics, transport, and tourism. In addition, the city's decades-long population decline seems to have come to an end in recent years, with signs of recovery as it grew by seven percent since the last census.

Self-harm (SH) or deliberate self-harm (DSH) includes self-injury (SI) and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue most often done without suicidal intentions. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology. The older literature, especially that which predates the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), almost exclusively refers to self-mutilation. The term is synonymous with "self-injury".

The most common form of self-harm is skin-cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviors including, but not limited to, burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair-pulling (trichotillomania) and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. Behaviours associated with substance abuse and eating disorders are usually not considered self-harm because the resulting tissue damage is ordinarily an unintentional side effect. However, the boundaries are not always clearly defined and in some cases behaviours that usually fall outside the boundaries of self-harm may indeed represent self-harm if performed with explicit intent to cause tissue damage. Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviour may be potentially life-threatening. There is also an increased risk of suicide in individuals who self-harm to the extent that self-harm is found in 40–60% of suicides. However, generalising self-harmers to be suicidal is, in the majority of cases, inaccurate.

Self-harm is listed in the DSM-IV-TR as a symptom of borderline personality disorder. However patients with other diagnoses may also self-harm, including those with depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and several personality disorders. Self-harm is also apparent in high-functioning individuals who have no underlying clinical diagnosis. The motivations for self-harm vary and it may be used to fulfill a number of different functions. These functions include self-harm being used as a coping mechanism which provides temporary relief of intense feelings such as anxiety, depression, stress, emotional numbness or a sense of failure or self-loathing and other mental traits including low self-esteem or perfectionism. Self-harm is often associated with a history of trauma and abuse, including emotional and sexual abuse. There are a number of different methods that can be used to treat self-harm and which concentrate on either treating the underlying causes or on treating the behaviour itself. When self-harm is associated with depression, antidepressant drugs and treatments may be effective. Other approaches involve avoidance techniques, which focus on keeping the individual occupied with other activities, or replacing the act of self-harm with safer methods that do not lead to permanent damage.

Self-harm is most common in adolescence and young adulthood, usually first appearing between the ages of 12 and 24. Self-harm in childhood is relatively rare but the rate has been increasing since the 1980s. However, self-harm behaviour can nevertheless occur at any age, including in the elderly population. The risk of serious injury and suicide is higher in older people who self-harm

Porta Sempione is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The gate is marked by a landmark triumphal arch called Arco della Pace ("Arch of Peace"), dating back to the 19th century, although its origins can be traced back to a gate of the Roman walls of Milan.

 

It is neoclassical triumphal arch, 25 m high and 24 m wide, decorated with a number of bas-reliefs, statues, and corinthian columns. Bas-reliefs and statues are made of a variety of materials, including marble, bronze, wood, and stucco. Many of such decorations, especially bas-reliefs, are dedicated to major events in the history of Italy and Europe, such as the Battle of Leipzig, the foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the Congress of Vienna. Other decorations have classical mythology.

  

HISTORY

  

A gate that roughly corresponds to modern Porta Sempione was already part of Roman walls of Milan. It was called Porta Giovia and was located at the end of modern Via San Giovanni sul Muro. At the time, the gate was meant to control an important road leading to what is now Castelseprio. Very little remains of the original Roman structure; some Roman tombstones that used to be placed by the outer side of the walls have been employed in the construction of later buildings such as the Basilica of Saint Simplician (located in Corso Garibaldi).

 

In the Middle Ages, part of the Roman walls in the Porta Sempione area was adapted as part of the new walls. The gate itself was moved north, in a place that is now occupied by the Sforza Castle. The Castle itself was completed in the 15th Century, under Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, and the gate itself became part of the Castle.

 

In 1807, under the Napoleonic rule, the Arch of Peace was built by architect Luigi Cagnola. This new gate marked the place where the new Strada del Sempione entered Milan. This road, which is still in use today, connects Milan to Paris through the Simplon Pass crossing the Alps. At the time, the gate was still called Porta Giovia. When the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy fell and Milan was conquered by the Austrian Empire, the gate was not yet completed, and the construction was abandoned for a while.

 

The construction of the Arch was resumed, again by Cagnola, in 1826, for Emperor Francis II, who dedicated the monument to the 1815 Congress of Vienna. When Cagnola died in 1833, his project was taken over by Francesco Londonio and Francesco Peverelli, who brought it to completion in 1838.

 

The gate was the scene of several prominent events in the Milanese history of the 19th century. On 22 March 1848, the Austrian army led by marshal Josef Radetzky escaped from Milan through Porta Giovia after being defeated in the Five Days of Milan rebellion. On 8 June 1859, four days after the Battle of Magenta, Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II of Italy triumphally entered Milan through the gate.

 

SITE AND DECORATION

 

The Foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, bas-relief by Pompeo Marchesi, on the right-hand side of the Arch of Peace

The gate is located at the center of a wide round square known as Piazza Sempione ("Simplon Square"). It is adjacent to Simplon Park, the main city park of Milan, which was designed with the explicit intent of providing panoramic views encompassing both the Arch and the nearby Sforza Castle.

 

At the sides of the Arch of Peace there are two minor rectangular buildings that used to be the customs office [Wikipedia.org]

Self-harm (SH) or deliberate self-harm (DSH) includes self-injury (SI) and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue most often done without suicidal intentions. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology. The older literature, especially that which predates the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), almost exclusively refers to self-mutilation. The term is synonymous with "self-injury". The most common form of self-harm is skin-cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviors including, but not limited to, burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair-pulling (trichotillomania) and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. Behaviours associated with substance abuse and eating disorders are usually not considered self-harm because the resulting tissue damage is ordinarily an unintentional side effect. However, the boundaries are not always clearly defined and in some cases behaviours that usually fall outside the boundaries of self-harm may indeed represent self-harm if performed with explicit intent to cause tissue damage. Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviour may be potentially life-threatening. There is also an increased risk of suicide in individuals who self-harm to the extent that self-harm is found in 40–60% of suicides. However, generalising self-harmers to be suicidal is, in the majority of cases, inaccurate. Self-harm is listed in the DSM-IV-TR as a symptom of borderline personality disorder. However patients with other diagnoses may also self-harm, including those with depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and several personality disorders. Self-harm is also apparent in high-functioning individuals who have no underlying clinical diagnosis. The motivations for self-harm vary and it may be used to fulfill a number of different functions. These functions include self-harm being used as a coping mechanism which provides temporary relief of intense feelings such as anxiety, depression, stress, emotional numbness or a sense of failure or self-loathing and other mental traits including low self-esteem or perfectionism. Self-harm is often associated with a history of trauma and abuse, including emotional and sexual abuse. There are a number of different methods that can be used to treat self-harm and which concentrate on either treating the underlying causes or on treating the behaviour itself. When self-harm is associated with depression, antidepressant drugs and treatments may be effective. Other approaches involve avoidance techniques, which focus on keeping the individual occupied with other activities, or replacing the act of self-harm with safer methods that do not lead to permanent damage.

Self-harm (SH) or deliberate self-harm (DSH) includes self-injury (SI) and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue most often done without suicidal intentions. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology. The older literature, especially that which predates the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), almost exclusively refers to self-mutilation. The term is synonymous with "self-injury". The most common form of self-harm is skin-cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviors including, but not limited to, burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair-pulling (trichotillomania) and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. Behaviours associated with substance abuse and eating disorders are usually not considered self-harm because the resulting tissue damage is ordinarily an unintentional side effect. However, the boundaries are not always clearly defined and in some cases behaviours that usually fall outside the boundaries of self-harm may indeed represent self-harm if performed with explicit intent to cause tissue damage. Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviour may be potentially life-threatening. There is also an increased risk of suicide in individuals who self-harm to the extent that self-harm is found in 40–60% of suicides. However, generalising self-harmers to be suicidal is, in the majority of cases, inaccurate. Self-harm is listed in the DSM-IV-TR as a symptom of borderline personality disorder. However patients with other diagnoses may also self-harm, including those with depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and several personality disorders. Self-harm is also apparent in high-functioning individuals who have no underlying clinical diagnosis. The motivations for self-harm vary and it may be used to fulfill a number of different functions. These functions include self-harm being used as a coping mechanism which provides temporary relief of intense feelings such as anxiety, depression, stress, emotional numbness or a sense of failure or self-loathing and other mental traits including low self-esteem or perfectionism. Self-harm is often associated with a history of trauma and abuse, including emotional and sexual abuse. There are a number of different methods that can be used to treat self-harm and which concentrate on either treating the underlying causes or on treating the behaviour itself. When self-harm is associated with depression, antidepressant drugs and treatments may be effective. Other approaches involve avoidance techniques, which focus on keeping the individual occupied with other activities, or replacing the act of self-harm with safer methods that do not lead to permanent damage.

