Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, Italy
We fly home on Friday out
of Milan, so on Wednesday we travelled on a virtually empty train for the two-hour
journey from Genoa’s Piazza Principe station to Milan. Our hotel is in the
‘Duomo region’ of the city, in close
proximity to the duomo, the world-famous Milan Cathedral.
I’d never visited Milan
previously. I knew it had both important
museums and historical sites but was warned that it is a big city that lacks
the character of other Italian locations. However, both Sharon and I were
pleasantly surprised to immediately discover otherwise.
We soon realised the city
had tons of character. If for no other reason than the rumbling etc. noises of
the trams as they negotiated the narrow city centre streets with their huge cobblestones. The pinging of their bells as they warned pedestrians and traffic
brought back distant nostalgic memories of trams in Sydney and in more recent
years in Melbourne. The tracks ran right below our hotel bedroom’s windows, so
we were constantly, but not unpleasantly, subjected to these sounds during our whole
stay.
The cathedral was less
than 200 m from our hotel and our first glimpse through the arched ceiling of
the arcade we were approaching from was magical. This huge intricately and
beautifully decorated white monolith seemed to literally glow in the bright sunlight.
And adjoining it on the huge Piazza Duomo and making the scene as we emerged
from the arcade even more spectacular is the Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II.
Construction of the
cathedral began in 1386, took six centuries to complete, and it is now the
third largest church in the world. The Galleria, with its four-story double
arcade outfitted in classic Renaissance style, was built between 1865 and 1887.
It is the oldest covered shopping arcade in the world and is an easily
recognisable landmark for Milan.
Over the next day and a
half, we had the opportunity to see many of the city’s sights, many from the
Roman, medieval and Renaissance periods, but the one both most important and
most significant was Leonardo da Vinci’s 1495-1498 mural painting, The Last
Supper, in the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. It is said
to be one of the world’s most recognisable paintings. Its large scale, unique
composition and mysterious subject matter has captivated audiences since its
completion. Almost five meters high and nine wide it spreads fully across one
complete wall of the refectory. To enjoy a viewing, we needed to book months in
advance, and to be up close to such a Renaissance masterpiece was the highlight
of our time in Milan.
On our second day we had
timeout from our touring to enjoy a long lunch beside one of the canals in the Navigli
region. Milan’s once vast canal system was started in the 12th
century. Its importance faded with the rise of railways and the little that
remains is now one of Milan’s trendiest bar and restaurant zones.
After lunch we visited the
heart of Milan’s fashion district wandering past any number of top name fashion
boutiques. We checked out Gucci, Dolce Gabbana, Versace and Prada but fortunately, although
tempted, Sharon wasn’t enticed to splurge in any of them. Relieved by this, I
was therefore happy to shout us both refreshments in the extremely elegant Dolce
Gabbana cafe.
As we did on our first
evening here, we again dined at a formal restaurant recommended by our hotel
just around the corner from the hotel. Seeing these were to be our last evening
meals in Europe, we wanted to make them memorable experiences. And they
certainly were. The food, wine and service were all excellent and all were delivered
in a friendly elegant manner.
I love dining and wining
when overseas, testing the different dishes and tastes, and enjoying the
European atmosphere whilst watching the passing crowd. This was made all the
more interesting at this restaurant, as the majority of other diners seemed to
be locals judging by the way they were warmly welcomed by the owner, with most
dressed very stylishly.
After his almost twenty
years in Milan, Leonardo da Vinci is considered a beloved adopted son of the
city.
Wherever you are in Milan you are constantly reminded of him and his long
list of achievements. And we didn’t realise until the second night that there
was another Leonardo reminder, just twenty meters away across the square from
our dinner table.
During our Last Supper
tour, our guide extolled the wonders and importance of the famous Bibliotheca
Ambrosiana which houses an invaluable twelve volume bound set of Leonardo’s original drawings,
musings, doodles and writings as well as some of his original paintings. We ran
out of time today before we could track the museum down little knowing it was less
than 100 meters away from our hotel. And just a hop skip and jump away from where
we sat right now. But alas, it was well past closing time for the day, and as
we’re leaving first thing tomorrow morning for Milan’s Malpensa Airport and our
flights home, we’ll have to save it for another visit.
Earlier tonight on our way back to the hotel we paused
for early evening aperitifs at a café on the edge of the Piazza Duomo. It was
our last chance to embrace the unique scenery and atmosphere of this special
place. As we sipped on our drinks we were again mesmerised by the stunning scene
across the piazza dominated by the Milan Cathedral as it blazed brightly in all
its glory in the late afternoon sun. This scene provided the perfect conclusion to our Milan visit. And together with what we've seen in the last 24 hours, it reinforced my view that despite what I'd heard, Milan certainly does have a ton of character. I truly can't understand why anyone could possibly say otherwise.
John Verhelst
2024-07-11
And no matter how well you dress in Milan you still will look rather shabby compared to the locals. A lovely city having visited on many occasions over the years. A fitting end to your vacation.
Anne
2024-07-12
I’m so glad you enjoyed Milan. I think it’s beautiful & filled with character. Its architectural masterpieces & Leonardo’s fingerprint on the design of the canals & his wonderful mural add to its elegant charm. Thank you for reminding me how I’d love to revisit it. What a fabulous end to a superb honeymoon!