MILAN THE CITY
HISTORY AND CULTUREJOURNEY THROUGH HISTORY, ART, CULTURE AND SPORT IN THE CITY HEADQUARTERS OF THE 19th WKC
The first traces of a settlement in the Milanese (Milan city area) date back to the 6th century B.C. and belong to the Gauls. The Celtic name of the village, which has come down to us in the Latin form of Mediolanum, seems to have meant “land in the middle of the rivers” or “the plain”. In 286 A.D. the city became the residence of Emperor Maximian and the capital of the Western Roman Empire. After 313 A.D., following the Edict of Constantine, promulgated in Milan, it was a center of great importance for the consolidation of the new Christian religion thanks to the activity of Ambrogio, patron and saint protector of the city. From 402 A.D. a period of decline begins for Milan, following the transfer of the court to Ravenna, and devastations by the Huns, Goths and Byzantines. Only in the Carolingian period (9th-10th century) did the city return to being an important center above all thanks to the bishop-counts. In these years Milan became the capital of a vast duchy and the construction of the Cathedral began (1386). In 1450 the city was handed over to the mercenary captain Francesco Sforza; under this dynasty, Milan became one of the capitals of the Renaissance thanks to the many artists who worked there (including Filarete, Bramante and Leonardo da Vinci); the Ospedale Maggiore, the Portinari Chapel and the Lazzaretto were built in the city.
ARCH OF PEACE: The Arch of Peace, one of the major neoclassical monuments of Milan, was built in the first half of the 19th century. It was consecrated to the Peace between the European nations of 1815 and reached its glory in 1859 with Napoleon III and Vittorio Emanuele II entering Milan trough the arch.
In the 16th century, the territory of Milan became the scene of clashes between the French and Spanish monarchies which prevailed and dominated the city for almost two centuries, establishing a new difficult period for the city with strong social inequalities, marked by plagues and dominated by the Borromeos until it passed under the dominion of the Austrians in 1713 which fueled a strong recovery in all sectors. The Brera Academy was founded and the Teatro alla Scala, the Palazzo and the Villa Reale were built, many neoclassical palaces. On May 15, 1796, Napoleon entered the city at the head of the French army. The following year Milan became the capital of the Cisalpine Republic and, in 1805, of the Kingdom of Italy: Bonaparte had himself crowned Emperor in Milan’s cathedral, the Duomo. The return of the Austrians in 1814 marks the beginning of the Risorgimento period and it remained there until 1859, the year in which Milan became part of the Savoy domains, and in 1861 it merged into the Kingdom of Italy, soon becoming its economic capital. The new wealth led to an upheaval in the historic center where banks and insurance companies settled above all and elegant neighborhoods were erected. In Milan, Mussolini founded Fascism in 1919: the regime left a strong mark in the city, changing its face with the covering of the Navigli and with the construction of some public works (Palazzi di Giustizia and dell’Arte, Trade Fair). During the Second World War Milan was severely hit by Allied bombings and after 1943 it was on the front line against the Nazi-fascists, becoming the headquarters of the partisan command of Upper Italy (the city is Gold Medal of the Resistance). After the conflict, the Lombard capital was the engine of national reconstruction and protagonist of an economic boom that saw the city grow and transform, also due to strong immigration flows.
Recent history sees Milan as the center of an irreversible urban evolution, linked to almost total deindustrialization. Major projects such as City Life, Portello, Porta Nuova and Cascina Merlata are shaping the territory. With Expo Milano 2015, the city was the protagonist of further architectural and urban renewals, starting with the huge complex that was built next to the new Fair. A renewal not only urban, but also social and cultural.
CITY LIFE: It’s an economic and residential area that was built to replace part of the previous exhibition center in the Amendola district. It features three towers with a unique and straightforward shape designed by Archistar Zaha Hadid, Arata Isozaki and Daniel Libeskind. City Life houses buildings part of the financial district, a shopping quarter and a park fully immersed in a residential area.
