Tom`s travels: Milano

I visited Milan on a few occasions, since my brother had worked there for several months. Throughout my visits I tried to see as many things possible, concentrating on the main ones first and then checking out the least known ones. I also tried to view the city by areas rather than just walking around town all in one day. The first time I went there was on the 7th of September. So after taking the bust from by brother's house I got off at Piazza Sant Ambrogio and started my visit to the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio, one of the oldest in town, and the second most important after the Duomo. I was visiting with a friend so I did not get to see it fully, so I had to return a second time to fully look at it. As previously mentioned it is one of the oldest churches in town, built by St Ambrose, now the patron saint of the city, around 379. It was built alongside three other churches as an anti Arian and pro Nicene stronghold. In the centuries after its construction, the building underwent several restorations and partial reconstructions, assuming the current appearance at the end of the 11th Century, when it was rebuilt in the Romanesque style. One particular thing, and quite rare both in Italy and around the world, is the entrance portico which was used as a a space to attend mass for those who attended to be baptized. Another interesting thing is that the church presents two towers, the Tower of the Monks on the right was built in the 9th century while the left one in the 12th century. Once inside it was nice to see all the very interesting parts dating from different centuries, such as the splendid Pulpit built in the 9th century it has some beautiful decorations and covers a much older sarcophagus known as the Sarcophagus of Stilicho, the roman general, built in the 4th century. Then on the main altar is the 9th century Ciborium covering the beautiful gold and silver Carolingian altar. Above it is the mosaic representing Chirst, made between the 4th and 8th centuries but partly ruined by a bomb during WWII. Below the main altar is the crypt also built in the 9th century, which holds the remains of St Ambrose and Gervasus and Protasus. The main thing of the church though is the Sacellum or Chapel of St Victor, which requires an entrance fee, and presents a beautiful mosaic of the 4th century with one of the earliest depictions of St Ambrose, possibly very realistic. After this interesting visit, I went on and reached another really old church, the Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore. Built in 364, after several fires, collapses and recontructions it was completed in the 18th century. The older parts and chapels can be seen from the Park of the Basilicas, which is located behind the church. On the front is a square which used to be completely full of houses, then demolished in the 1930s to give the façade a nice look. One the western end of the square sits a colonnade of beautiful roman columns probably coming from a 2nd century temple. The inside is mainly baroque due to the later reconstructions, though it has a beautiful immense octagonal shape. Dating from the beginnings of the church is the Sacellum or Chapel of St Aquilino, which features important Paleochristian mosaics from the 4th century. We came back out and passed through the medieval Porta Ticinese, which is one of the only two remaining medieval gates of the city, and tried to check out the remains of the Roman Amphitheater, whose access was however closed. We then grabbed some beers and enjoyed the view from the Park of the Basilicas. From there we walked trough the city center until we reached the wonderful Piazza del Duomo, with the beautiful Cathedral. We then finished the day by going for an aperitivo in the hip part of Milan, called the Navigli, because of the many 15 and 16th centuries canals that used to run through the whole city and have only survived in this part of town. The next day I woke up early to visit a few more places before going back to Vicenza. I started the day with the beautiful hidden gem of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore church, built in the Renaissance style in the 16th century. It is considered as Milan's Sistine Chapel for its beautiful and completely filling the walls frescoes by painters who followed Leonardo's teachings. The church is divided into two main rooms, the church itself and the back which used to be the hall of the nuns, both with beautiful frescoes, especially noteworthy is the fresco depicting Noah's Ark, also beautiful is the wooden choir and the beautiful and working 16th century organ. From there I then entered the Archaeological museum, located in the cloister of the church, it still hosts two towers from the medieval times: one used to be one of the towers of the Circus Maximus and is now the bell tower of the church while the other used to be part of the roman walls. The museum occupies several levels and is divided into different collections, the part dedicated to Mediolanum, the roman town of Milan, the Greek collection, the Etruscan, the Egyptian and Early Middle ages one; there is also a small part with Indian art. I then completed my day by visiting the less know church of San Vincenzo in Prato, another one of the oldest in the city, founded in the 8th century it still presents a typical paleochristian structure and style. Very simple and unadorned it is quite nice to check out especially since there are no tourists around and it feels very peaceful. After this last visit I reached the train station where I took the train back to Vicenza. A few weeks later, on the 20th of October, I came back to resume my visit of Milan. It was another sunny day and I started by visiting the Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie, or