Self-harm (SH) or deliberate self-harm (DSH) includes self-injury (SI) and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue most often done without suicidal intentions. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology. The older literature, especially that which predates the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), almost exclusively refers to self-mutilation. The term is synonymous with "self-injury". The most common form of self-harm is skin-cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviors including, but not limited to, burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair-pulling (trichotillomania) and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. Behaviours associated with substance abuse and eating disorders are usually not considered self-harm because the resulting tissue damage is ordinarily an unintentional side effect. However, the boundaries are not always clearly defined and in some cases behaviours that usually fall outside the boundaries of self-harm may indeed represent self-harm if performed with explicit intent to cause tissue damage. Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviour may be potentially life-threatening. There is also an increased risk of suicide in individuals who self-harm to the extent that self-harm is found in 40–60% of suicides. However, generalising self-harmers to be suicidal is, in the majority of cases, inaccurate. Self-harm is listed in the DSM-IV-TR as a symptom of borderline personality disorder. However patients with other diagnoses may also self-harm, including those with depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and several personality disorders. Self-harm is also apparent in high-functioning individuals who have no underlying clinical diagnosis. The motivations for self-harm vary and it may be used to fulfill a number of different functions. These functions include self-harm being used as a coping mechanism which provides temporary relief of intense feelings such as anxiety, depression, stress, emotional numbness or a sense of failure or self-loathing and other mental traits including low self-esteem or perfectionism. Self-harm is often associated with a history of trauma and abuse, including emotional and sexual abuse. There are a number of different methods that can be used to treat self-harm and which concentrate on either treating the underlying causes or on treating the behaviour itself. When self-harm is associated with depression, antidepressant drugs and treatments may be effective. Other approaches involve avoidance techniques, which focus on keeping the individual occupied with other activities, or replacing the act of self-harm with safer methods that do not lead to permanent damage.

Self-harm (SH) or deliberate self-harm (DSH) includes self-injury (SI) and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue most often done without suicidal intentions. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology. The older literature, especially that which predates the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), almost exclusively refers to self-mutilation. The term is synonymous with "self-injury". The most common form of self-harm is skin-cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviors including, but not limited to, burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair-pulling (trichotillomania) and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. Behaviours associated with substance abuse and eating disorders are usually not considered self-harm because the resulting tissue damage is ordinarily an unintentional side effect. However, the boundaries are not always clearly defined and in some cases behaviours that usually fall outside the boundaries of self-harm may indeed represent self-harm if performed with explicit intent to cause tissue damage. Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviour may be potentially life-threatening. There is also an increased risk of suicide in individuals who self-harm to the extent that self-harm is found in 40–60% of suicides. However, generalising self-harmers to be suicidal is, in the majority of cases, inaccurate. Self-harm is listed in the DSM-IV-TR as a symptom of borderline personality disorder. However patients with other diagnoses may also self-harm, including those with depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and several personality disorders. Self-harm is also apparent in high-functioning individuals who have no underlying clinical diagnosis. The motivations for self-harm vary and it may be used to fulfill a number of different functions. These functions include self-harm being used as a coping mechanism which provides temporary relief of intense feelings such as anxiety, depression, stress, emotional numbness or a sense of failure or self-loathing and other mental traits including low self-esteem or perfectionism. Self-harm is often associated with a history of trauma and abuse, including emotional and sexual abuse. There are a number of different methods that can be used to treat self-harm and which concentrate on either treating the underlying causes or on treating the behaviour itself. When self-harm is associated with depression, antidepressant drugs and treatments may be effective. Other approaches involve avoidance techniques, which focus on keeping the individual occupied with other activities, or replacing the act of self-harm with safer methods that do not lead to permanent damage.

  

Self-harm (SH) or deliberate self-harm (DSH) includes self-injury (SI) and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue without suicidal intent. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology. The older literature, especially that which predates the DSM-IV-TR, almost exclusively refers to self-mutilation. The term is synonymous with "self-injury." The most common form of self-harm is skin cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviours including, but not limited to, burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair pulling (trichotillomania) and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. Behaviours associated with substance abuse and eating disorders are usually not considered self-harm because the resulting tissue damage is ordinarily an unintentional side effect. However, the boundaries are not always clear-cut and in some cases behaviours that usually fall outside the boundaries of self-harm may indeed represent self-harm if performed with explicit intent to cause tissue damage. Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviour may be potentially life-threatening. There is also an increased risk of suicide in individuals who self-harm to the extent that self-harm is found in 40–60% of suicides. However, generalising self-harmers to be suicidal is, in the majority of cases, inaccurate

  

Self-harm (SH) or deliberate self-harm (DSH) includes self-injury (SI) and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue most often done without suicidal intentions. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology. The older literature, especially that which predates the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), almost exclusively refers to self-mutilation. The term is synonymous with "self-injury". The most common form of self-harm is skin-cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviors including, but not limited to, burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair-pulling (trichotillomania) and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. Behaviours associated with substance abuse and eating disorders are usually not considered self-harm because the resulting tissue damage is ordinarily an unintentional side effect. However, the boundaries are not always clearly defined and in some cases behaviours that usually fall outside the boundaries of self-harm may indeed represent self-harm if performed with explicit intent to cause tissue damage. Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviour may be potentially life-threatening. There is also an increased risk of suicide in individuals who self-harm to the extent that self-harm is found in 40–60% of suicides. However, generalising self-harmers to be suicidal is, in the majority of cases, inaccurate. Self-harm is listed in the DSM-IV-TR as a symptom of borderline personality disorder. However patients with other diagnoses may also self-harm, including those with depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and several personality disorders. Self-harm is also apparent in high-functioning individuals who have no underlying clinical diagnosis. The motivations for self-harm vary and it may be used to fulfill a number of different functions. These functions include self-harm being used as a coping mechanism which provides temporary relief of intense feelings such as anxiety, depression, stress, emotional numbness or a sense of failure or self-loathing and other mental traits including low self-esteem or perfectionism. Self-harm is often associated with a history of trauma and abuse, including emotional and sexual abuse. There are a number of different methods that can be used to treat self-harm and which concentrate on either treating the underlying causes or on treating the behaviour itself. When self-harm is associated with depression, antidepressant drugs and treatments may be effective. Other approaches involve avoidance techniques, which focus on keeping the individual occupied with other activities, or replacing the act of self-harm with safer methods that do not lead to permanent damage.

Knowledge of the Accused of Crimes Committed in Sierra Leone.

126. The Accused testified that prior to becoming President, he was not following

whether crimes were committed by the RUF in Sierra Leone. The Trial Chamber found

that the relationship of the Accused with the RUF from 1989 until he became President

was much closer than he admitted. The Accused knew that during the early war years in

Sierra Leone, RUF soldiers, under the command of NPFL officers, abducted civilians

including children, forcing them to fight within the NPFL/RUF forces against the Sierra

Leonean forces and ULIMO. Moreover, the Accused was aware that the RUF captured

civilians and looted money during the attack on Sierra Rutile, and he advised Sankoh on

the use of the hostages and the money.

127. The Accused testified that, upon becoming President, he received a daily briefing

from his national security advisor, which would include press and intelligence reports.

Also, following his election, the Accused joined the ECOWAS Committee of Five and

would therefore have received and read ECOWAS reports. The numerous reports

prepared in 1997 by ECOWAS and the United Nations agencies establish that, as early as

May 1997, the crimes committed by the Junta were significantly reported by these

international organisations. In a report of June 1997, the United Nations Department of

Humanitarian Affairs reported killings of civilians, amputations and looting in Sierra

Leone. An ECOWAS report of the Committee of Four on the situation in Sierra Leone, in

August 1997, described the “massive looting of property, murder and rapes” following

the coup on 25 May 1997. The final report of the sixteenth meeting of ECOWAS Chiefs

of State in Abuja, Nigeria, in August 1997, a meeting in which the Liberian

representative participated, also described “a very bloody coup, followed by massive

looting and vandalisation of public and private properties and the opening of the prisons

by the junta”. In a speech to the Nation on 18 June 1997, the RUF forces themselves

32

apologised for the atrocities they had committed in Sierra Leone, including killings and

rapes.

128. Following the coup, on 29 August 1997 ECOWAS decided to place a total

embargo on all supplies of petroleum products, arms and military equipment to Sierra

Leone. Similarly, on 8 October 1997, the United Nations Security Council decided to

impose an embargo on arms and ammunitions to Sierra Leone. These embargos clearly

indicate that, at the very latest by August 1997, the Junta was perceived by the

international community as a threat to peace and it was recognized that military support

could facilitate the commission of the crimes described above.

129. The Accused was evasive in his testimony as to what and when he knew about the

crimes being committed in Sierra Leone. In light of these contemporary reports, and

considering the fact that the Accused received daily briefings from his national security

advisor about the international situation and was a member of the ECOWAS Committee

of Five, the Trial Chamber finds that as early as August 1997, Charles Taylor was

informed in detail of the crimes committed during the Junta period including murder,

abduction of civilians including children, rape, amputation and looting.

130. After 1997, the media coverage of the AFRC/RUF’s crimes and terror campaign

against the Sierra Leonean civilian population increased. Many reports and articles by

International Organisations, Non Governmental Organisations and newspapers admitted

into evidence describe the atrocities committed by the AFRC/RUF troops after the

ECOMOG Intervention and the end of the Junta Government. These public reports

demonstrate that at that time, it was public knowledge that AFRC/RUF forces committed

the following crimes: unlawful killings, sexual violence, physical violence, looting,

conscription and use of child soldiers, abduction, terrorism, and other atrocities.

131. The Accused himself admitted that by April 1998 if “someone was providing

support to the AFRC/RUF”, he “would be supporting a group engaged in a campaign of

atrocities against the civilian population of Sierra Leone”. At that time, as the Accused

testified, there were news reports of a “horrific campaign being waged against the civilian

population in Sierra Leone.” In a statement dated July 1998, the Accused “strongly

33

condemned the continuing rebel activities in Sierra Leone, as well as the horrendous

atrocities that had been committed there.”

