Milan

Milan's Duomo

 

Our first stop was Milan, Italy's second largest city.  It's located in the plains just south of Switzerland and the Alps, and is Italy's financial and fashion capital.  By all accounts, it also has a more energetic vibe and a stronger work ethic than most of the rest of the country.  Our short stay there (two half days) didn't really give us a good sense of any of that.  It was intended primarily as a time to recover from the flights and adjust to the time change before visiting our friends in Bologna.  We quickly got to test our skills at navigating the Italian public transportation system ... a train to the city center, followed by a street-level tram (visualize old but quaint San Francisco street cars) to our hotel.  Everything went smoothly, but there were, of course, moments of uncertainty (Are we on the right train?  Where do we catch the tram?  How do we validate our tickets?).  

We spent our time wandering around the central area of the city, including Parco Sempione (the city's largest park), Sforza Castle, and the Duomo area.  We also got our first dose of seemingly chaotic interactions between cars, motorcycles/scooters, bicycles, and pedestrians!  

Arco della Pace

Sforza Castle

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Duomo (cathedral) was particularly impressive.  Not only is it enormous, but the marble exterior is covered in enumerable statues (literally several thousand), gargoyles, relief carvings and spires.  Totally over the top, and difficult to wrap our heads around.  We went to the Duomo's roof to see some of the statues and spires up close and personal, as well as get some great views of the city.  We visited the interior as well as the adjacent Duomo Museum.  

The Duomo

Duomo Main Doors

Relief Detail on Duomo Doors

Madonna atop the Duomo

Statue on spire overlooking the city

Spires and Statues

Boxing?  Really?  Clearly one of the later statues on the Duomo.  This was a famous Italian boxer.

Duomo rooftop

Piazza del Duomo

Duomo Interior

Relief Carving in the Duomo Museum

Stained Glass in the Duomo Museum

 

It was our first taste of the Catholic cathedral phenomenon.  Massive buildings built over centuries, typically trying to outdo one or more other cathedrals (in terms of size and/or ornateness).  Cavernous interior spaces supported by huge pillars.  High arched ceilings, often with extensive paintings, frescoes, or mosaics.  Outside of the nave's pillars, the side walls are filled with paintings of saints or religious scenes (for teaching the illiterate masses), and/or side chapels dedicated to a particular saint, religious relic, or rich benefactor (who probably paid for the chapel).  Up in the front (the chancel?), there's the main alter, one or more lecterns or pulpits, a fancy crucifix, and a choir area with a pipe organ (which of course has the pipes towering above).  And the ceiling above the chancel typically has the most important and impressive artwork.  Finally, the transept has seemingly the most important chapels, with the most precious relics and/or tributes to key saints. 

More Photos

Activities

• Wandering/Sightseeing
• Parco Sempione
• Sforza Castle, including Michelangelo's unfinished pieta.
  
• Duomo (interior, roof)
• Duomo Museum
• Arco della Pace
• Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
  

Random Thoughts and "Insights"

• "Duomo" is a term used for the main cathedral in each city.  So, there's not just one.
• In the museum, we think we figured out that, prior to executing a major painting (e.g., on the ceiling), the artists would first produce a relief carving of the scene (in phenomenal detail) in order to get the shadows correct on the painting.
  

Sleeps

• Enterprise Hotel, very nice, great breakfast spread