The Giardini Pubblici (Public Gardens), across Via Palestro from the Villa Reale, were laid out by Giuseppe Piermarini, architect of La Scala, in 1770. They were designed as public pleasure gardens, and today they still are popular with families who live in the city center. Generations of Milanese have taken pony rides and gone on the miniature train and merry-go-round. The park also contains a small planetarium and the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale (Municipal Natural History Museum). One of the unenclosed grassy areas near the fountain on the Via Manin side is set aside for dogs to run free.
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