THE CENTER OF MILAN
The place of greatest attraction for those who have never visited the city is Piazza del Duomo which today presents itself as the result of expansions and renovations that have taken place over the centuries. It was once much smaller, surrounded by medieval houses and palaces; in the second half of the 1800s it was decided to create a large churchyard, bordered by buildings with arcades, which changed the emotional effect aroused by the cathedral. The Duomo, the Royal Palace, the Arengario, the arcades and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II overlook the square, while the equestrian monument to Vittorio Emanuele stands out in the centre. The Cathedral, symbol of the Lombard capital, has an uncertain date. It is hypothesized that the works began in 1386 from a small plaque placed at the beginning of the first span to the right of the church which bears an engraving testifying to the year in which the works began. The completion of the facade can be dated to the first half of the sixteenth century.
The “Fabbrica del Duomo” was an infinite work, which ended with the positioning of the last door dating back to 1965. Its marble mass has exceptional dimensions and in fact it is among the largest Gothic cathedrals in Europe and among the largest cathedrals in the world: 158 m long, 93 m wide, 108.5 m high with its main spire. On the left of the cathedral, you can access the 19th-century Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which connects Piazza del Duomo with Piazza della Scala, where two main buildings face each other. On one side Palazzo Marino and on the other the Teatro alla Scala, the most famous opera house in the world. You quickly reach the district of via Brera, the true artistic center of the city where art, poetry and very popular clubs surround the imposing seventeenth-century Palazzo di Brera, home to the Pinacoteca, the Academy of Fine Arts and the Braidense National Library. Not far away it is possible to visit the church and convent where Mozart stayed.
THE SOW: the semi-woolly sow, pictured in a bas-relief in the Palazzo della Regione (Palace of the Lombardy region), it refers to one of the origins of the city’s name. Belloveso, the leader of the Celts, founded Milan in the very spot where a semi-woolly sow (in “medio lanae”) was found, as an oracle had forseen.
THE DUOMO: it is the main symbol of the Lombard capital. The cathedral is dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente and located in the city center in a square going by the same name. It is the largest church in Italy since St. Peter’s in Rome is officially within the Vatican City state. Worldwide the Duomo comes in third place for size.
FUN FACT: on top of the Duomo cathedral a statue of the Holy Mother, known as the “Madonnina del Duomo” watches over the whole city. It is the only female figure placed on top of a church and actually the only one in the world that has a human shaped figure instead of a cross. The popular song “Oh mia bela Madunina” is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin.
ROMAN AND MEDIEVAL MILAN
Milan was the capital of the Western Roman Empire but few traces remain. The Civic Archaeological Museum which is housed in the former convent of the Monastero Maggiore of San Maurizio (dating back to the 8th century AD) is an excellent place to observe a part of what has come down to the present day with the possibility of seeing a part of the only remaining tower of the Roman walls located inside the park. The ruins of a building part of the imposing Imperial Palace, erected at the end of the 3rd century, are visible in the nearby via Brisa, where a thermal plant can also be recognized. The Theater of the end of the 1st century BC it is located under the Palazzo della Borsa in Piazza degli Affari (it can be visited only on request). Beyond Porta Ticinese there was the 2nd-3rd century Amphitheater and the basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore. Crossing the Parco delle Basiliche you arrive at Sant’Eustorgio, a basilica with a complex layout in which there are structures of a chapel and early Christian burials. Bishop Ambrogio had three basilicas built: San Nazaro Maggiore, San Simpliciano and the “basilica Martyrum” now Sant’Ambrogio, a splendid example of Lombard Romanesque.
A stone’s throw from the Cathedral is the medieval core of the city with the greatest impact, Piazza dei Mercanti, which was the fulcrum of medieval civic life and under its portico traders, money changers and notaries met. Behind the cathedral, incorporated into the rear part of Palazzo Reale, you can see a red brick bell tower: it is the only fourteenth-century remains of the palatine church of San Gottardo in Corte. Famous for the Ossuary chapel is the church of San Bernardino alle Ossa, with its unusual covering of human bones piled up to form religious designs.
