The rural settlement of Affori is referenced as early as 915, although in early references the name of the place is variously spelled
Affoni,
Afoni,
Afori or even from
ad fontem ("by the spring", in reference to a local spring of water. Remnants of the medieval borgo in modern Affori include a watchtower (located in Via Osculati and dating back to the 14th century). The historic centre of Affori is found at the corners of the streets Via Taccioli and Via Cialdini. While Affori was located on a road connecting Milan to
Como, this road was secondary, the main thoroughfares passing respectively west of the borgo (the modern Via Bovisasca, which was mostly used for military purposes) and one to the east (the modern Via Giuditta Pasta, for civilian and commercial traffic). As a consequence, the development of Affori was slower than that of the surrounding settlements that were closer to, or traversed by, these main roads. As a consequence of this secondary role of Affori, the borgo was split in two parts when the Milanese territory was partitioned into
pieves; the eastern part was assigned to the pieve of
Bruzzano, while the western part was assigned to the pieve of
Bollate. The economy of the borgo was based on agriculture; its territory housed several
cascine (farms). A major source of income was the cultivation of
mulberries and
sericulture. In 1686, Pier Paolo Corbella became
duke of Affori; he bought a large piece of land in the area and ordered the construction of a luxury villa, now known as Villa Litta. This boosted the economy of Affori, which became largely dependent by the villa itself. Another major thrust to the development of Affori came between the 18th and 19th centuries, when a new road was built to connect Milan to Como; the new road (which corresponds to what are now Via Imbonati, Via Pellegrino Rossi, Via Astesani and Via Comasina) traversed Affori, which thus became one of the most important settlements north of Milan. During
Napoleonic rule, in 1808, Affori was briefly annexed to Milan, but regained its autonomy in 1816. In 1869 Affori,
Bruzzano,
Bresso and
Dergano were merged into a
comune named
Affori e uniti ("Affori and united"). Bresso regained its autonomy in 1884, but Bruzzano and Dergano remained part of the comune, which would eventually be renamed just "Affori" (in 1912). At the turn of the 19th century, Milan was quickly growing as a consequence of the industrialization process. Its relationship with adjacent comuni became stricter, and Affori became
de facto a district of the city. Transportation between Milan and Affori developed quickly since the last decade of the 19th century, with the construction of a railway and the established of a horse-driven tramway in 1882, that was replaced in 1898 by an electrical tramway. This was formalized in 1923 when Affori was annexed to Milan along with several other comuni. ==Places of interest==