132. Based on this evidence, and the testimony of the Accused himself, the Trial

Chamber finds that the Accused was aware of the crimes committed by RUF/AFRC

forces against civilians, including murder, abduction of civilian including children, rape,

amputation and looting, as early as August 1997 when he became President of Liberia.

Summary of Legal Findings

133. The Indictment charges the Accused with individual criminal responsibility

pursuant to Article 6.1 of the Statute for the crimes referred to in Articles 2, 3 and 4 of

the Statute alleged in the Indictment. The Trial Chamber has found that the crimes

charged under Counts 1 to 11 of the Indictment were committed and now turns to the

responsibility of the Accused for these crimes.

Responsibility Pursuant to Article 6(3) of the Statute

134. The Indictment charges that the Accused is individually criminally responsible for

the crimes referred to in Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Statute as alleged in the Indictment by

virtue of holding positions of superior responsibility and exercising command and control

over subordinate members of the RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance, and/or

Liberian fighters. It is alleged that the Accused is responsible for the criminal acts of his

subordinates in that he knew or had reason to know that the subordinate was about to

commit such acts or had done so and the Accused failed to take the necessary and

reasonable measures to prevent such acts or to punish the perpetrators thereof.

135. The Accused denies criminal responsibility based on a superior/subordinate

relationship with the perpetrators of the crimes.

136. Article 6(3) holds a superior criminally responsible if the superior knew or had

reason to know that his or her subordinate was about to commit crimes prohibited by the

Statute or had done so, and the superior failed to take the necessary and reasonable

measures to prevent or punish the perpetrators. It must thus be demonstrated that the

34

superior had effective “command and control” over his subordinates – i.e. the material

ability to prevent or punish the commission of the offence.

137. The Trial Chamber is of the view that the Accused had substantial influence over

the leadership of the RUF, and to a lesser extent that of the AFRC. However, that

substantial influence over the conduct of others fell short of “effective command and

control” as demonstrated by the evidence.

138. The evidence establishes that from 1990 to March 1997 Sankoh was the sole

leader of the RUF and that he did not take orders from the Accused. When Sankoh was

arrested in March 1997 he appointed Bockarie to lead the RUF and instructed him to take

direction from the Accused.

139. The Trial Chamber finds that the Accused gave guidance, advice and direction to

Bockarie and to his successor, Issa Sesay, but that the evidence does not establish that

either of them was a subordinate of the Accused, nor that the Accused had effective

command and control over the RUF during their respective tenures. Similarly, the Trial

Chamber finds that the Accused gave guidance, advice and direction to Johnny Paul

Koroma when he was leader of the AFRC/RUF Junta, but the evidence does not establish

that he was a subordinate of the Accused, nor that the Accused had effective command

and control over the AFRC/RUF Junta.

140. With regard to Liberian fighters who were found to have participated in the

commission of crimes, the Trial Chamber finds that even if they were sent to Sierra

Leone by the Accused, there is insufficient evidence to find beyond a reasonable doubt

that they remained under the effective command and control of the Accused once in

Sierra Leone.

141. The Trial Chamber accordingly finds that the Prosecution failed to prove beyond

reasonable doubt that the Accused is individually criminally responsible under Article

6(3) for the crimes referred to in Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Statute as alleged in the

Indictment.

35

Joint Criminal Enterprise

142. The Indictment charges the Accused with the crimes referred to in Articles 2, 3

and 4 of the Statute as alleged in the Indictment, which crimes amounted to or were

involved within a common plan, design or purpose in which the Accused participated, or

were a reasonably foreseeable consequence of such common plan, design or purpose.

143. As discussed earlier, the Trial Chamber found that the Prosecution failed to prove

that any of the three alleged meetings in Libya, Burkina Faso and Voinjama, where the

common plan is said to have been established, took place. Furthermore, while the Trial

Chamber found that the Accused provided significant operational and military support to

the RUF, particularly after he became President of Liberia, the evidence does not

establish that this support was provided pursuant to a common plan in the context of a

joint criminal enterprise.

144. Accordingly, the Trial Chamber finds that the Prosecution has failed to prove

beyond a reasonable doubt that the Accused is criminally responsible by virtue of having

participated in a common plan, design or purpose to commit the crimes alleged in the

Indictment.

Responsibility under Article 6(1) for Aiding and Abetting

145. The Indictment charges that the Accused, by his acts or omissions, is individually

criminally responsible pursuant to Article 6.1 of the Statute for (inter alia) aiding and

abetting the planning, preparation or execution of the crimes referred to in Articles 2, 3

and 4 of the Statute as alleged in the Indictment.

146. The Prosecution submits that in providing practical assistance, encouragement, or

moral support, the Accused’s acts had a substantial effect on the perpetration of the

crimes charged in the Indictment, and that he had a clear intent to act in support of those

crimes.

147. The Defence denies that the Accused is responsible for aiding and abetting the

commission of any of the crimes charged in the Indictment.

36

148. “Aiding and abetting” requires that the accused gave practical assistance,

encouragement, or moral support which had a substantial effect on the perpetration of a

crime.

149. The Trial Chamber finds beyond reasonable doubt that the Accused provided

arms and ammunition, military personnel, operational support, moral support and

ongoing guidance to the RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance, and Liberian fighters

for military operations during the Indictment period.

Commission of crimes intrinsic to the RUF/AFRC’s war strategy.

150. Before turning to the various forms of assistance provided by the Accused, the

Trial Chamber considered the RUF/AFRC’s war strategy. Throughout the Indictment

period, the operational strategy of the RUF and AFRC was characterised by a campaign

of crimes against the Sierra Leonean civilian population, including murders, rapes,

sexual slavery, looting, abductions, forced labor, conscription of child soldiers,

amputations and other forms of physical violence and acts of terror. These crimes were

inextricably linked to how the RUF and AFRC achieved their political and military

objectives. In particular, under the leadership of Sam Bockarie, the RUF and AFRC

pursued a policy of committing crimes in order to achieve military gains at any civilian

cost, and also politically in order to attract the attention of the international community

and to heighten their negotiating stance with the Sierra Leonean government. That their

operations were given titles such as “Operation No Living Thing”, and “Operation Spare

No Soul” made explicit the intent of the RUF and AFRC to wage a campaign of terror

against civilians as part of their war strategy.

151. The findings of the Trial Chamber as to the various forms of assistance provided

by the Accused are as follows.

Arms and Ammunition

152. During the Indictment period, the Accused directly or through intermediaries

supplied or facilitated the supply of arms and ammunition to the RUF/AFRC. The

Accused sent small but regular supplies of arms and ammunition and other supplies to the

37

RUF from late 1997 to 1998 via his subordinates, and substantial amounts of arms and

ammunition to the AFRC/RUF from 1998 to 2001. The Accused facilitated much larger

shipments of arms and ammunition from third party states to the AFRC/RUF, including

the Magburaka shipment of October 1997 and the Burkina Faso shipment of

November/December 1998.

153. Also during the Indictment period, these arms and ammunition were used by the

RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance, and Liberian fighters in military operations,

including the Junta mining operations at Tongo Fields prior to the ECOMOG

Intervention, “Operation Pay Yourself” and subsequent offensives in Kono District in

1998, and in the Freetown invasion in January 1999, and attacks on the outskirts of

Freetown and the Western Area in late January to early February 1999. These operations

involved widespread or systematic attacks on the civilian population and the commission

of crimes. The Trial Chamber finds that the provision and facilitation of these arms and

ammunition constituted practical assistance which had a substantial effect on the

perpetration of crimes by the RUF and RUF/AFRC during the Indictment period.

Military Personnel

154. The Accused also provided military personnel to the RUF/AFRC. The Accused

provided a group of 20 ex-NPFL fighters who had been integrated into the AFL. These

20 fighters fought in Karina and Kamalo in Bombali District in August/September 1998

as part of a group of 200 fighters. These 20 fighters were later on incorporated into the

Red Lion Battalion, which comprised of 200 fighters. The Red Lion Battalion was part of

a group of 1,000 fighters who participated in the invasion of Freetown and committed

crimes during the course of military operations in December 1998/January 1999.

155. The Accused reorganized, armed and sent former SLA fighters and Sierra

Leonean civilians who had retreated to Liberia back to Sierra Leone to fight in the Kono

and Freetown operation, and these men fought in the Kono operation in December 1998.

38

156. Moreover, the Accused sent Abu Keita and 150 fighters as reinforcements known

as the Scorpion Unit, who participated in the attack on Kono and Kenema Districts in late

1998/early 1999.

157. The Trial Chamber finds that the practical assistance provided by these military

personnel sent by the Accused had a substantial effect on the commission of crimes by

the RUF/AFRC during the course of military operations.

Operational Support

158. In the pre-Indictment period, NPFL radio operators and equipment were sent to

Sierra Leone, and RUF fighters were trained by the NPFL radio operators in radio

communications, with the knowledge of the Accused. The RUF continued to benefit into

the Indictment period from the enhanced communications capacity that resulted from this

assistance. However, as the acts of the Accused took place prior to the Indictment period,

the Trial Chamber has not taken them into account in determining criminal responsibility.

159. The Trial Chamber found that the Accused also provided operational support to

the RUF/AFRC during the Indictment period, including giving Sam Bockarie and Issa

Sesay satellite phones, and facilitating communications for the RUF through the NPFL’s

own communications network; providing the RUF/AFRC access to radio

communications equipment in Liberia; allowing the use of the radio station at Benjamin

Yeaten’s home for communications with Bockarie and later Sesay; and the transmission

of “448 messages” to RUF forces warning them of impending ECOMOG jet attacks,

which the Accused must have known about. This communications support provided

practical assistance to the RUF/AFRC for the crimes committed during the course of their

military operations throughout the Indictment period.