PALAZZO REALE: For many centuries this has been the government seat of Milan and of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Veneto, while later a royal residence. It was originally designed with two courtyards, one of which was later partially demolished to make space for the Cathedral. Facing the Duomo, the palace can be found on the right side, just opposite of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE IN MILAN
On 12 April 1456, Duke Francesco Sforza laid the first stone of the “Ca’ Granda” and started the construction of what was the most modern hospital in Europe at the time. Initiated by Antonio Averulino, known as Filarete, it was the Ospedale Maggiore of Milan until 1939; the same artist also worked on one of the best-known symbols of medieval and Renaissance Milan: the Castello Sforzesco, transforming it from a fortress into an elegant residence of the duke and starting from 1893 it was restored and transformed into one of the most important cultural centers of the city and the Castle Museums are located there. Not far away is Santa Maria delle Grazie, a jewel of the Renaissance and a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as home to the famous Cenacolo Vinciano which is located inside the former Dominican convent; in the garden behind the Palazzo delle Stelline which bears the name of “Leonardo’s Gardens“, where the vineyard that Ludovico il Moro, then Duke of Milan, had given him grew. The great Tuscan painter spent more than 20 years of his life in Milan, where he painted the two versions of the “Vergine delle Rocce” and the “Musico” (in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana) and invented hydraulic and war machines. The church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro is fascinating and certainly astounding for the painting technique, a precious testimony of the Renaissance technique. The famous fake presbytery painted by Bramante, a painted virtual space that creates the illusion of a deep apse. Not far away, in Corso Italia, the square of the same name is dominated by the church of Sant’Eufemia, a national monument which preserves remarkable sixteenth-century paintings by the Leonardo school. It is tradition that Milanese brides, immediately after the wedding celebration, bring a bouquet of flowers to the Madonna displayed in this church.
CASTELLO SFORZESCO: this ancient castle can be found in the very city center, featuring permanent and temporary exhibitions. It is located between the Arco della Pace and the Duomo and hosts a large green park where you can take a refreshing walk while staying downtown.
THE NEOCLASSICAL AND THE 19TH CENTURY IN MILAN
The eighteenth century was a period of great building renovation for Milan and the appearance of the new city is mainly due to Giuseppe Piermarini, court architect of the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, who designed the Teatro alla Scala and took care of the neoclassical renovation of the Royal Palace and the nearby Archbishop’s Palace. Even the Porta Venezia area was subject to renewal, representing at the time the entrance to the city for those arriving from Austria and for this reason it was enriched with numerous noble palaces. Corso Vittorio Emanuele opens into the square where the ancient church of San Babila stands, one of the main Romanesque churches in Milan (dating back to the 11th century) which however was rebuilt in neo-Romanesque style in the mid-19th century. At the crossroads between Corso Venezia and via San Damiano, one is struck by the imposing Palazzo Serbelloni (1793): a meeting place for the Milanese Enlightenment movement and later the residence of Napoleon, Metternich, Vittorio Emanuele II and Napoleon III. In via Palestro you can admire one of the best creations of Milanese Neoclassicism: the Villa Belgiojoso Bonaparte known as Villa Reale with a beautiful garden. In the opposite area there are the Indro Montanelli Public Gardens configured as Italian gardens. At the beginning of the 19th century, Milan was also enriched by two new buildings: the Arco della Pace (located in the large Piazza Sempione) and the Arena Civica. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (built in the second half of the 19th century in honor of the king of Italy) is a covered street which, for the first time in Italy, saw the use of iron and glass as structural materials and connected the Duomo to Scala. The Teatro alla Scala was inaugurated in 1778 with a melodrama by Antonio Salieri and with Arturo Toscanini (1898-1908) it became the celebrated «Temple of the Opera». The Monumental Cemetery dates back to the same period, an “open-air museum” full of artistic masterpieces and inside which the remains of illustrious men are housed (Alessandro Manzoni, Salvatore Quasimodo and many other historical figures of the city of Milan and of Italy).
CIMITERO MONUMENTALE: the largest cemetery within the city, renowned for the architecture of its buildings, the great amount of notable sculptures and the graves of famous historical figures.
