Stadio Giuseppe Meazza

La Scala del calcio – the iconic home of Milan and Inter.

The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as the San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. Nicknamed "La Scala del calcio" (Italian for 'La Scala of football'), it has a seating capacity of 75,923, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal professional football clubs, AC Milan and Inter Milan, who contest the Derby della Madonnina.

Lore & Background

In March 1980, the stadium was named in honour of Giuseppe Meazza, the two-time World Cup winner (1934, 1938) who played for Inter (and briefly for other teams like Milan) in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, and served two stints as Inter's manager. Construction of the stadium commenced in 1925 in the San Siro district of Milan, with the new stadium originally named Stadio San Siro (or Nuovo Stadio San Siro). The idea to build a stadium in the same district as the Ippodromo di San Siro belonged to the president of AC Milan at the time, Piero Pirelli. The architects designed a private stadium only for football, without the athletics tracks that characterised Italian stadiums built with public funds. The design took inspiration from English football stadiums with four separated stands. The new stadium was inaugurated on 19 September 1926, when 35,000 spectators saw AC Milan defeat Inter 6–3. Originally, the ground was the home and property of Milan, then sold to the City of Milan in 1935, where a capacity expansion of seats was developed connecting already-existing four stands in the corners. This historic setting was then called as the first tier. Finally, in 1947, Inter, who used to play in the Arena Civica downtown, became tenants and the two teams have shared the ground ever since. Between 1954 and 1955, engineers Armando Ronca and Ferruccio Calzolari developed the project for the second extension of the stadium, which was meant to increase the capacity from 50,000 to 150,000 visitors. Calzolari and Ronca proposed three additional, vertically arranged, rings of spectator rows. During construction, the realisation of the highest of the three tiers was abandoned and the number of visitors limited to 100,000. Then for security reasons, the capacity was reduced to 60,000 seats and 25,000 standing. On 2 March 1980 the stadium was named for Giuseppe Meazza (1910–1979), one of the most famous Milanese footballers. For a time, Inter fans called the stadium Stadio Meazza due to Meazza's stronger connections with Inter (14 years as a player, three stints as manager). However, in recent years both Inter and Milan fans have called the stadium simply San Siro. The last major renovation for the San Siro, which cost $60 million, took place between 1987 and 1990.

Reader's Guide

The San Siro is a UEFA category four stadium. It hosted three games at the 1934 FIFA World Cup, the opening ceremony and six games at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, three games at the UEFA Euro 1980 and four European Cup finals, in 1965, 1970, 2001 and 2016. The stadium also hosted the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, held in both Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. Three Milan derby Champions League knockout ties have taken place at the San Siro, in 2003, 2005 and 2023 with Milan winning the first of two ties with the latter being won by Inter Milan. Inter's fans reacted to impending defeat in the 2005 second leg by throwing flares and other objects at Milan players and forcing the match to be abandoned; this earned the club a large fine and a four-game ban on spectators attending European fixtures there the following season. Apart from being used by Milan and Inter, the Italy national team occasionally plays matches there. It has also been used for the European Cup finals of 1965 (won by Inter), 1970 (won by Feyenoord), and the UEFA Champions League finals of 2001 (won by Bayern Munich) and 2016 (won by Real Madrid). The stadium was also used for the home leg of three UEFA Cup finals in which Inter was competing (1991, 1994, 1997) when these were played over two legs. It was also used by Juventus for their 'home' leg in 1995 as they decided against playing their biggest matches at their own Stadio delle Alpi at the time. On each occasion, apart from 1991, the second leg was played at the San Siro and the winners lifted the trophy there. However, the stadium has not yet been selected as the host stadium since the competition changed to a single-match final format in 1997–98. The San Siro has never hosted a final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, but was the host stadium for the 1951 Latin Cup, a four-team event won by Milan. The city was also the venue for the 1956 edition of the Latin Cup (also won by Milan), but those matches were played at Arena Civica. In March 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, the Associated Press dubbed the UEFA Champions League match between Bergamo club Atalanta and Spanish club Valencia at the San Siro on 19 February as "Game Zero". This was the first time Atalanta had progressed to the Champions League round of 16, and the match was attended by over 40,000 people – about one third of Bergamo's population.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza?

Located in Milan's San Siro district, this iconic venue serves as Inter Milan's spiritual home since 1926. While commonly called San Siro by locals, it officially honors legendary player Giuseppe Meazza and hosts both Serie A and European matches.

Where exactly is the stadium located?

The facility sits within the San Siro district of Milan, making it easily accessible to fans traveling from across the city and beyond. Its central location has cemented its status as a landmark for football culture in Italy since its opening.