Walking around Milan
While Milan is known for its industrial heritage in addition to fashion and finance, it's not generally a tourist destination compared to Rome, Venice and Florence. However, there is so much to see and do in Milan. The centre piece of Milan's Piazzo del Duomo is the cathedral but to one side is the magnificent 19th century shopping arcade, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. This arcade with its glass-vaulted roof and central dome links the Piazza del Duomo to the Piazza della Scala and it does so in an amazing fashion. The four-story arcade includes elegant shops selling most things from haute couture to books, as well as restaurants, cafés and bars in addition to Milan's ultra-luxurious Town House Galleria hotel. The architecture and light in here is something special and it was great sitting down with an ice-cream and coffee admiring the views and watching the world go by.
Before leaving for Milan, I managed to book a ticket to see Leonard da Vinci's The Last Supper which covers the back wall of the dining hall at Santa Maria delle Grazie. I had an early morning start from the hotel and ambled through the streets of Milan to make the 9.45am viewing. Each ticket needs to be pre-booked and I was glad I had mine in-hand. While I was walking there admiring the buildings, occasional hanging baskets of flowers, cars and bikes, crossing roads, I suddenly saw the Church come into view. Many tourists were there, some just looking and wondering could they get in, a Japanese tour of about 30 were being shown pictures of what was inside but obviously they didn't have tickets. So I went in and was allocated my slot. Entering the old dining hall was something special as I've seen photos of this famous fresco many times before. But being there was very different. All the written descriptions cannot describe the realism and depth he shows and, with the help of an audio-guide, you get a great appreciation of this priceless work of art. Of course Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code added an additional fictitious twist. Definitely a highlight of the trip.
During the day, I ambled all around Milan looking in shops, having coffees and just really enjoying the city. Visting the castle and museums of the Castello Sforzesco was another highlight. It was the seat and residence of the ruling family of Milan for centuries and now houses several museums and art collections.
That evening, I met up with Rececca and we headed off to Claudio's restaurant Il Cinghiale Rosso (The Red Boar) for a meal. The restaurant was part of the Unità Festival and it was great to meet up with all my Milanese friends again - from Bex and Lorenza, Stefano, Claudio, Barbara and many more. All I can say is that the food was just fantastic, the hospitality and friendliness was second-to-none and I just has a lovely evening before heading back to the hotel.
My last day in Milan covered the Duomo and La Scala but I had a very pleasant surprise - a great pizza lunch with Claudio, Euphemia, Rebecca and many more. Really good - one of these days, I need to learn Italian along with the other languages I've on my list.
All-in-all, a really good mini-break and definitely to be recommended ... and I didn't even make the lakes north of Milan!! Next time ..... :-)
Before leaving for Milan, I managed to book a ticket to see Leonard da Vinci's The Last Supper which covers the back wall of the dining hall at Santa Maria delle Grazie. I had an early morning start from the hotel and ambled through the streets of Milan to make the 9.45am viewing. Each ticket needs to be pre-booked and I was glad I had mine in-hand. While I was walking there admiring the buildings, occasional hanging baskets of flowers, cars and bikes, crossing roads, I suddenly saw the Church come into view. Many tourists were there, some just looking and wondering could they get in, a Japanese tour of about 30 were being shown pictures of what was inside but obviously they didn't have tickets. So I went in and was allocated my slot. Entering the old dining hall was something special as I've seen photos of this famous fresco many times before. But being there was very different. All the written descriptions cannot describe the realism and depth he shows and, with the help of an audio-guide, you get a great appreciation of this priceless work of art. Of course Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code added an additional fictitious twist. Definitely a highlight of the trip.
During the day, I ambled all around Milan looking in shops, having coffees and just really enjoying the city. Visting the castle and museums of the Castello Sforzesco was another highlight. It was the seat and residence of the ruling family of Milan for centuries and now houses several museums and art collections.
That evening, I met up with Rececca and we headed off to Claudio's restaurant Il Cinghiale Rosso (The Red Boar) for a meal. The restaurant was part of the Unità Festival and it was great to meet up with all my Milanese friends again - from Bex and Lorenza, Stefano, Claudio, Barbara and many more. All I can say is that the food was just fantastic, the hospitality and friendliness was second-to-none and I just has a lovely evening before heading back to the hotel.
