Memorable Milan

After twenty-one hours in the air and four hours at Singapore Airport between flights we finally made it to Milan. The flights were relatively smooth and the service, as always, was fabulous.

Milan is a city of 1.7 million with an additional 1.4 million in the surrounding urban sprawl. Our small comfortable private hotel, the Sanpi, is located in Central Milan within walking distance of many of the city's famous attractions.

Back in 2011 we visited Milan briefly so we were keen to see more, and first on our list was a walk to the fantastic Milan Duomo, a cathedral I think could possibly be better on the outside than the inside. Adjacent to the Duomo is the beautiful Galleria Victorio Emanuel II shopping mall where we stopped for lunch at one of the 'indoor outdoor' trattorias.

 

3,400 statues adorn the outside of the Duomo

 

 

Vaulted ceiling

 

The main chapel

 

Marble floors

 

Sculpture of Saint Bartholomew who was 'skinned alive'

One of many stained glass windows, amongst the best we have seen in Europe

 

The golden Madonna

 

 

 

Galleria Victorio Emanuel II

 

 

Galleria Trattoria

 

The next day we took two routes of the hop-on hop-off bus around the city and visited the Castillo Sforzesco, a castle once surrounded by a moat built in the 13th and 14th Centuries. Now it houses a selection of museums including archaeology, art, Egyptian and of course those dedicated to two very famous Italians - Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

 

 

Castillo Sforzesco

 

 

One of many beautiful tapestries

 

 

Jim with sculpture

 

Archaeology museum

 

Leadlighting

Military museum

 

 

One of many ornate grave covers

 

Another of Milan's famous landmarks is the La Scala Theatre, one of the most beautiful in the world. Although not spectacular from the outside, it is quite stunning inside with its layers of private boxes in red velvet and gold. A museum displays the history of the theatre including sculptures, costumes and brick-a-brac of past performers and performances.

 

 

 



Perhaps the most famous of Milan's attractions is the wonderful da Vinci's fresco of The Last Supper. Even at this time of year, it is difficult to buy tickets and even more difficult to queue, so a small group tour was the way to go. It is an impressive sight, filling one wall of a cavernous room, the opposite wall displaying another of da Vinci's frescos detailing the crucifixion of Christ.

 

 

Finally, we visited two of the city's more modern museums; the Museum of Natural History which has been in existence since 1838 and the Museum of Science and Technology.

 

The former has a wonderful display across 23 rooms of the history of life on Earth in fossils and taxidermy, including our very own Tasmanian Devil!

 

 

The latter, a former monastery, displays a collection of machines across the ages that includes the introduction of telegraph, radio, television, space travel and the works of da Vinci. It also houses the most amazing trains and boats - which Jim found fascinating.

 

 

Model of the Pantheon in Rome

 

Early telegraph

 

World's first fax machine

 

Telescopes

 

A hallway of works made from da Vinci's drawings

 

Old chemist shop

 

 

Trains from the late 1800s and early 1900s

One of two real ships around which the museum is built

A model ship - the WASA (just like ours at home)

 

 

This portion of the bow of the ship Otago, which was captained by the writer Joseph Conrad,

was salvaged from 'the bay of Hobart in Tasmania'!

 

And just a few 'local' images to finish with:

 

One of the city's Toilet Buses

Trams - new and old

 

Busking with a difference!

 

Tomorrow we leave by train for Venice.