160. The Accused also provided financial support to the RUF/AFRC, including funds

to Bockarie of $10,000 to $20,000 at a time, on multiple occasions for the purchase of

arms from ULIMO. The Accused also kept diamonds and money in “safekeeping” for the

RUF/AFRC.

39

161. The Accused also provided a guesthouse to the RUF in Monrovia, which was

used by the RUF to facilitate the transfer of arms and funds from the Accused to the RUF

and the delivery of diamonds from the RUF to the Accused. The Trial Chamber

considers that the provision of the RUF guesthouse by the Accused, as a base of

operation for procurement and a way station for the transport of arms and ammunition,

provided practical assistance to the RUF/AFRC for the commission of crimes committed

during the course of military operations.

162. The Accused provided other forms of support to the RUF/AFRC, including the

provision of security escorts, facilitation of access through checkpoints, assistance with

transport of arms and ammunition by road and by air, safe haven and medical support for

treatment of wounded RUF fighters in Liberia, as well as provision of goods such as

food, clothing, cigarettes, alcohol and other supplies to the RUF. The Accused also sent

“herbalists” who marked fighters in Buedu and Kono to “protect” them against bullets

and bolster their confidence. Liberian forces also assisted the RUF/AFRC with the

capture and return of deserters to Sierra Leone.

163. The provision of such support, in addition to the military support provided,

constituted practical assistance to the RUF/AFRC which had a substantial effect on the

commission of crimes committed during the course of military operations.

Encouragement and Moral Support

164. The Trial Chamber has considered the ongoing communication and consultation

between the Accused and the RUF/AFRC leadership, and the ongoing advice and

encouragement that the Accused provided to the RUF/AFRC. He advised Sankoh to

participate in the Abidjan peace talks in 1996 in order to obtain arms and ammunition for

the RUF. He instructed the RUF to open a training base in Bunumbu in 1998, and to

construct an airfield in Buedu. He instructed the AFRC/RUF to capture Kono, and

subsequently advised them to hold and re-capture it, as a source of revenue through

diamonds that could be used to secure arms and ammunition. The Trial Chamber has

taken into account the position of authority of the Accused as an elder statesman and as

President of Liberia, the deference that was accorded to him by the RUF/AFRC

40

leadership and their reliance on his guidance, and the fact that his advice was generally

heeded by them.

165. Taken cumulatively, and having regard to the military support provided by the

Accused to the RUF/AFRC, the Trial Chamber finds that the practical assistance,

encouragement and moral support provided by the Accused had a substantial effect on

the commission of crimes by the RUF/AFRC during the course of military operations in

Sierra Leone.

The Accused

166. The essential mental element required for aiding and abetting is that the accused

knew that his acts would assist the commission of the crime by the perpetrator or that he

was aware of the substantial likelihood that his acts would assist the commission of a

crime by the perpetrator. In cases of specific intent crimes, such as acts of terrorism, the

accused must also be aware of the specific intent of the perpetrator.

167. As discussed earlier, the Trial Chamber is satisfied that as of August 1997, the

Accused knew of the atrocities being committed against civilians in Sierra Leone by the

RUF/AFRC forces and of their propensity to commit crimes. Notwithstanding such

knowledge, the Accused continued to provide support to the RUF and RUF/AFRC forces

during the period that crimes were being committed in Sierra Leone. The Trial Chamber

therefore finds beyond reasonable doubt that the Accused knew that his support to the

RUF/AFRC would provide practical assistance, encouragement or moral support to them

in the commission of crimes during the course of their military operations in Sierra

Leone.

Conclusion

168. For the foregoing reasons, the Trial Chamber finds beyond reasonable doubt that

the Accused is criminally responsible pursuant to Article 6(1) of the Statute for aiding

and abetting the commission of the crimes set forth in Counts 1 to 11 of the Indictment.

41

Planning

The Accused is charged with individual criminal responsibility pursuant to Article 6.1 of

the Statute for (inter alia) planning the crimes referred to in Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the

Statute as alleged in the Indictment.

169. The Prosecution submits that the Accused, acting jointly with RUF, AFRC and

Liberian subordinates, designed or organised the commission of crimes, at both the

preparatory and execution phases, by designing a strategy for the AFRC Junta, the RUF

and AFRC forces, including selecting strategic areas to attack and control, such as Kono

and the capital Freetown, and organizing the delivery of arms and ammunition needed to

carry out the attacks.

170. The Defence submits that the evidence put forward by the Prosecution does not

show that the Accused planned the commission of crimes or was aware of the substantial

likelihood of crimes as charged in the Indictment as part of the January 6 invasion of

Freetown, asserting that it was the AFRC, not the RUF, who executed and planned the

attack.

171. Criminal responsibility for planning requires that the accused, alone or with

others, intentionally planned the criminal conduct constituting the crimes charged, with

the intent that a crime be committed in the execution of that plan, or with the awareness

of the substantial likelihood that a crime would be committed in the execution of that

plan.

172. The Trial Chamber found that in November 1998, Sam Bockarie and the Accused

designed a two-pronged attack on Kono and Kenema, with Freetown as the ultimate

destination. This plan was conveyed to RUF and AFRC commanders in December 1998

at Waterworks in Kailahun District.

173. The plan designed by Bockarie and the Accused led to the attacks on Kono and

Makeni. In the course of the implementation of this plan, a small contingent of troops led

by Idrissa Kamara (a.k.a. Rambo Red Goat) reached Freetown and Bockarie’s forces got

to the outskirts of Freetown, where they met up with the forces led by Gullit. During the

42

course of the implementation of this plan, these forces committed the crimes charged in

the Indictment. These crimes resulted directly from the plan made by Bockarie and the

Accused in Monrovia. There was evidence that while in Monrovia, the Accused

instructed Bockarie to make the operation “fearful” in order to pressure the Government

of Sierra Leone into negotiations. Moreover, following the Waterworks meeting, the

Accused told Bockarie during a satellite phone conversation to use “all means” to get to

Freetown.

174. The Trial Chamber found that following the Waterworks meeting Bockarie told

SAJ Musa to attack Freetown but SAJ Musa refused to take orders from Bockarie and

continued on his own advance pursuant to a separate plan. The Trial Chamber found that

Gullit took over the leadership of the troops at Benguema following the death of SAJ

Musa. Bockarie then assumed effective control over Gullit and SAJ Musa’s plan was

abandoned for the Bockarie/Taylor plan, as conveyed by Bockarie at Waterworks.

Further execution of the plan was carried out with close coordination between Bockarie

and Gullit, with Gullit in frequent communication with Bockarie and with Gullit taking

orders from Bockarie. In these circumstances, the Trial Chamber finds that the

Bockarie/Taylor plan substantially contributed to the commission of crimes committed by

Gullit’s forces while Gullit was operating under Bockarie’s command.

175. The Accused, having drawn up the plan with Bockarie, and having followed its

implementation closely via daily communication with Bockarie, either directly or through

Yeaten, was aware of its continuing evolution.

176. As mentioned previously, the Accused was well aware of the crimes committed

by the AFRC/RUF forces in the course of their military operations, and that their war

strategy was explicitly based on a widespread or systematic campaign of crimes against

civilians. Moreover, by his instruction to make the operation “fearful”, which was

repeated many times by Bockarie during the course of the Freetown invasion, and by his

instruction to use “all means”, the Accused demonstrated his awareness of the substantial

likelihood that crimes would be committed in the execution of the plan.

177. For the foregoing reasons the Trial Chamber finds beyond reasonable doubt that

the Accused is criminally responsible pursuant to Article 6(1) for planning the crimes

43

committed by members of the RUF, AFRC, AFRC/RUF Junta or alliance and Liberian

fighters in the attacks on Kono and Makeni, in the invasion of Freetown and during the

retreat from Freetown.

Ordering

178. The Trial Chamber has found that while the Accused held a position of authority

amongst the RUF and RUF/AFRC, the instructions and guidance which he gave to the

RUF and RUF/AFRC were generally of an advisory nature and at times were in fact not

followed by the RUF/AFRC leadership. For these reasons, the Trial Chamber finds that

the Accused cannot be held responsible for ordering the commission of crimes.

Instigating

179. The Trial Chamber, having already found that the Accused is criminally

responsible for aiding and abetting the commission of the crimes in Counts 1-11 of the

Indictment, does not find that the Accused also instigated those crimes.

DISPOSITION

180. This brings me to the verdict. I will ask the Accused, Charles Ghankay Taylor, to

please stand.

181. Having considered all the evidence and the arguments of the parties, the Statute

and the Rules, and based upon the findings as determined by the Trial Chamber in its

Judgement, the Trial Chamber unanimously finds you guilty of aiding and abetting the

commission of the following crimes pursuant to Article 6.1 of the Statute during the

Indictment period, and planning the commission of the following crimes in the attacks

on Kono and Makeni in December 1998, and in the invasion of and retreat from Freetown

between December 1998 and February 1999:

44

Count 1: Acts of terrorism, a violation of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions

and of Additional Protocol II pursuant to Article 3(d) of the Statute.

Count 2: Murder, a crime against humanity pursuant to Article 2(a) of the Statute.

Count 3: Violence to life, health and physical or mental well-being of persons, in

particular murder, a violation of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and of

Additional Protocol II pursuant to Article 3(a) of the Statute.