CHURCHES AND RELIGIOUS PLACES
The Cathedral is the symbol of the Lombard capital, dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente has legendary origins. It is said that the devil presented himself one night to the lord of Milan offering him to save his life in exchange for the construction of a large church that had many images of him. The 96 satanic gargoyles depicting monstrous figures placed outside would confirm this story. The construction lasted until the 19th century, so much so that defining a job «as long as the Fabbrica del Duomo» is a widespread saying in the city. The interior is of considerable impact because it reveals all the vertical Gothic essence of the cathedral. There are many works of art: the tomb of Gian Giacomo Medici by Leone Leoni; a walnut choir; the Holy Nail of the Cross of Jesus preserved in a tabernacle placed inside a crucifix above the choir; some stained glass windows from the 15th-16th centuries; the Candelabro Trivulzio, a bronze work largely of Gothic workmanship, perhaps of the Rhine school; the sundial; the Scurolo di San Carlo by Richini (1606) with the urn that preserves the body of Carlo Borromeo. Another important church is San Lorenzo Maggiore in Corso di Porta Ticinese, preceded by a Roman colonnade of the imperial age, the basilica offers a truly fascinating glance. In its essential features it is a church from the late 1600s, it was built by integrating an early Christian building and for this reason it is still considered the most important testimony of Roman and early Christian Milan. San Sepolcro erected in 1030 in the Forum of Roman Milan, it was rebuilt by the founder’s great-grandson returning from the first crusade (1096-1099), in imitation of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. The sarcophagus in the center of the nave is said to contain soil from the Holy City brought by the Crusaders and a lock of the Magdalene’s hair.
San Simpliciano in Piazza San Simpliciano, is the last of the four basilicas that Sant’Ambrogio wanted in the peripheral areas of the city, it preserves the fresco by Bergognone, “The Coronation of the Virgin” (1515), organ concerts are regularly held there.
The Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio was founded in 379 as the “basilica Martyrum” on the tombs of Saints Gervasius and Protasius and the city’s patron saint was buried there in 397. The current Romanesque appearance is the result of profound transformations and reconstructions carried out from the 9th to the 12th century, but also of modern restoration interventions. Worth a visit to observe the ciborium (dating back to the 10th century) which surmounts the Golden altar, a goldsmith’s masterpiece from the Carolingian age, and the crypt; the apse basin is decorated with a large mosaic from the 6th and 8th centuries.
Santa Maria delle Grazie is a splendid example of Renaissance architecture, the church is known for Leonardo’s Last Supper but stands out for its Renaissance grandstand. The fifteenth-century panel of the “Madonna delle Grazie” was much venerated at the time of the plagues of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the chapel on the right was Titian’s “The Crowning with Thorns” which, at the end of the 18th century, the French brought to Paris; today the work is in the Louvre Museum. A door on the left leads to the small cloister attributed to Bramante.
SANTA MARIA DELLE GRAZIE: a masterpiece of the renaissance in Lombardy and a UNESCO world heritage, it hosts within the refectory of the convent the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.
THE HISTORICAL BUILDINGS OF MILAN
Casa di Alessandro Manzoni is the house where the writer lived with his family from 1814 to 1873, today it is the Manzonian Museum.
Skyscraper Pirelli, better known as “Pirellone“, from 1978 was the seat of the offices of the Lombardy Region until the completion of the new and current headquarters, 127 meters high and is the work of Gio Ponti and associated with the collaboration of Pier Luigi Nervi. A bronze copy of the statue of the madonna del Duomo was placed on its top, so that the Madonnina would be at the highest point of the city, now moved to the top of the tallest tower of the City Life project at over 200 meters in height.
Palazzo della Ragione in Piazza Mercanti, also called Broletto Nuovo, is one of the most authentic symbols of the Lombard Middle Ages, built in 1233 and housed the offices of the Municipality until 1789. It has a single majestic room, the Sala della Ragione.
Palazzo Marino has been the seat of the Municipality since 1860, the building was begun in 1558 for the tax collector Tomaso Marino. The facade towards La Scala dates back to 1889. Here was born the Nun of Monza mentioned by Manzoni in “The Betrothed” stands near the Cathedral, located in front of the Teatro alla Scala. Crossing Galleria Vittorio Emanuele you reach Piazza del Duomo and Palazzo Reale, a former fourteenth-century ducal palace, which was rebuilt in its current form in 1778 and is one of the most important exhibition venues in Milan. In 1951 Pablo Picasso chose the Palace to set his “Guernica”, as an emblem of the destruction of war.
Torre Velasca is a 26-storey skyscraper built between 1956 and 1957 by the BBPR studio (Banfi, Belgiojoso, Peressutti, Rogers). Its singular shape is one of the best-known symbols in the city landscape. Since 2011 it has been subject to cultural restrictions.
CASA GALIMBERTI: one of the most brilliant pieces of milanese Art Nouveau with a facade covered with coloured ceramic tiles, wrought iron and floral motifs in cement.
