Milan Youth Hostel

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Piero Rotta Youth Hostel (Ostello per la Gioventù Piero Rotta) is Hostelling International's (formerly the International Youth Hostel Federation) Youth Hostel located in the city of Milan, Italy. It is the only hostel in Milan as of summer 2007. The Youth Hostel is located on a triangular shaped piece of land between a pedestrianized lane (Via Martino Bassi), a residential street (Via Calliano) and one of Milan's main streets (Viale Angelo Salmoiraghi).

Piero Rotta Youth Hotel is also one of the A.I.G. (Associazione Italiana Alberghiper la Gioventù) - the Italian branch of Hostelling International, or transliterated the Italian Association of Youth Hotels). Under the auspices of both non-profit organizations, the Milan Hostel is a non-profit organization.

The hostel is located in a district of Milan known as QT8, which is also the name of the nearest underground (Metrò) stop on Line 1 (Lines 1) or the Red line (linea rossa). The Youth Hostel's postal address is Via Martino Bassi 2, I-20148 MILANO (MI), Italy (Repubblica Italiana), though the main entrance is on Via Calliano, just off Viale Angelo Salmoiraghi. The hostel lies at the heart of Milan's red-light district. At night, and to a lesser extent during the day, Viale Angelo Salmoiraghi is lined with hookers (prostitutes), mainly from the Balkans, including Romania, Ukraine and Moldova, as well as from Central America, South America and more recently from the Far East.

The hostel can be reached by catching buses 90, 91 or 68, by taking the underground (Metrò) or by taking a taxi. From the motorway (freeway) following signs for Piazzale Lotto, San Siro, QT8, Lampugnano, Fiera or Ostello per la Gioventù should take you in the right direction. The hostel has a small car park for motor vehicles (cars, motorbikes) as well as for bicycles, though not for coaches, busses, camper-vans, caravans or caravanettes. On street parking requires a parking ticket to be purchased at the beginning of one's parking time. These tickets can be purchased from newsagents, newspaper stands and tobacconists in the surrounding streets.

The hostel offers 408 beds in non-mixed/single-sex dormitores of usually 6 to a room.

Contents 1 Location 1.1 By bus 1.2 By Private Motor Vehicle 1.3 By taxi 1.4 Address, site and location clarification 1.5 Name 1.6 Warden

[edit] Location

From any one of Milan's three international airports, take the Express/Shuttle Coach waiting outside the terminal buildings marked Milan. This will stop at Milan's Central Railway Station (roughly a one hour ride). From there, head underground for the Metro. From Milano Centrale's Green line stop, go as far as Cadorna (direction of train Abbiategrasso) and then take the Red line (be sure the direction of the train is Rho Fiera), getting off at the stop called QT8 on Linea 1 (Red line) of Milan's underground system. Exit in the direction of "Youth Hostel" straight on for 150 metres. The hostel is on the corner of Via Calliano.

[edit] By bus

For those arriving by bus (number 91) get off at the penultimate stop on the route, namely Elia Stuparich. Exit Piazza Stuparich, taking Viale Salmoiraghi and the hostel is on the left, 50 metres on.

[edit] By Private Motor Vehicle

For those coming by car, exit the motorway at Lampugnano or Viale Certosa and follow signs for Fiera, Piazzale Lotto or Stadio San Siro in the general direction of the Youth Hostel.

[edit] By taxi

By taxi, inform the driver of the destination as Ostello della Gioventù. The address is Viale Salmoiraghi number 1 (numero uno).

[edit] Address, site and location clarification

Many hostel and tourist guides still give out the address as Via Martino Bassi 2. Closed for many years now to motor vehicle traffic, Via Martino Bassi is merely a pedestrian and bicycle lane (small road) located behind the hostel, useful only to the postman.

[edit] Name

The hostel was founded by Piero Rotta. The hostel is often referred to as La Cordata, which is a separate non-profit making scout organization in Milan. Misspellings have also included Pietro Rotta, and Piero Rota, as well as Pietro Rota. The hostel is known as Ostello di Milano in Italian, or Ostello A.I.G. Milano.

[edit] Warden

The current warden is Dr. Lucia Maria Margherita Chessa. Though she does not live on site, she is a Milan resident. Dr. Chessa is also the head of the Comitato Regionale Lombardo, i.e. the Lombard Regional Committee, of the A.I.G. Dr. Chessa took over the running of Piero Rotta Youth Hostel in the fall of 2002 when her predecessor, Dr. Maria Adele Corti, finally retired at the age of 84.