Holy Mary of Grace, now a Unesco World Heritage Site alongside the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci hosted in the Sacristy, which I was not able to view as it was booked until many weeks on. Built at the end of the 15th century in a late Gothic style with the Apse and Dome in a pure and beautiful Renaissance style, The interior is very nice and beautifully decorated, especially the Cupola or Dome which reminded me that of a Mosque in Istanbul. Once in the cloister, I entered the Old Sacristy built by the famous architect Bramante, which hosts a small museum of the extremely interesting Codex Atlanticus, a series of original drawings by Leonardo Da Vinci on several subjects such as mathematics, flight, weaponry and musical instruments. I then headed on and reached the immense Parco Sempione, Milan's largest park, where people were having their daily stroll or run. I then reached the beautiful Arch of Peace, started in 1807 under Napoleonic rule and completed a few decades later is a great example of the Neoclassical style. From there I walked though Chinatown, the chinese neighborhood of Milan, which really felt like a chinese city; and I arrived at the Monumental Cemetery. Built in the early 19th century, among tombs of the inhabitants, it holds several tombs of important people such as the painter Francesco Hayez, the poet and novelist Alessandro Manzoni, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti founder of the Futurist movement and many others, Not far is the super modern Piazza Gae Aulenti with several of Milan's newest skyscrapers such as the Vertical Forest, two beautiful residential buildings with trees planted all the way to the top, and Italy's highest skyscraper; the Unicredit Tower at 231m. I walked on and quickly checked out the Chiesa di Santa Maria Incoronata built in the 15th century in the Gothic style, a rare example of double-church since it is formed by two churches. Walking back towards the city center, I visited the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, a famous art gallery hosted in the Ambrosian Library, with many paintings by important artists such as Leonardo, Tiziano, Botticelli, Caravaggio etc. Behind it is the Church of San Sepolcro, originally built in the 11th century it has a Neo-Romanesque façade and a Baroque interior. It was then time to visit the Sforza Castle, one of the most iconic and beautiful monuments in Milan. Built in the 15th century, by Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan it now hosts several art collections and the city's museums. Due to its size I had to see it only 4 hours, however being it Tuesday the ticket was free. The museums were the Art Gallery with paintings by famous artists such as Tiziano, Canaletto, Mantegna, Bellini, Correggio, Luini etc. Then the Museum of Ancient Art, my favorite, with beautiful artifacts from the early middle ages all the way to the late middle ages. Furthermore a small part which hosted the Egyptian Museum and a really large Museum of Musical Instruments. At the end the museum built purposely for the Rondanini Pietá; Michelangelo's last sculpture. The castle itself is really great, with a beautiful central tower, a reinforced keep and medieval walls, also of note is the beautiful renaissance ducal court. The next day I began my visit by walking around the city center, precisely in the small and secluded Piazza Borromeo, with the beautiful Gothic Palazzo Borromeo on one side and on the other the greek orthodox church of Santa Maria Podone. Walking on I entered the octagunal Mannerist church of San Sebastiano, with a very nice frescoed dome. Not far is the Church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro, a beautiful example of Renaissance church with an amazing trompe l'oeil by Bramante who expertly created a false apse. Inside the church is the beautiful renaissance sacristy also built by Bramante and on the other side the Sacellum or Chapel of San Satiro, the only remaining part of the old church dating from the 9th century and aiming to resemble the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. After that I checked out the Crypt of San Giovanni in Conca, located under street level, where once a church stood after being demolished. The only remains are a part of the apse walls and the Romanesque crypt dating from the 11th century, where a small museum on the history of the church and of the archeological remains. I then decided to have lunch and eat my homemade sandwich a former heptagonal colonnaded cemetery with a church at its center, and now a lovely park. After lunch I went back towards the city center and stopped to check out the small church of San Calimero rebuilt in a Neoromanesque style but still with a 16th century crypt. Moving on I reached the church of San Nazaro in Brolo, one of the oldest in town, the structure dates from the 16th century and has two nice chapels inside, the Trivulzio Chapel and the Chapel of St Catherine. Not far I also checked out the church of Sant'Eufemia though older, it was rebuilt in Neoromanesque and Neogothic styles with a beuatiful mosaic interior. I then decided to visit the church of Santa Maria presso San Celso, which as the name suggests, was built right next to the Romanesque church of San Celso which was unfortunately closed for restoration. The church of Santa Maria, is in my opinion, one of the best looking in Milan; built in the 15th century in the Renaissance style it has a porticoed entrance like that of Sant'Ambrogio. Inside the transition between Renaissance and Baroque decorations is splendid, with beautiful gilded carvings and decorations, also beautiful is the big central dome. It was nearly sunset but there was still more to visit, so I decided to head to see two art exhibition called Myth & Nature and Giotto and