MUSEUMS IN MILAN
In addition to the aforementioned Cenacolo Vinciano, whose visit is subject to reservation, and the Civic Archaeological Museum, Milan hosts numerous thematic and historical museums such as the Interactive Cinema Museum (MIC) with exhibits of early cinema, images of some of the many films shot in the city, games. The Museums of the Castello Sforzesco make the Castle a first-rate cultural center but not the only one: Museum of Ancient Art (sculpture, Lombard and otherwise, from the 4th to the 16th century); Pinacoteca (230 works of Italian painting from the 13th to the 18th century, in particular Lombard-Venetian production); the Pietà Rondanini by Michelangelo in the former Spanish Hospital; Museum of Prehistory and Protohistory; Egyptian museum; Museum of Musical Instruments (made between the 15th and 20th centuries); Civic Collections of Applied Art (ivory, glass, majolica and ceramics and the 16th century “Trivulzio Tapestries of the Months”).
Museo del Duomo, reopened in 2013 with an important new layout, illustrates and enhances the history of the cathedral of Milan. Museo della Permanente Via Turati 34. A large collection of works from the late 19th and 20th centuries and a specialized library documenting the history of the Society for Fine Arts and Permanent Exhibition, an important Milanese artistic institution. There is also space for sports museums such as the Inter and Milan Museum at the Meazza Stadium in San Siro which represents the first museum set up in an Italian stadium, tells the story of the two Milanese teams Inter and Milan through unique memorabilia (shirts, cups, trophies).
Famous and very important worldwide is the Pinacoteca di Brera. One of the largest collections of painting in Italy, especially of works from the Lombard and Venetian schools from the 15th to the 16th century. Founded at the end of the 18th century as a collection of models for the students of the Academy, it houses over 400 works, from the fourteenth century to the avant-garde. Many masterpieces, to name a few: “Dead Christ” by Mantegna, “Pietà” by Bellini, “Finding of the body of San Marco” by Tintoretto, “Marriage of the Virgin” by Raphael, “Supper at Emmaus” by Caravaggio and many others.
The Museo del Risorgimento located in the eighteenth-century Palazzo Moriggia, which collects Italian history between 1796 and 1870 and the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, for the vastness and value of the works, represent two of the oldest and most complete historical collections in the world. Today it contains over 2,000 works including paintings, sculptures and furnishings, jewellery, nature and various objects of applied arts, and more than 22,000 drawings. Here you can admire universal masterpieces such as the precious cartoon of Raphael’s “School of Athens” and the “Musico”, the only painting on wood made by Leonardo in Milan.
For popular culture, the “WOW Spazio Fumetto” exhibition space contains works of contemporary and popular culture
The Rotonda di via Besana houses the MUBA, the Children’s Museum, where activities, exhibitions and workshops are organized for organized visits as well as an area with games and installations that can be visited freely. Milan also hosts the MUDEC, Museum of Cultures, which on an area of 17,000 square meters presents a permanent collection of over 7,000 pieces including works of art, objects, fabrics, musical instruments from all over the world.
THE LAST SUPPER: a masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci and among the most iconic, emblematic and famous works in history of art.
PARKS AND GREEN AREAS
The “green oases” and the Navigli are city corners where the appearance of Milan of yesteryear has been preserved. Refreshment, entertainment and sports areas for the former, areas with characteristic narrow alleys and houses with galleries for the latter. A new way of conceiving urban green areas has been created within the City Life district: the “ArtLine Milano” Contemporary Art Park, an itinerary of artistic installations, is an innovative route in the city in constant transformation. Giardino della Guastalla is a secret corner of Milan, formerly connected to the girls’ college of the same name where centuries-old trees form the backdrop to the stone balustrades of the fishpond, a Baroque jewel. Opposite the entrance is the Jewish temple from the late 1800s.
The Indro Montanelli Public Gardens represent the first city park designed for public use. Built at the end of the 18th century, the gardens have been revisited several times over the years. In 2002 they were renamed in honor of the late journalist Indro Montanelli (1909-2001). The park includes some significant buildings, including Palazzo Dugnani, the Civic Museum of Natural History and the “Ulrico Hoepli” Planetarium.
