"First of all, let's get one thing straight. Your Italy and our Italia are not the same thing. Italy is a soft drug peddled in predictable packages, such as hills in the sunset, olive groves, lemon trees, white wine, and raven-haired girls. Italia, on the other hand, is a maze. It's alluring, but complicated. It's the kind of place that can have you fuming and then purring in the space of a hundred metres, or in the course of ten minutes. Italy is the only workshop in the world that can turn out both Botticellis and Berlusconis." 
                              Beppe Severgnini, La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind 


 

The flight to Milan was very comfortable and in the latter stages we flew over lots of lakes and snow covered mountains . Not too bad for the middle of summer. Arrived late afternoon with the temperature well up over 30⁰C. Bit different to the low 20s of Antwerp. Took the shuttle bus into the city then 10 minute walk to the apartment. Wonders of cell phone GPS. Saves a lot of anxiety and shoe leather as to which way to go, particularly when about 50 odd touts descend upon you offering taxis, hotels and a bunch of other assorted delights. Probably a good thing our Italian is still in the developmental stage.

Our apartment was small, arty, very cute, and well-equipped with modern appliances. The kitchen was a bit of a waste for us given that we were in Milan for only three nights, and we had wonderful local specialities we wanted to try and so eating out was the order of the day. With the temperatures in the low 30s, we mostly ate outdoors at the restaurants. The wine/beer and food proved to be as good as ever. Another reason to eat out was the fact that this apartment was one of the few we had chosen without an internet connection so selecting a restaurant with free wi-fi was a priority . From around 6 to 9 pm, order a glass of wine, beer, spritz or whatever and you get a plate of antipasti. The size depends on the cost of the liquor ordered. Two nights in a row the plate was sooo good and with such a variety of goodies, by 10 pm there was no way we could eat more!!   A bit like a degustation meal all for the price of €20.

So to the sights....The Duomo [Milan's cathedral] is the largest in Italy and the 4^th largest in the world. Stunning inside and out. Regrettably, it was being restored inside so many of the stained glass windows were covered. Everything in this building was on a grand scale – columns, stained glass windows, altar – everything. There are 52 huge stone columns inside and they were definitely needed when you see the size of the stone slabs on the roof.   You can get up to the roof and for the very keen there are 201 steps to the top – we took the lift part way, wisely saving ourselves for walks elsewhere. The stonework on the roof and sides of the cathedral is simply amazing and its 130 spires are very intricately carved . While there was no entry fee to enter the main body of the church, one was required to pay €2 to be able to take photos.

Another must do in Milan is a visit to "The Last Supper". For this you have to book well ahead [we had booked in June]. You also have to turn up at the allotted time or you lose your slot. In that case, you have to start the process all over again.    And that is difficult because it is booked out weeks ahead.    There are no refunds or turning up on the off-chance that they will let you in...not an option...no tickee, no entry.   No ifs, buts or maybes.   Also once inside, no photography allowed and brother, did they police that one!! The painting itself makes a real impact [not necessarily from a religious viewpoint, although no doubt some would argue that one] but simply because of the movement depicted. This is no Andy Warhol quick sketch and there is so much detail in it to absorb that the painting at the other end of the room [Crocissione by Giovanni Donato Montofano] does not really get a look in except maybe for that brief moment when you pass it after being tossed out of the viewing room at the end of your allotted time . Your 15 minutes with fame is policed very strictly.

On the edge of the Piazza del Duomo next to the cathedral, stands Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. This grand building [completed in 1878] is a large square multi-storey structure with huge inner shopping walkways crossing from each side of the square. The roof of the walkways is fully glazed with a huge glass dome over the centre of the square. The walkways at ground level are lined with all of the big name shops, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Bernasconi, Savini, etc. The building design was the result of a competition. Unfortunately, the guy that won, Guiseppe Mengoni, killed himself when he fell off the scaffolding part way through its construction.  [...does that make classical architectural design a dying art?]

Through the Galleria from the Duomo is the Teatro alla Scala [La Scala Opera House]. Majestic inside and their museum [regrettably, again no photos] contained portraits of the grand masters, composers, singers, conductors, actors and musicians who had performed there over the past two centuries . August is clearly the cleaning month in Milan because when we visited they were in the process of cleaning the 900 piece glass chandelier. The Opera House was closed for performances from May – September. [That was similar to many restaurants and shops which were closed during our visit. Apparently, lots of Milanese businesses and restaurants shut their doors in August and head north to the Lakes district for cooler climes.]

Sforza Castle [Castello Sforzesco] dates back to the mid-1300s and is a large fort in the traditional style – battlements, firing ports, round corner towers and one of the largest moats I have ever seen. Not filled today but even dry, it would pose a major challenge – only brave guys and idiots up front when attacking this one. Today, the fort houses a series of museums depicting Milan's history.

Shopping in Milan is easy [provided you are willing to pay the price] with the very expensive places in and around the centre of the city [close to the Duomo] . Further out, the sales appeared to be in full swing [possibly because a lot of their usual walk-in traffic was walking into shops where it was a little cooler - such as the Lakes district].

Before leaving home, we had been told by a number of people that Milan was not really worth too much of our time. We were very pleasantly surprised. We were also a little disappointed that we had listened to them and allocated only three nights for this stopover.. It is clearly a designer city for many disciplines – clothing, interior design and architecture in particular. Street performers abound – grand piano players, string quartets playing Vivaldi, illusionists, guitarists, singers [some excellent and some that you hoped that this was not their day job], etc. The two days have been a reminder of things to come but we will have a slightly more relaxing time over the next fortnight before we head back into city life in Turin. Mind you, tomorrow we transform into driving mode so the pressure will come back on in a different way till we get used to Italian roads and drivers [or maybe they get used to me].

Till next week in Arco [hopefully] ...