Count 4: Rape, a crime against humanity, punishable under Article 2(g) of the Statute.

Count 5: Sexual slavery, a crime against humanity, punishable under Article 2(g) of the

Statute.

Count 6: Outrages upon personal dignity, a violation of Article 3 common to the Geneva

Conventions and of Additional Protocol II pursuant to Article 3(e) of the Statute.

Count 7: Violence to life, health and physical or mental well-being of persons, in

particular cruel treatment, a violation of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions

and of Additional Protocol II pursuant to Article 3(a) of the Statute

Count 8: Other inhumane acts, a crime against humanity pursuant to Article 2(i) of the

Statute.

Count 9: Conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces

or groups, or using them to participate actively in hostilities, another serious violation of

international humanitarian law pursuant to Article 4(c) of the Statute.

Count 10: Enslavement, a crime against humanity pursuant to Article 2 (c) of the Statute.

Count 11: Pillage, a violation of Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and of

Additional Protocol II pursuant to Article 3(f) of the Statute.

------------

(END)

44

Self-harm (SH) or deliberate self-harm (DSH) includes self-injury (SI) and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue most often done without suicidal intentions. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology. The older literature, especially that which predates the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), almost exclusively refers to self-mutilation. The term is synonymous with "self-injury". The most common form of self-harm is skin-cutting but self-harm also covers a wide range of behaviors including, but not limited to, burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts, interfering with wound healing, hair-pulling (trichotillomania) and the ingestion of toxic substances or objects. Behaviours associated with substance abuse and eating disorders are usually not considered self-harm because the resulting tissue damage is ordinarily an unintentional side effect. However, the boundaries are not always clearly defined and in some cases behaviours that usually fall outside the boundaries of self-harm may indeed represent self-harm if performed with explicit intent to cause tissue damage. Although suicide is not the intention of self-harm, the relationship between self-harm and suicide is complex, as self-harming behaviour may be potentially life-threatening. There is also an increased risk of suicide in individuals who self-harm to the extent that self-harm is found in 40–60% of suicides. However, generalising self-harmers to be suicidal is, in the majority of cases, inaccurate. Self-harm is listed in the DSM-IV-TR as a symptom of borderline personality disorder. However patients with other diagnoses may also self-harm, including those with depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and several personality disorders. Self-harm is also apparent in high-functioning individuals who have no underlying clinical diagnosis. The motivations for self-harm vary and it may be used to fulfill a number of different functions. These functions include self-harm being used as a coping mechanism which provides temporary relief of intense feelings such as anxiety, depression, stress, emotional numbness or a sense of failure or self-loathing and other mental traits including low self-esteem or perfectionism. Self-harm is often associated with a history of trauma and abuse, including emotional and sexual abuse. There are a number of different methods that can be used to treat self-harm and which concentrate on either treating the underlying causes or on treating the behaviour itself. When self-harm is associated with depression, antidepressant drugs and treatments may be effective. Other approaches involve avoidance techniques, which focus on keeping the individual occupied with other activities, or replacing the act of self-harm with safer methods that do not lead to permanent damage.

Porta Sempione ("Simplon Gate") is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The name is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding district (quartiere), a part of the Zone 1 division (the historic city centre), including the major avenue of Corso Sempione. The gate is marked by a landmark triumphal arch called Arco della Pace ("Arch of Peace"), dating back to the 19th century, although its origins can be traced back to a gate of the Roman walls of Milan.

 

The gate

A gate that roughly corresponds to modern Porta Sempione was already part of Roman walls of Milan. It was called Porta Giovia ("Jupiter's Gate") and was located at the end of modern Via San Giovanni sul Muro. At the time, the gate was meant to control an important road leading to what is now Castelseprio. Very little remains of the original Roman structure; some Roman tombstones that used to be placed by the outer side of the walls have been employed in the construction of later buildings such as the Basilica of Saint Simplician (located in Corso Garibaldi).

 

In the Middle Ages, part of the Roman walls in the Porta Sempione area was adapted as part of the new walls. The gate itself was moved north, in a place that is now occupied by the Sforza Castle. The Castle itself was completed in the 15th Century, under Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, and the gate itself became part of the Castle.

 

In 1807, under the Napoleonic rule, the Arch of Peace was built by architect Luigi Cagnola. This new gate marked the place where the new Strada del Sempione entered Milan. This road, which is still in use today, connects Milan to Paris through the Simplon Pass crossing the Alps. At the time, the gate was still called Porta Giovia. When the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy fell and Milan was conquered by the Austrian Empire, the gate was not yet completed, and the construction was abandoned for a while.

 

The construction of the Arch was resumed, again by Cagnola, in 1826, for Emperor Francis II, who dedicated the monument to the 1815 Congress of Vienna. When Cagnola died in 1833, his project was taken over by Francesco Londonio and Francesco Peverelli, who brought it to completion in 1838.

 

The gate was the scene of several prominent events in the Milanese history of the 19th century. On 22 March 1848, the Austrian army led by marshal Josef Radetzky escaped from Milan through Porta Giovia after being defeated in the Five Days of Milan rebellion. On 8 June 1859, four days after the Battle of Magenta, Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II of Italy triumphally entered Milan through the gate.

 

Site and decoration

The gate is located at the center of a wide round square known as Piazza Sempione ("Simplon Square"). It is adjacent to Simplon Park, the main city park of Milan, which was designed with the explicit intent of providing panoramic views encompassing both the Arch and the nearby Sforza Castle.

 

It is neoclassical triumphal arch, 25 m high and 24 m wide, decorated with a number of bas-reliefs, statues, and corinthian columns. Bas-reliefs and statues are made of a variety of materials, including marble, bronze, wood, and stucco. Many of such decorations, especially bas-reliefs, are dedicated to major events in the history of Italy and Europe, such as the Battle of Leipzig, the foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the Congress of Vienna. Other decorations have classical mythology subjects such as Mars, Ceres, Minerva, Apollo, and Victoria-Nike. There are also a group of statues that are allegories of major rivers in North Italy such as the Po, the Adige and the Ticino. Notable artists that have collaborated to the decoration of the gate include Pompeo Marchesi, Luigi Acquisti, Grazioso Rusca, Luigi Buzzi Leone, Giovanni Battista Comolli, Luigi Marchesi, Nicola Pirovano, Francesco Peverelli, Benedetto Cacciatori, Giovanni Antonio Labus, Claudio Monti, Gaetano Monti, Camillo Pacetti, Antonio Pasquali, Giovambattista Perabò, Angelo Pizzi, Grazioso Rusca, Girolamo Rusca, and Francesco Somaini.

 

At the sides of the Arch of Peace there are two minor rectangular buildings that used to be the customs office.

 

References in popular culture

In his novella A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway mentions the Arch of Peace, expressing the belief that its orientation be parallel to those of the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile in Paris.

 

The district

The area surrounding Porta Sempione is a prominent historic district of Milan. The district also includes part of Corso Sempione, a large avenue leading to Porta Sempione from the northwest. Some of the most important streets in the area are Via Canonica, Via Luigi Cagnola, Via Abbondio Sangiorgio, Via Mario Pagano, Via Agostino Bertani, Via Antonio Canova, and Via Francesco Melzi d'Eril. Via Melzi d'Eril and Via Antonio Canova form a half circle concentric to Piazza Sempione.

 

The main landmark of the area is the Sforza Castle, which dominates the Simplon Park, the largest and most important city park in the centre of Milan. The park houses other renowned monuments and places of interest, such as the Branca Tower, 108 m high, the Palazzo dell'Arte (one of the seats of the Triennale art expo), sculptures by Giorgio de Chirico, and the public aquarium.

 

The whole area is one of the centres of the Milanese night life, with a number of bars, pubs, restaurants, and discos; since the RAI public television company, as well as some major radio stations, have their headquarters in the area, frequent appearances of celebrities contribute to the popularity of the Sempione's night life venues.

 

Milan is a city in Northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has 3.22 million residents The urban area of Milan is the fourth largest in the EU with 5.27 million inhabitants. According to national sources, the population within the wider Milan metropolitan area (also known as Greater Milan), is estimated between 4.9 million and 7.4 million making it by far the largest metropolitan area in Italy and one of the largest in the EU. Milan is the economic capital of Italy and is a global financial centre. Milan is, together with London, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich and Paris, one of the six European economic capitals.

 

Milan is a leading alpha global city, with strengths in the fields of art, chemicals, commerce, design, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media (communication), services, research and tourism. Its business district hosts Italy's stock exchange (Italian: Borsa Italiana), and the headquarters of national and international banks and companies. In terms of GDP, Milan is the wealthiest city in Italy, has the third-largest economy among EU cities after Paris and Madrid, and is the wealthiest among EU non-capital cities. Milan is viewed along with Turin as the southernmost part of the Blue Banana urban development corridor (also known as the "European Megalopolis"), and one of the Four Motors for Europe. Milan is one of the international tourism destinations, appearing among the forty most visited cities in the world, ranking second in Italy after Rome, fifth in Europe and sixteenth in the world. Milan is a major cultural centre, with museums and art galleries that include some of the most important collections in the world, such as major works by Leonardo da Vinci. It also hosts numerous educational institutions, academies and universities, with 11% of the national total of enrolled students.

