The park has an overall area of 40.700 m2, bisected by Via Molino delle Armi, one of the avenues comprising the Cerchia dei Navigli ring road (this was originally intended to be adapted into an underpass, but the plan was never implemented).

At the time, the area had marshes of polluted water produced by the tanneries located in the adjacent Piazza della Vetra, as well as old buildings in a state of decay.

Architects Pier Fausto Bagatti Valsecchi and Antonio Grandi, enrolled in 1956,[1] conceived the new park as a sort of archaeological promenade connecting the two basilicas, the Colonne di San Lorenzo, and the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre.

The area surrounding the park and the Colonne di San Lorenzo is one of the most popular night-life districts of Milan, with a number of bars, pubs, disco clubs, and other venues of the so-called "Milanese movida".

In the last decades of the 20th century, security issues were repeatedly reported, including vandalisms, drug trafficking, excessive noise and abusive parking.