Garden of the Villa Belgiojoso Bonaparte ex Garden of the Villa Comunale is one of the first examples of “English” gardens created in Milan on commission from Count Lodovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso, an important figure of the Milanese nobility and the Habsburg court. It is reserved exclusively for children and adults, if in their company. In the greenery, a small waterfall gushes from some rocks and flows into a stream which, after crossing the whole garden, flows into a small lake with a small island in the center decorated with a small circular temple.
Giovanni Paolo II Park (ex Parco delle Basiliche) extends between the basilicas of San Lorenzo and Sant’Eustorgio. In 1953, with the idea of creating an “archaeological walk”, this green area was created which unites the apses of the two important churches. Parco Sempione is the largest “English” park in the city, it is completely fenced and offers numerous recreational spaces. It owes its name to its position: it is located along the road that leads from the Duomo, through the Arco della Pace, to the Sempione Pass. On the edges are the Castle, the Arena, the Arco della Pace, the Triennale and the Civic Aquarium.
Far from major rivers and the sea, however, Milan was for a long time a navigable city, similar to Venice, thanks to an ingenious system of canals, the Navigli. At that time the city had a circular port – the Cerchia dei Navigli – and three small ports connected to it: Santo Stefano (today Piazza Santo Stefano), San Marco (Piazza San Marco) and Sant’Eustorgio, which later became the recently redeveloped Darsena di Porta Ticinese and an ideal place for a stroll during the day or take part in the Milanese nightlife and enjoy an aperitif or dinner in a suggestive context.
NAVIGLI: the hot-spot of the milanese nightlife. During the day it’s a place to enjoy the city amidst its canals, find typical shops and spend some leisure time. In the evening it’s the place to be if you wish to enjoy the real milanese style.
SHOPPING
Milan is the capital of Italian fashion and one of the most famous cities for events and home to famous fashion brands recognized all over the world. Which is why when you think of shopping in Milan you immediately think of fashion and design. In the city there are showrooms of all Italian manufacturers and beyond, where you can find all the best of Made in Italy and the unmistakable “Italian style“. Milanese fashion is luxury, but also innovative proposals and outside the “Quadrilatero della moda” (central district of Milan known for its high concentration of boutiques and fashion shops) there are solutions for every taste and need, from large international industrial brands to small shops.
QUADRILATERO DELLA MODA: the downtown fashion district, hosting several high fashion world-famous shops and ateliers. Once a year it becomes the place to be during Milan’s “Fashion Week”, one of the most important and awaited fashion events in the world.
Shopping in Milan also means discovering the many open-air local markets where you can buy all kinds of goods, from food to clothing, or dedicate yourself to the search for furniture, furnishings and works of art among the numerous antique dealers in the Brera and Navigli areas, go and taste the renowned culinary specialities, for which the city has created DE.co, the municipal denominations: an acronym that identifies the great classics of cuisine such as the Milanese cutlet, the Ossobuco, the Risotto, the Cassoeula, the Panettone, but also the dishes of the typical cuisine in danger of extinction. In Milan it is possible to find numerous historic shops, a heritage for the city and a point of reference for the Milanese and for tourists. Corso Buenos Aires is 1,200 meters long, has more than 350 shops and satisfies everyone’s needs. It is one of the best-known shopping streets in Europe; Corso di Porta Ticinese is the right place for those looking for alternative boutiques and shops, vintage garments, ethnic and natural products; along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II it is possible not only to take the classic walk in the center but also to find numerous shops, especially clothing, and low-cost department stores, such as la Rinascente – a true “temple” of Milanese shopping – which with 8 floors of showrooms really offers everything, even the possibility of having lunch while looking closely at the spiers of the Duomo.
The most famous center of Milanese fashion is certainly the fashion district, Quadrilatero della Moda, which extends along via Monte Napoleone, via Manzoni, via della Spiga and Corso Venezia where shops and ateliers of the most important fashion brands are concentrated. Monte Napoleone is the queen of these Milanese streets and is considered one of the fifteen most luxurious and expensive streets in the world. A walk in this area is a dive into the wildest beauty and wealth. During the fashion shows, the whole area takes on an even more social character and the courtyards of the aristocratic palaces are often opened to the most curious visitors.
Via Paolo Sarpi is, with the nearby via Canonica, the Milanese Chinatown. The shops are traditionally cheap, but with good quality products, while along Via Savona, Via Tortona, Via Bergognone you can find typically “temporary shops”, shops that are open for a limited period of time (a few weeks). It is the perfect area for quality and trendy shopping, among big names and multi-brand spaces. Via Torino, which starts directly from Piazza Duomo, was once the street of shops and craft workshops, today it is one of the major shopping centers in Milan for all tastes and availability (several outlets of low-cost clothing chains).
