The view onto the Piazza del Duomo
Selfie time
It is the 5th largest church in the world with over 3500 exterior statues held up by 52 huge columns
The roof is amazing and has 135 spires
The cathedral took 430 years to complete from its inception in 1386 to the application of the finishing touches in 1813
The Duomo received minimal bomb damage during WW2 and became a place of solace for the Milanese locals. In total about 40 statues were lost at the top of the spires and the main portal of the still bares the scars of the bombing
The Great spire is the tallest point within the cathedral at height of 108.5 m and supports the statue of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The statue of the Madonnina was erected in 1774 and weighs over 700 kg.
On a clear day you can see the Alps, but not today!
From the terrace you can see the Velasca Tower, 106m tall with 26 floors but the last 8 of these have a larger floor plan than the lower floors. Very odd design!
The decorative marble triangles which run the whole perimeter of the cathedral are known as 'falconi' make up the crowning decoration of the cathedral, the 'falconatura'
Spectacular buttresses and spires = 100% cathedral porn
A selfie at the central nave
Statue of Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of a united Italy who ruled from 1861 to his death in 1878
The Arches of fashion are sucking us in
Shopping at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
After some retail therapy a nice spot of lunch
Cenacolo Vinciano (Last Supper) or to be more precise Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper is one of the most famous paintings in the world and can only be viewed by 35 people at a time so advanced bookings are definitely required. To ensure success I booked a full two months in advance.
The masterpiece was created between 1494-97 and is located on the wall of a refectory in a Dominican convent next to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie
It is the world's most important mural painting
Feeling very smug😎
Judas was a bastard
After a massive culture overload it's time to relax with a bottle of Franciacorta, a sparkly white wine produced in the Lombardy region just East of Milan
Arco di Porta Ticinese is a modern name referring to the gate to the Ticino river but the original 19th century name for the victory arch was 'Porta Marengo' which was named after Napoleon's victory over the Austrian Army at the village of Marengo, located just to the SW of Milan.
The Market - top tip for a quck beer
The bright lights of Naviglio Grande
Time to take Sue to bed
Day 4: Stadium Tour San Siro
An early start for the stadium tour and outside our AirBnB the street has been transformed into a vibrant antique market
Sue makes a purchase (a brass horse belt thingy) then we get on the Metro to the San Siro
Entering via the AC Milan end we see some interesting graffiti
This is the best
This old property faces the monolithic San Siro, as if in defiance of being consumed by the concrete beast. I wonder if it will survive the new stadium build
A quick livener before the tour starts
Main entrance to the San Siro
After a very quick slurp the tour guide arrives and off we trot
One the museum highlights is the San Siro wooden model
Both clubs are equally represented
...at either end of the museum
The top tier has a great exhibition of memorabilia from famous players over the years, this cabinet was my favourite with Franz Beckenbauer's 1975 shirt v Bulgaria, Michael Owen's 2003 shirt v Croatia and Paul Gascoine's boots
First up on the tour is Inter Milan's dressing room which is quite dull. The only interesting fact is the 'gallery of legends' that leads to the dressing room which is adorned with famous players, apart from the last image which is left blank as it is intended to inspire the next Inter legend to fill the void
Hard plastic seats
The AC Milan dressing room is much plusher
Check out these comfy leather seats
As with most stadium tours the dressing room tour leads to the tunnel and a photo opportunity
Selfie time
The Italian seats from the other night
Tribuna Blu - England's end
Torre 11
Finally we visit an exhibition to Italian football
I loved this. It is a display of over-sized replica match tickets from the Azzurri over the years
There was no WC in 1940 but this team was pretty good having won the previous two WC's
The stadium store has two departments and checkouts
I grab my scarves and go
Tram No 16 back into town
The tram into the city centre takes us to Castle Sforzesco, this is the Filarete Tower which was dedicated to King Umberto I
Torrione di Santo Spirito (Tower of the Holy Spirit)
Piazza delle armi (Square of Arms)
A brisk walk through the park and we arrive at
Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace)
This is also the Porta Sempione (Simplon Gate) and
was built in the Napoleonic era
Old Milanese tram
After a quick Pancetta we head back to Naviglio
Roller skating club - Milan Chapter
Its cocktail time in the Blues Canal on Via Casale
Someone's been busy
Next stop the 1847 Milano for an Aperitif
Sunset in Naviglio
Last Supper in Milan
Dining out at the famous Lombardy restaurant on Naviglio called El Brellin. This is the Milanese classic 'Risotto alla Milanese'
Buona Notte Milano
Planning our breakfast for tomorrow's early flight
No comments:
Post a Comment