MILAN
Stadiums
The San Siro is named after the district west of the city centre where, in the 1920s, Milan president Piero Pirelli commissioned a football-specific stadium - no running track and a stand on each side.
It staged a semi-final of the 1934 World Cup and was acquired by the City of Milan in 1939, when the corners were filled in to raise capacity to 55,000.
In 1955 a second tier was added, plus the distinctive walkways around the outside, which create a candy-twist appearance.
Capacity was now over 85,000, with 60,000 seated. For the 1990 World Cup, a plexiglass roof with red girders was added, as well as a third ring, and an all-seated capacity of 85,000, which remains to this day - although security measures have recently restricted this to 83,000.
Eleven concrete towers are dotted around the ground, four supporting the roof. Fans hang almost over the pitch in the steep-sided tiers. Such intimacy allows for one of the most fiery atmospheres in Europe. The Curva Nord is the Inter fans’ traditional area, Milan fans have the Curva Sud.
For the San Siro, take the M1 metro line to Lotto, where shuttle buses run the short trip to the stadium.
Tickets for Inter can be booked at www.inter.it, Milan at www.acmilan.com. The average second ring seat is about €30 (£20). You can tour the arena and museum during the day if there is no major event on. The tours (+39 02 404 2432;
www.sansirotour.com; €12.50/£8.70) start at Ingresso 14, where there is also a souvenir shop.
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