As the main economic and industrial center in Italy, and the country's second largest city, Milan was subjected to heavy bombing during World War II, being the most bombed city in Northern Italy and one of the most bombed cities in the country.

The Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore is a Roman Catholic church in Milan, Northern Italy. Located within the city's ring of navigli, it is one of the oldest churches in the city, originally built in Roman times, but subsequently rebuilt several times over the centuries. It is close to the medieval Porta Ticinese and near the Basilicas Park, which includes both the Basilica of San Lorenzo and the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio, as well as the Roman Colonne di San Lorenzo.