The first time in the city of the Duomo and are you wondering what to see in Milan?
Here is an itinerary that, with a nice walk, will allow you to discover some symbolic places of the Milanese city, even in the course of a single day.
1. What to see in Milan: the spires of the Duomo
It may seem trivial, but the first tip I can give you is to get out of the Duomo metro and enjoy the impact with the white spires of the Gothic cathedral. Looking up, you will see the Madonnina, the statue that indicates the highest point of the church.
But the amazement will still be strong once you enter the cathedral. The white of the exterior contrasts with the darkness of the interior, which calls for recollection and silence.
Take a tour of the tall columns and take a look at the decorative cycle of the windows, enjoying the wonderful colored reflections on the church floor. To enter your pay: on duomilano.it you will find all the information relating to tickets.
2. The Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery and the Bull’s Balls
Leaving the Duomo, on the right you will find the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which, if on the one hand it can be considered one of the first examples of a shopping center in the world, on the other it is a real work of art: in Renaissance style, it is an example of European iron architecture and represents the archetype of the 19th-century shopping gallery.
After admiring the dome and the frescoes, go look for the mosaic of the bull which is on the left arm of the gallery. The bull represents the city of Turin and is depicted with the “attributes” in plain sight.
Or rather, perhaps they were, because now in place of the attributes of the bull there is a small basin: tradition has it that it is lucky to place the heel above the attributes of the bull (in the basin, in fact), a symbol of strength and vigor, and rotate 360 ° by pivoting on that foot.
3. What to eat in Milan: Luini’s panzerotti
But before leaving the Duomo area, I recommend you, especially if you are hungry, to stop by Luini, the most famous panzerotti in Milan.
It would seem counterintuitive to go north to eat typical southern food, but I assure you that this is one of those stages that any Milanese, native or foster who is, would make you do! Luini’s oven, which produces excellent sweet and savory panzarotti of all kinds, since 1888, is located in via Santa Radegonda 16 (from Piazza del Duomo, looking at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II on the right, at the corner of the Rinascente) and is open on Monday from 10 to 15 and from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 to 20.
4. The Castello Sforzesco and the unfinished Pietà
The Castle is absolutely one of the things to see in Milan. Admission is free and will allow you to stroll in the open spaces of the castle and relax on the large internal garden.
The Castle Museum, on the other hand, is subject to charges, but on Tuesdays from 2.00 pm and from Wednesday to Sunday (except Thursdays) from 6.30 pm, admission is also free for the Museum. The most interesting part of the Museum is undoubtedly the Pietà Rondanini, recently exhibited in the exhibition space of the Old Spanish Hospital.
This is the Michelangelo Buonarroti sculpture made between 1552 and 1564. It is the last work Michelangelo worked on until a few days before he died. The sculpture, although it has remained unfinished, is truly fascinating, and looking at it one wonders how a man can work marble in such a splendid way.
In the beginning, the sculptor group probably included the only virgin Mary who supports her son from behind under his armpits.
However, Michelangelo then developed a new version, calling into question the entire statue: from the body of Mary he obtained a new figure of Christ (of the previous figure he kept only his legs bent), while from the left shoulder and from the chest of the old body of Christ found the space to make a new body for Mary.
5. Sempione Park and Arco Della Pace
At this point, if you want to walk in the green, walk behind the Castle inside Parco Sempione, until you reach the Arco Della Pace. This is a work obviously wanted in the Napoleonic period which however was left unfinished with the fall of the Italian Kingdom.
The rebuilding of the Arch was resumed in 1826 under the Habsburg emperor Francis I of Austria, who dedicated it to the peace that had brought together the different European powers in 1815.
Small curiosity: the position of the horses that pull the chariot of peace was modified by the Habsburgs. To make fun of the French, the horses were rotated 180 degrees so that the lower back was oriented towards France.
From the Castle, you can instead decide to turn towards Piazza Cadorna and take a long walk that will take you to the Navigli passing through Piazzale Cadorna, the Basilica Sant’Ambrogio, the Columns of San Lorenzo.
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