The San Siro is saved - but what next for AC Milan and Inter’s historic home?

When did we become so obsessed with demolition? Was it when the hubristic desire to proliferate began to outweigh our instinctual urge to preserve? Was it when the vast canvas of our collective urban sprawl became so densely cramped, like the rainbow spittle of a Jackon Pollock mural, that we had to begin building upwards and above rather than outwards and adjacent? Was it when Miley Cyrus started swinging around on wrecking balls and licking sledgehammers like a safety inspector’s sleep paralysis demon? Honestly, who can say?

To a certain extent, the compulsion to flatten has always been woven into the increasingly wrinkled psyche of mankind. It’s why you don’t meet many Trojans these days. But it does feel as if we are getting more and more enthused by the prospect of reducing things to rubble as we hurtle along.

When the Visigoths sacked Rome, even they managed to restrain themselves from raizing the Colosseum - presumably in acknowledgement of the potentially disastrous long term impact such an act of destruction would have on the local tourist economy. In this modern world of fast food, fast fashion, and Fast and Furious franchises, however, almost everything is dispensable.

Which is why the news about the San Siro is so unexpected, and so good. You see, AC Milan and *prepares Jamie Carragher impression* Internazionale had planned to knock down large swathes of their iconic shared home to clear a path for a new stadium called, somewhat self-seriously, ‘The Cathedral’, which, according to the virtual renderings of architects Populous, looks like the illegitimate love child of a vacuum filter and an insect taxidermy case, as well as giving off the distinct vibe of Kevin McCloud’s very own hypothetical Mojo Dojo Casa House.

Instead, however, the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Milan - catchy name you’ve got there, lads - have ruled that the creaking old ground, with its brutalist spirals and angular protrusions, cannot be demolished because it holds too much ‘cultural interest’. Football Italia hipsters, rejoice!

Now, make no mistake, the decision to conserve the San Siro does have its cons. Without permission to rebuild on the same land that they currently occupy, AC and Inter, the ultimate frenemies, will likely have to seek separate habitation solutions moving forward. For the first time since 1947, two of the grandest clubs in continental football would no longer coexist in the same home.

As far as the red half of Milan is concerned, they are said to be considering a site in San Donato, a few miles south-west of the city itself, and have bought a 90% controlling stake in the company that currently has its name on the deeds there. Meanwhile, Inter have reportedly already claimed exclusivity rights to carry out a feasability study on a plot in Rozzano, a short distance to the south. The whole thing brings to mind a rather apathetic divorce proceeding. Whether the phenomenon of home and away Milanese derbies in years to come will feel like having two Christmases, only time will tell.

And then there is the fate of the San Siro itself. As things stand, Milan and Inter have a lease that runs until 2030, but could theoretically leave any time before then. Aside from football, the stadium is scheduled to host the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in 2026, but beyond that, there is no indication as to how the Milan City Council would seek to use it if and when their current tenants depart.

The fear, of course, would be that it somehow falls into a state of dormancy, or worse yet, neglect, but really, those are conversations for another time. Right now, it is just a relief to know that it won’t become offal for bulldozers, concrete forage for hydraulic jaws.

Few, if any, stadiums in world football are as iconic as the San Siro. It may not be cultural in the same way that Da Vinci’s Last Supper or Boccioni’s Elasticity are, but it is culture nonetheless, and it has inarguably given Milan just as much joy and renown as any other masterpiece that resides in the city. To see it destroyed would be like witnessing the controlled implosion of a baroque stately home in favour of a new build estate of semi-detached matchboxes with sandstone facades.

Some beauties are bigger than pragmatism, and some times nostalgia is worth indulging. For once, thankfully, the people who sit on the committees who toy with such decisions have recognised this.