Italy at the Royal Palace of Milan. The Palace now hosts several museums and exhibitions. I started with Giotto and Italy first, which was an exhibition showing all together at the same time 14 pieces of art made by Giotto; they were really beautiful but I could not take pictures and I though the ticket price was a bit too much for just one exhibition. Then I went to see Myth & Nature, and exhibition on Greek and Roman art representing nature and myths. There were some incredible greek vases from several museum around the world, including the one in Vicenza, and also some beautiful decorated walls and tombs from Pompeii and Paestum, including the Tomb of the Diver from Paestum which in fact I had not seen when I was last there since it was here on display. It was then time to go back home and rest since the next day we had decided we wanted to go see the city of Monza. A few days later, after a day visiting Monza and another at the Expo, I came back to see more stuff in Milan. I started the visit to the Poldi Pezzoli Museum, a really nice historic house museum with several artworks by famous artists. Right at the beginning there was an amazing room dedicated to arms and weaponry of the medieval times, both western and middle eastern. Then upstairs furniture, paintings and a really large collection of pocket watches from different centuries, and finally the reconstructed 19th century gothic room with stories of Dante. I then was off to see the next museum: the Gallerie di Piazza Scala, located as the name suggests in the beautiful Piazza Scala. It is divided into two parts the contemporary part, which I briefly saw since I do not like contemporary art, and the modern one with beautiful paintings from the 19th century. Once outside I passed through the splendid Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, considered to be one of the oldest shopping malls in the world, built in the 1870s its a marvel of ironwork with beautiful galleries and shops, From there I reached the Piazza del Duomo, with the imposing Cathedral which I was going to visit next. First however, I decided to see the Museum of the Duomo, since the ticket was for both the museum and the Cathedral. The museum presented the history of the Cathedral from its construction to the present time, including the gothic decorations, the treasury and the renovations of the church. Along the visit, it was possib le to see the church of San Gottardo, incoporated in the Royal Palace, with a Neoclassical interior, and a beautiful Gothic Bell Tower. I then entered the magnificent Duomo, or Cathedral, a beautiful example of Gothic architecture and the 5th largest in the world and second in Italy. Though there was a much older basilica on the spot, the actual Cathedral was first started in 1386; by the 16th it was nearly completed except the façade and most of the decorations, however as it was a different century and the Gothic style was much surpassed the plan for the façade was that it should be in the Renaissance style. However only at the beginning of the 19th century was the façade completed in a Neo Gothic style. When I came out, they were setting up on the square a stage for an Mtv Festival so I decided to move away quickly so as not to get stuck there. I walked a bit and reached the two churches of Santo Stefano Maggiore and the smaller San Bernardino alle Ossa, the first being the site of the assassination of the Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza in 1476, and the second one being a pleasant surprise since it contained a beautiful yet macabre ossuary with human skulls and bones. Further on I visited the church of Sant'Antonio Abate, a beautifully decorated Mannerist church, which also had a classical concert going on so I decided to spend some time there listening to it. I then moved on to the overlooked church of San Pietro in Gessate, where I had to wait a while before the guardian decided to open the doors. At first sight this Gothic church might seem unadorned, but inside there are some really nice early Renaissance frescoes decorating some of the chapels. I then continued my walk and briefly saw the church of Santa Maria della Passione, since a mass was starting and I could not see the Sala Capitolare which I read had some really nice paintings. Not far I took a photo of the Casa Fontana Silvestri, one of the few remaining old houses in Milan dating from the 14th century. Quite close I entered the Basilica of San Babila, once the third most important church in Milan, now largely modified in the 19th and 20th century in a Neo Romanesque style. Outside is the Piazza San Babila which is connected to the Duomo through the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, where all the famous clothing stores in Milan are located. Halfway up the street, is the immense but a bit covered due to the modern buildings all around. The great façade is still visible and the interior is a large round room, typical of the neoclassical period. The next I had to catch the train around 5pm so I decided to visit the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan's largest and most famous art gallery, right after lunch. Inside are displayed paintings ranging from the late medieval times up to the 19th century with the Romantic era, mainly famous Italian ones like Raphael, Bellini, Titian, Caravaggio, Mantegna, Hayez etc. but also a few famous European ones like Rubens and Van Dyck. I stayed there a few hours enjoying the beautiful paintings, and then right before catching the train I entered the Church of St Mark with a large nave and some really nice frescoed chapels. From there I took the metro and then jumped on the train heading back to Vicenza, still hoping for the next time I would come back to Milan and finish visiting this great and much overlooked city.