 

Founded around 590 BC under the name Medhelanon by a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture, it was conquered by the ancient Romans in 222 BC, who latinized the name of the city into Mediolanum. The city's role as a major political centre dates back to the late antiquity, when it served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire. From the 12th century until the 16th century, Milan was one of the largest European cities and a major trade and commercial centre; consequently, it became the capital of the Duchy of Milan, one of the greatest political, artistic and fashion forces in the Renaissance. Having become one of the main centres of the Italian Enlightenment during the early modern period, the city subsequently became the industrial and financial capital of modern Italy. Capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy, after the Restoration it was among the most active centres of the Risorgimento, until its entry into the unified Kingdom of Italy.

 

Milan has been recognized as one of the world's four fashion capitals. Many of the most famous luxury fashion brands in the world have their headquarters in the city, including: Armani, Prada, Versace, Moschino, Valentino and Zegna. It also hosts several international events and fairs, including Milan Fashion Week and the Milan Furniture Fair, which are among the world's biggest in terms of revenue, visitors and growth. The city is served by many luxury hotels and is the fifth-most starred in the world by Michelin Guide. It hosted the Universal Exposition in 1906 and 2015. In the field of sports, Milan is home to two of Europe's most successful football teams, AC Milan and Inter Milan, and one of Europe's main basketball teams, Olimpia Milano. Milan will host the Winter Olympic and Paralympic games for the first time in 2026, together with Cortina d'Ampezzo.

 

Milan, Italy is an ancient city in northern Italy first settled under the name Medhelanon in about 590 BC by a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture.[1][2] The settlement was conquered by the Romans in 222 BC and renamed it Mediolanum. Diocletian divided the Roman Empire, choosing the eastern half for himself, making Milan the seat of the western half of the empire, from which Maximian ruled, in the late 3rd and early 4th century AD. In 313 AD Emperors Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan, which officially ended the persecution of Christians. In 774 AD, Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks.

 

During the Middle Ages, the city's history was the story of the struggle between two political factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Finally the Visconti family took power (signoria) in Milan. In 1395 Emperor Wenceslas made Milan a duchy, thus raising the dignity of the city's citizens. In the mid-15th century the Ambrosian Republic was established, taking its name from St. Ambrose, a beloved patron saint of the city. The two rival factions worked together to create the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. However, the republic fell apart in 1450 when Milan was conquered by Francesco Sforza of the House of Sforza, which ushered Milan into becoming one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.

 

From the late 15th century until the mid 16th century, Milan was involved in The Italian Wars, a series of conflicts, along with most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice and later most of Western Europe. In 1629 The Great Plague of Milan killed about 60,000 people out of a total population of about 130,000, by 1631 when the plague subsided. This event is considered one of the last great outbreaks of what was a pandemic that ravaged Europe for several centuries, beginning with the Black Death. In 1713-1714 treaties gave sovereignty to Austria over most of Spain's Italian possessions, including Lombardy and its capital, Milan. Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, and later declared Milan the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. After Napoleon's occupation ended the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy and Milan to Austrian control in 1815. This is the period when Milan became a center for lyric opera.

 

The Milanese staged a rebellion against Austrian rule on March 18, 1848. The Kingdom of Sardinia joined the rebels, and a vote was held in Lombardy which voted to unify with Sardinia. The Austrians defeated the Sardinians on 24 July and reasserted their domination over Milan and northern Italy. Just a few years later another insurgency by Italian nationalists succeeded in ousting the Austrians with the help of Sardinia and France in 1859. Following the Battle of Solferino Milan and the rest of Lombardy joined the Kingdom of Sardinia, which soon achieved control of most of Italy. In 1861 the re-unified city-states and kingdoms became the Kingdom of Italy once again.

 

With the unification of the country, Milan became the dominant commercial center of northern Italy. In 1919 Benito Mussolini rallied the Blackshirts for the first time in Milan, and later they began their March on Rome from Milan. During World War II Milan was extensively damaged by Allied bombings. Upon the surrender of Italy in 1943 German forces occupied northern Italy until the end of the war in 1945. Members of the Italian resistance in Milan took control of the city and executed Mussolini, his mistress, and other leaders of his Fascist government by hanging in Piazzale Loreto, Milan.

 

Since the end of World War II, Italy experienced an economic boom. From 1951 until 1967 the population of Milan grew from 1.3 million to 1.7 million. The city was reconstructed, but in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the city suffered from a huge wave of street violence, labor strikes and political terrorism during so called Years of Lead. During the 1980s, Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The rise of financial services and the service economy during the late 20th century further strengthened Milan’s position as the Italian economic capital. The city’s renewal in the 21st century was marked, among others, by hosting of the World Expo 2015 or big redevelopment projects such as Puorta Nuova or CityLife.

 

Antiquity

Around 590 BC, a Celtic tribe belonging to the Insubres group and belonging to the Golasecca culture settled the city under the name Medhelanon. According to Titus Livy's comments, the city was founded around 600 B.C. by Belloveso, chief of the Insubres. Legend has it that Belloveso found a mythological animal known as the scrofa semilanuta (in Italian: "half-woollen boar") which became the ancient emblem of the city of Milan (from semi-lanuta or medio-lanum). Several ancient sources (including Sidonius Apollinaris, Datius, and, more recently, Andrea Alciato) have argued that the scrofa semilanuta is connected to the etymology of the ancient name of Milan, "Mediolanum", and this is still occasionally mentioned in modern sources, although this interpretation has long been dismissed by scholars. Nonetheless, wool production became a key industry in this area, as recorded during the early Middle Ages (see below).

 

Milan was conquered by the Romans in 222 B.C. due to its strategic position on the northern borders of the Empire and was renamed Mediolanum. When Diocletian decided to divide the Empire in half choosing the Eastern half for himself, Milan became the residence of Maximian, ruler of the Western Roman Empire. The construction of the second city walls, roughly four and a half kilometers long and unfurling at today's Foro Bonaparte, date back to his reign. After the abdication of Maximian (in 305 A.D.) on the same day on which Diocletian also abdicated, there were a series of wars of succession, during which there was a succession of three emperors in just a few short years: first Severus, who prepared the expedition against Maxentius, then Maxentius himself in a war against Constantine, and finally Constantine himself, victor of the war against Maxentius. In 313 A.D. the Emperors Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan (Edict of Constantine), ending the persecutions against Christians.

 

The beginning of the 5th century was the start of a tortuous period of barbarian invasions for Milan. After the city was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, the imperial residence was moved to Ravenna. An age of decadence began which worsened when Attila, King of the Huns, sacked and devastated the city in 452 A.D.

 

Middle Ages

In 539, the Ostrogoths conquered and destroyed Milan during the Gothic War against Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. In the summer of 569, a Germanic tribe, the Lombards (from which the name of the Italian region Lombardy derives), conquered Milan, overpowering the small Byzantine army left for its defense. Some Roman structures remained in use in Milan under Lombard rule, but the city was eclipsed by the nearby Lombard capital of Pavia during the next two centuries.

 

Milan surrendered to Charlemagne and the Franks in 774. The aristocracy and majority of the clergy had taken refuge in Genoa. In 774, when Charlemagne took the title of "King of the Lombards", he established his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. Before then the Germanic kingdoms had frequently conquered each other, but none had adopted the title of King of another people. The Iron Crown of Lombardy (i.e. referring to Charlemagne's kingdom and not to the Italian region), which was worn by Charlemagne, dates from this period. Milan's domination under the Franks led by Charlemagne did nothing to improve the city's fortune, and the city's impoverishment increased and Milan became a county seat.

 

The 11th century saw a reaction against the control of the Holy Roman Emperors. The city-state was born, an expression of the new political power of the city and its will to fight against feudal overlords. Milan was no exception. It did not take long, however, for the city states to begin fighting each other to try to limit neighbouring powers. The Milanese destroyed Lodi and continuously warred with Pavia, Cremona and Como, who in turn asked Frederick I Barbarossa for help. In a sally, they captured Empress Beatrice and forced her to ride a donkey backwards out through the city. These acts brought the destruction of much of Milan in 1162. A fire destroyed the storehouses containing the entire food supply: and within just a few days Milan was forced to surrender.

 

A period of peace followed and Milan prospered as a centre of trade due to its position. As a result of the independence that the Lombard cities gained in the Peace of Constance in 1183, Milan returned to the commune form of local government first established in the 11th century. In 1208 Rambertino Buvalelli served a term as podestà of the city, in 1242 Luca Grimaldi, and in 1282 Luchetto Gattilusio. The position was a dangerous one: in 1252 Milanese heretics assassinated the Church's Inquisitor, later known as Saint Peter Martyr, at a ford in the nearby contado; the killers bribed their way to freedom, and in the ensuing riot the podestà was almost lynched. In 1256 the archbishop and leading nobles were expelled from the city. In 1259 Martino della Torre was elected Capitano del Popolo by members of the guilds; he took the city by force, expelled his enemies, and ruled by dictatorial powers, paving streets, digging canals, and taxing the countryside. He also brought the Milanese treasury to collapse; the use of often reckless mercenary units further angered the population, granting an increasing support for the della Torre's traditional enemies, the Visconti. The most important industries in this period were armaments and wool production, a whole catalogue of activities and trades is given in Bonvesin della Riva's "de Magnalibus Urbis Mediolani".

 

On 22 July 1262, Ottone Visconti was made archbishop of Milan by Pope Urban IV, against the candidacy of Raimondo della Torre, Bishop of Como. The latter started to publicise allegations that the Visconti had ties to the heretic Cathars and charged them with high treason: the Visconti, who accused the della Torre of the same crimes, were then banned from Milan and their properties confiscated. The ensuing civil war caused more damage to Milan's population and economy, lasting for more than a decade. Ottone Visconti unsuccessfully led a group of exiles against the city in 1263, but after years of escalating violence on all sides, in the Battle of Desio (1277) he won the city for his family. The Visconti succeeded in ousting the della Torre permanently, and proceeded to rule Milan and its possessions until the 15th century.