My last day in Milan covered the Duomo and La Scala but I had a very pleasant surprise - a great pizza lunch with Claudio, Euphemia, Rebecca and many more. Really good - one of these days, I need to learn Italian along with the other languages I've on my list.
All-in-all, a really good mini-break and definitely to be recommended ... and I didn't even make the lakes north of Milan!! Next time ..... :-)
The Duomo - the magnificent gothic cathedral
When you arrive in Milan, the Cathedral is one of the most impressive sites in the city, if not in Italy. While it's one of the largest cathedrals in the world, it's shear height, gothic exuberance and exquisite detailing gives this building a huge "whow" factor. Externally, the white-cream-gold Candoglia marble sparkles in the sunshine especially after the recent renovations but its ornateness and details are spectacular. It's grandeur is largely down to Napoleon who ordered the façade finished in time for his coronation as King of Italy.
While I met with Claudio, I checked what "Duomo" actually meant - it's the "head cathedral" in an area. Once you go inside, the external gothic marble is replaced by a huge space lit by the amazing stained-glass windows. The ground plan is of a nave with five aisles, crossed by a transept and then followed by choir and apsis. The height of the nave is about 45 metres, the highest Gothic vaults of a complete church. I hope the photos give you some indication of the size of this church and the colours which are changing throughout the day and as you walk about in between the gigantic pillars and around the central altar.
One of the special parts of the visit is the roof as it's open to visitors. You meander in between the marble buttresses and have spectacular views over the city but more impressively, really get up close to the carvings and detail which make this cathedral one of the greats. Very, very impressive!
While I met with Claudio, I checked what "Duomo" actually meant - it's the "head cathedral" in an area. Once you go inside, the external gothic marble is replaced by a huge space lit by the amazing stained-glass windows. The ground plan is of a nave with five aisles, crossed by a transept and then followed by choir and apsis. The height of the nave is about 45 metres, the highest Gothic vaults of a complete church. I hope the photos give you some indication of the size of this church and the colours which are changing throughout the day and as you walk about in between the gigantic pillars and around the central altar.
One of the special parts of the visit is the roof as it's open to visitors. You meander in between the marble buttresses and have spectacular views over the city but more impressively, really get up close to the carvings and detail which make this cathedral one of the greats. Very, very impressive!
La Scala Opera House
No visit to Milan would be complete without a trip to one of the world's most famous Opera Houses - Il Teatro alla Scala. When you come onto the Piazza della Scala, the world famous building lies ahead. When you go inside, you get to see one of the world's greatest opera houses - the amphitheatre shaped auditorium has a lush velvet red and gold feel as the vertical boxes surround the stage. It's really impressive.
While many people don't like opera, it's hard not to feel the importance and history of this place which is all the more evident when you walk through the marble halls with the busts of Verdi, Puccini, Mascagni, Toscanini etc. The attached museum really lends to this experience as the actual pianos, instruments, opera scores and lives of the composers and great singers are there to be experienced. Portraits and busts of tenors like Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, Giuseppe Di Stefano and sopranos like Joan Sutherland and Maria Callas adorn the walls bringing the history to life in quite an unusual way.
I think one of the highlight though was heading up the stairs seeing some of the old opera posters showing Tosca, Madame Butterfly, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Aida, Requiem to name but a few. And just sitting in one of the boxes for a few minutes in almost complete silence being able to take in the incredible ornateness, opulence, colour and general history of the auditorium brought it to life. Seeing an opera here live would have topped off the experience.
While many people don't like opera, it's hard not to feel the importance and history of this place which is all the more evident when you walk through the marble halls with the busts of Verdi, Puccini, Mascagni, Toscanini etc. The attached museum really lends to this experience as the actual pianos, instruments, opera scores and lives of the composers and great singers are there to be experienced. Portraits and busts of tenors like Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, Giuseppe Di Stefano and sopranos like Joan Sutherland and Maria Callas adorn the walls bringing the history to life in quite an unusual way.
I think one of the highlight though was heading up the stairs seeing some of the old opera posters showing Tosca, Madame Butterfly, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Aida, Requiem to name but a few. And just sitting in one of the boxes for a few minutes in almost complete silence being able to take in the incredible ornateness, opulence, colour and general history of the auditorium brought it to life. Seeing an opera here live would have topped off the experience.