GALLERIA VITTORIO EMANUELE II: an amazing pedestrian shopping arcade connecting the Duomo square to Piazza della Scala. With its elegant shops and clubs, it quickly became the meeting place for the milanese bourgeoisie and was therefore nicknamed the “living room of Milan”. It features a neo-renaissance style with one of the most notable examples of iron architecture in Europe and became the standard for the nineteenth-century shopping malls.
SHOWS, SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Milan is a city that invents fashions: art galleries in bars, concerts in bookstores, aperitifs in large hotels… It’s a “cool” city where every expression finds space: opera, theatre, entertainment, music and lots of sport. Music The most famous artists of the world perform in Milan. The shows (operas, ballets, concerts) at the Teatro alla Scala are not to be missed, where the season begins on 7 December, the day of Sant’Ambrogio, patron saint of Milan, with the awaited and coveted “Prima della Scala” (First exibition at Scala Theater). The scenic machinery was renovated (2001-2004) and today the temple of opera ranks among the largest theaters in Europe and the world. The Auditorium, home of the Giuseppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra and Choir of Milan also offers an intense musical programme; not only the Teatro alla Scala, Milan offers many other entertainment centers such as the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory. the Arcimboldi Theater, the Dal Verme Theater and the New Theater.
TEATRO ALLA SCALA: the largest city theater, as well as one of the most beautiful and beloved opera buildings in the world. Each year it hosts the “Prima della Scala”, a symphonic event that opens the theater season in Italy.
Many concerts are held in churches, first of all the basilica of San Marco. For blues and jazz enthusiasts, the Blue Note has excellent billings with a good alternation between foreign stars and well-known Italians. Even the historic places like le Scimmie and La Salumeria della Musica are a must for lovers of the genre.
Milan is the only city in Europe where both football clubs, Inter Milan and Inter Milan, have won the Champions League. The temple of football is the San Siro “Giuseppe Meazza” stadium, which can be visited with a tour of the attached museum. One of the most important indoor sports centers that hosts various national and international competitions and which will host the next Kendo World Championships in 2024 is the Mediolanum Forum in Assago.
THE MEAZZA STADIUM: the stadium is home to both the two city football teams Inter and Milan and is better known as “San Siro” like the surrounding area. One of the symbols of the 1990 Football World Cup, it is the biggest italian arena and among the largest in the world, hosting concerts and sport events as well as the museum of the two city teams.
USEFUL INFO
Tourist information and information on monuments, visiting hours and cost of entrance tickets to museums, churches, events and all other exhibition spaces can be found on the various institutional websites and on:
www.turismo.regione.lombardia.it
WIFI It is possible to make free use of a public wireless network service in dedicated points. For detailed information on the areas covered by the Open WIFI Milano service:
To get around the city, a dedicated site of the Municipality of Milan is available
for info on the public transport network ATM (Milanese Transport Company)
On the ATM website, in the “Giromilano” section, it is possible to create your own route, consult lines and timetables, view the stops, find the nearest resale for purchasing tickets.
Various Taxi, bike sharing and car sharing services are available such as
BikeMi www.bikemi.com
Car2Go www.car2go.com
Enjoy www.enjoy.eni.com/it/milano
E-vai www.e-vai.com
GuidaMi www.atm.it/it/guidami
Area C (city center) is a limited traffic zone (ZTL) within the Cerchia dei Bastioni. It is active on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays (weekdays), from 7.30 to 19.30, and Thursdays (weekdays), from 7.30 to 18.00. Motorcycles, scooters, electric, hybrid, LPG, bi-fuel and disabled vehicles are exempt from payment.
To enter Area C it is necessary to activate an entrance ticket of 5 euro which can be purchased at parking meters, newsstands, tobacconists, ATM Points, IntesaSanpaolo ATMs and online on the website www.areac.it, where further detailed information is available.
PIAZZA GAE AULENTI: a suspended pedestrian square within the Isola district, the new economic and social center of Milan. Nearby lies a park with the unique green building “Bosco Verticale” and its underneath shopping center.