 

Much of the prior history of Milan was the tale of the struggle between two political factions: the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. Most of the time the Guelphs were successful in the city of Milan. Eventually, however, the Visconti family were able to seize power (signoria) in Milan, based on their "Ghibelline" friendship with the Holy Roman Emperors. In 1395, one of these emperors, Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (1378–1400), raised Milan to the dignity of a duchy. Also in 1395, Gian Galeazzo Visconti became Duke of Milan. The Ghibelline Visconti family was to retain power in Milan for a century and a half from the early 14th century until the middle of the 15th century.

 

In 1447 Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, died without a male heir; following the end of the Visconti line, the Ambrosian Republic was enacted. The Ambrosian Republic took its name from St. Ambrose, popular patron saint of the city of Milan. Both the Guelph and the Ghibelline factions worked together to bring about the Ambrosian Republic in Milan. Nonetheless, the Republic collapsed when, in 1450, Milan was conquered by Francesco Sforza, of the House of Sforza, who made Milan one of the leading cities of the Italian Renaissance.

 

Early modern

The Italian Wars were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, and later most of the major states of Western Europe. Milan's last independent ruler, Lodovico Sforza, called French king Charles VIII into Italy in the expectation that France might be an ally in inter-Italian wars. The future King of France, Louis of Orléans, took part in the expedition and realised Italy was virtually defenceless. This prompted him to return a few years later in 1500, and claim the Duchy of Milan for himself, his grandmother having been a member of the ruling Visconti family. At that time, Milan was also defended by Swiss mercenaries. After the victory of Louis's successor Francis I over the Swiss at the Battle of Marignan, the duchy was promised to the French king. When the Habsburg Emperor Charles V defeated Francis I at the Battle of Pavia in 1525, northern Italy, including Milan, returned to Francesco II Sforza, passing to Habsburg Spain ten years later on his death and the extinction of the Sforza line.

 

In 1556, Charles V abdicated in favour of his son Philip II and his brother Ferdinand I. Charles's Italian possessions, including Milan, passed to Philip II and remained with the Spanish line of Habsburgs, while Ferdinand's Austrian line of Habsburgs ruled the Holy Roman Empire.

 

Great Plague of Milan

The Great Plague of Milan in 1629–31 killed an estimated 60,000 people out of a population of 130,000. This episode is considered one of the last outbreaks of the centuries-long pandemic of plague that began with the Black Death.

 

War of the Spanish Succession

In 1700 the Spanish line of Habsburgs was extinguished with the death of Charles II. After his death, the War of the Spanish Succession began in 1701 with the occupation of all Spanish possessions by French troops backing the claim of the French Philippe of Anjou to the Spanish throne. In 1706, the French were defeated at the Battle of Turin and were forced to yield northern Italy to the Austrian Habsburgs. In 1713–1714 the Treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt formally confirmed Austrian sovereignty over most of Spain's Italian possessions including Lombardy and its capital, Milan.

 

Napoleon invaded Italy in 1796, and Milan was declared the capital of the Cisalpine Republic. Later, he declared Milan the capital of the Kingdom of Italy and was crowned in the Duomo. Once Napoleon's occupation ended, the Congress of Vienna returned Lombardy, and Milan, along with Veneto, to Austrian control in 1814. During this period, Milan became a centre of lyric opera. Here in the 1770s Mozart had premiered three operas at the Teatro Regio Ducale. Later La Scala became the reference theatre in the world, with its premières of Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini and Verdi. Verdi himself is interred in the Casa di Riposo per Musicisti, his present to Milan. In the 19th century, other important theatres were La Cannobiana and the Teatro Carcano.

 

Wars of the 19th century

On 18 March 1848, the Milanese rebelled against Austrian rule, during the so-called "Five Days" (Italian: Le Cinque Giornate), and Field Marshal Radetzky was forced to withdraw from the city temporarily. The Kingdom of Sardinia stepped in to help the insurgents; a plebiscite held in Lombardy decided in favour of unification with Sardinia. However, after defeating the Sardinian forces at Custoza on 24 July, Radetzky was able to reassert Austrian control over Milan and northern Italy. A few years on, however, Italian nationalists again called for the removal of Austria and Italian unification, with riots consuming the city in 1853. In 1859 Sardinia and France formed an alliance and defeated Austria at the Battle of Solferino. Following this battle, Milan and the rest of Lombardy were incorporated into the Kingdom of Sardinia, which soon gained control of most of Italy and in 1861 was rechristened as the Kingdom of Italy.

 

Early industrialization

The political unification of Italy cemented Milan's commercial dominance over northern Italy. It also led to a flurry of railway construction that had started under Austrian patronage (Venice–Milan; Milan–Monza) that made Milan the rail hub of northern Italy. Thereafter with the opening of the Gotthard (1881) and Simplon (1906) railway tunnels, Milan became the major South European rail focus for business and passenger movements e.g. the Simplon Orient Express. Rapid industrialization and market expansion put Milan at the centre of Italy's leading industrial region, including extensive stone quarries that have led to much of the air pollution we see today in the region. In the 1890s, Milan was shaken by the Bava-Beccaris massacre, a riot related to a high inflation rate. Meanwhile, as Milanese banks dominated Italy's financial sphere, the city became the country's leading financial centre.

 

Late modern and contemporary

In 1919, Benito Mussolini's Blackshirts rallied for the first time in Piazza San Sepolcro and later began their March on Rome in Milan. During the Second World War Milan suffered extensive damage from Allied bombings.[18] When Italy surrendered in 1943, German forces occupied most of Northern Italy until 1945. As a result, resistance groups formed. As the war came to an end, the American 1st Armored Division advanced on Milan – but before they arrived, the resistance seized control of the city and executed Mussolini along with several members of his government. On 29 April 1945, the corpses of Mussolini, his mistress Clara Petacci and other Fascist leaders were hanged in Piazzale Loreto.

 

During the post-war economic boom, a large wave of internal migration (especially from rural areas of Southern Italy), moved to Milan. The population grew from 1.3 million in 1951 to 1.7 million in 1967. During this period, Milan was largely reconstructed, with the building of several innovative and modernist skyscrapers, such as the Torre Velasca and the Pirelli Tower. The economic prosperity was however overshadowed in the late 1960s and early 1970s during the so-called Years of Lead, when Milan witnessed an unprecedented wave of street violence, labour strikes and political terrorism. The apex of this period of turmoil occurred on 12 December 1969, when a bomb exploded at the National Agrarian Bank in Piazza Fontana, killing seventeen people and injuring eighty-eight.

 

In the 1980s, with the international success of Milanese houses (like Armani, Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana), Milan became one of the world's fashion capitals. The city saw also a marked rise in international tourism, notably from America and Japan, while the stock exchange increased its market capitalisation more than five-fold. This period led the mass media to nickname the metropolis "Milano da bere", literally "Milan to drink". However, in the 1990s, Milan was badly affected by Tangentopoli, a political scandal in which many politicians and businessmen were tried for corruption. The city was also affected by a severe financial crisis and a steady decline in textiles, automobile, and steel production.

 

In the early 21st century, Milan underwent a series of sweeping redevelopments. Its exhibition centre moved to a much larger site in Rho. New business districts such as Porta Nuova and CityLife were constructed. With the decline in manufacturing, the city has sought to develop on its other sources of revenue, including publishing, finance, banking, fashion design, information technology, logistics, transport, and tourism. In addition, the city's decades-long population decline seems to have come to an end in recent years, with signs of recovery as it grew by seven percent since the last census.

via WordPress dentalhygienistsedu.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/wylie-dentis...

 

Dallas News (blog)

 

Wylie dentist’s son agrees to halt disparaging online posts about dad, who faces child indecency chargesDallas News (blog)His statement goes further, referring to his son’s "explicit intent to destroy my reputation as well as my dental practice since I have refused to continue his financial support and he was verbally abusive to my wife and myself." Ethan Pearson issued a …

 

To read the full article, click here…

 

To read more news like – Wylie dentist’s son agrees to halt disparaging online posts about dad, who faces child indecency charges – Dallas News (blog), visit dentalhygienist.education.

 

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The Simplon Gate is located at the center of a wide round square known as "Piazza Sempione" (Simplon Square). It is adjacent to the Parco Sempione ("Simplon Park"), the main city park of Milan, which was designed with the explicit intent of providing panoramic views encompassing both the Arch and the nearby Sforza Castle.

 

It is neoclassical triumphal arch, 25m high and 24m wide, decorated with a number of bas-reliefs, statues, and corinthian columns. (Wikipedia).

 

Architect1956

Located in the median of the 600 block of Poplar Street, this monument was erected in 1905-11 during the Jim Crow era. The explicit intent of the memorial was to honor the women of the Confederacy. Its very existence in a place of prominence in Macon is a testament to Georgia's struggle with racism and white supremacy, past and present.

 

Macon, Georgia, which is home to Mercer University, is a lovely college town located near the center of the state. One of Georgia's three Fall Line cities, it is one of my favorite communities in the American South. Macon is aptly summarized by the Department of the Interior with the following statement, "From an architectural point of view, the town is a goldmine of nineteenth century buildings."

 

The small city serves as the seat of Bibb County, though the city and county have a merged, or consolidated, government.

Possibly the most contested spot in the whole world. Talk about a two-state solution, it breaks down on who gets Jerusalem. Talk about splitting Jerusalem, and the talks, the negotiations, will still break down on who gets this spot right here. The Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock.

 

Growing up, I always believed that the Dome of the Rock should go. That it was as simple as the fact that we had two Temples here, that this was our spot, for centuries if not millennia, and that we had it centuries before Mohammed himself ever lived, let alone before the Dome of the Rock came along. Not that I would ever suggest any kind of terrorist attack to destroy it - terrorist attacks on civilian targets are their thing, not ours. But, I then learned just how old the Dome is. This wasn't erected by the Ottomans, or by the Palestinians under the British. This is a seriously, majorly, old mosque, and was not erected, as I had erroneously believed, by some relatively new occupying power with the explicit intent of stealing our Temple Mount and creating a perpetual international incident waiting to happen.

 

Still, if it were to happen to disappear, if we were to somehow end up with the Temple Mount back in our possession, what a wonderful thing that would be. You can keep your mosque, keep your Rock, keep your Well of Souls. Just move them off our Temple Mount. That way we can rebuild our Temple, and you can still have your mosque, and we'll both be happy. Why not?

 

See where this picture was taken. [?]

The Queen of Sheba

June 6, 2021

 

The war-mongering government of the Arab Republic of Egypt and its sycophant client Sudan recently declared the completion of their latest round of military adventure under a grandiose heading dubbed as the “Guardians of the Nile”—evidently intended to bully, intimidate and scare Ethiopia which is unwaveringly advancing to fill and complete its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Ethiopians are appalled by the blatant aggression, dulled by the incessant open threats and astounded by the concealed sabotage being perpetrated by these countries.

 

Ethiopia will build more than 100 small and medium irrigation dams in the upcoming 2021/22 fiscal year,

 

In what appears to be a not-so-coincidence, following this contemptuous intimidation, the “Owner of the Nile”, Ethiopia enthusiastically announced the building of hundreds of mini and medium dams on its vast wealth of river basins. This was communicated with an explicit intent to harvesting three times a year—to meet the huge and urgent need to feed its over 110 million population and growing—fast.

 

No where in the history of humankind and geopolitics have we witnessed such a proportion of injustice and contemptuous audacity laced with utter greed of countries that claim something that is not theirs—in such a blatant, vulgar and brazen manner. This is not lost to most countries in the world—and most certainly all sub-Saharan Africa.

 

zehabesha.com/building-baby-dams-to-fund-the-mega-dam-own...

#The_Androi_App_Development_Services. #Android_Apps constituent in majority of gadgets sold on this date. Past decade was a boom for the Android industry due to huge increase in mobile users, especially in a country like India. Speaking in numbers, more than 80% gadgets use Android and the benefits provided are immense.Our team has a consists of a professionalized team for #Android_Development with both #Implicit and #Explicit_Intents, #Implementation_of_Android_permissions, #Data_Management, #Customization_of_List_Views, #Action_Bar and #Text_Views

 

The Queen of Sheba

June 6, 2021

 

The war-mongering government of the Arab Republic of Egypt and its sycophant client Sudan recently declared the completion of their latest round of military adventure under a grandiose heading dubbed as the “Guardians of the Nile”—evidently intended to bully, intimidate and scare Ethiopia which is unwaveringly advancing to fill and complete its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Ethiopians are appalled by the blatant aggression, dulled by the incessant open threats and astounded by the concealed sabotage being perpetrated by these countries.

 

In what appears to be a not-so-coincidence, following this contemptuous intimidation, the “Owner of the Nile”, Ethiopia enthusiastically announced the building of hundreds of mini and medium dams on its vast wealth of river basins. This was communicated with an explicit intent to harvesting three times a year—to meet the huge and urgent need to feed its over 110 million population and growing—fast.

 

No where in the history of humankind and geopolitics have we witnessed such a proportion of injustice and contemptuous audacity laced with utter greed of countries that claim something that is not theirs—in such a blatant, vulgar and brazen manner. This is not lost to most countries in the world—and most certainly all sub-Saharan Africa.

 

Since the announcement of the intention to build the “baby” dams, both the Arab Republic and Sudan have escalated their rhetoric of war—yet again.

 

zehabesha.com/building-baby-dams-to-fund-the-mega-dam-own...

Taken at Yin Ma Qiao 饮马桥 (Horse Watering Bridge). Nanjing has an unusual road system, unlike any I’ve seen in other Chinese cities. The first unique feature that struck me was the overpasses over specific intersections with the explicit intent of avoiding the stoplight there. The logic being, for drivers who are on Road X and don’t want to turn onto Road Y at the intersection, and why even bother to have them stop at the XY light? We should build an overpass over _that intersection only_ to avoid it. Brilliant! I can’t imagine how much each of these overpasses cost.

 

But, what happens when a bus takes the overpass, and passengers need to be at the intersection below? This problem can only be rectified by unique feature #2, having bus stops on bridges. Well, I don’t know if these phenomena are connected, but I can’t think of any other logic for why busses would stop on bridges here. To be honest, some of the stops are actually over water, not just over roads or train tracks. Maybe it’s quicker to have one stop on the bridge than two stops on each side? Finally, the reason I started to notice these stops in the first place: isn’t it structurally unsound to have multi-ton busses stopping en masse on a bridge?

The view from the rear. No explicit intent to humiliate, I don't think. (Must ... not ... think of Mickey Mouse. That would be disrespectful.)

I purchased this cotton/nylon/rayon yarn (Filatura Di Crosa Dusk) with the explicit intent to knit a scarf to replace my favorite, but disintegrated recycled sari silk and cotton Mango Moon scarf. After five false starts, I finally got something I liked. This yarn is gorgeous, but it has no stitch definition and zero elasticity. So offset rib it is!

Details on Ravelry.

 

See also No 16#.

Porta Sempione ("Simplon Gate") is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The name is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding district (quartiere), a part of the Zone 1 division (the historic city centre), including the major avenue of Corso Sempione.The gate is marked by a landmark triumphal arch called Arco della Pace ("Arch of Peace"), dating back to the 19th century, although its origins can be traced back to a gate of the Roman walls of Milan.

The gate:

History:

A gate that roughly corresponds to modern Porta Sempione was already part of Roman walls of Milan. It was called Porta Giovia ("Jupiter's Gate") and was located at the end of modern Via San Giovanni sul Muro. At the time, the gate was meant to control an important road leading to what is now Castelseprio. Very little remains of the original Roman structure; some Roman tombstones that used to be placed by the outer side of the walls have been employed in the construction of later buildings such as the Basilica of Saint Simplician (located in Corso Garibaldi).

In the Middle Ages, part of the Roman walls in the Porta Sempione area was adapted as part of the new walls. The gate itself was moved north, in a place that is now occupied by the Sforza Castle. The Castle itself was completed in the 15th Century, under Duke Filippo Maria Visconti, and the gate itself became part of the Castle.

In 1807, under the Napoleonic rule, the Arch of Peace was built by architect Luigi Cagnola. This new gate marked the place where the new Strada del Sempione entered Milan. This road, which is still in use today, connects Milan to Paris through the Simplon Pass crossing the Alps. At the time, the gate was still called Porta Giovia. When the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy fell and Milan was conquered by the Austrian Empire, the gate was not yet completed, and the construction was abandoned for a while.

The construction of the Arch was resumed, again by Cagnola, in 1826, for Emperor Francis II, who dedicated the monument to the 1815 Congress of Vienna. When Cagnola died in 1833, his project was taken over by Francesco Londonio and Francesco Peverelli, who brought it to completion in 1838.

The gate was the scene of several prominent events in the Milanese history of the 19th century. On 22 March 1848, the Austrian army led by marshal Josef Radetzky escaped from Milan through Porta Giovia after being defeated in the Five Days of Milan rebellion. On 8 June 1859, four days after the Battle of Magenta, Napoleon III and Victor Emmanuel II of Italy triumphally entered Milan through the gate.

Site and decoration:

The gate is located at the center of a wide round square known as Piazza Sempione ("Simplon Square"). It is adjacent to Simplon Park, the main city park of Milan, which was designed with the explicit intent of providing panoramic views encompassing both the Arch and the nearby Sforza Castle.

It is neoclassical triumphal arch, 25 m high and 24 m wide, decorated with a number of bas-reliefs, statues, and corinthian columns. Bas-reliefs and statues are made of a variety of materials, including marble, bronze, wood, and stucco. Many of such decorations, especially bas-reliefs, are dedicated to major events in the history of Italy and Europe, such as the Battle of Leipzig, the foundation of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, the Congress of Vienna. Other decorations have classical mythology subjects such as Mars, Ceres, Minerva, Apollo, and Victoria-Nike. There are also a group of statues that are allegories of major rivers in North Italy such as the Po, the Adige and the Ticino. Notable artists that have collaborated to the decoration of the gate include Pompeo Marchesi, Luigi Acquisti, Grazioso Rusca, Luigi Buzzi Leone, Giovanni Battista Comolli, Luigi Marchesi, Nicola Pirovano, Francesco Peverelli, Benedetto Cacciatori, Giovanni Antonio Labus, Claudio Monti, Gaetano Monti, Camillo Pacetti, Antonio Pasquali, Giovambattista Perabò, Angelo Pizzi, Grazioso Rusca, Girolamo Rusca, and Francesco Somaini.