Milan, Italy, North Star……

This is my third time arriving in Milan, in the region of Lombardy, yet every time I have come to the place as an entry point to explore others parts of Italy rather than a tourist destination.  Over the past few years I have thought to myself, the next time I get the opportunity to visit I will stop and explore this city and get to know the northern Italian location for myself.  I have felt compelled, and since I often hear people (a few at least) suggest they don’t care for it. I have been curious. I know it has a reputation as an international destination, a fashion capital, design, commerce, art, style, architecture. And culturally Milan is a place symbolic of Italian Unification with wonderful heritage to bask in and complimenting wealth. It is a northern Italian city after all. 

So here I am, and since I am in Italy on the ground exploring the peninsula at the moment here are a few of the highlights.

Wandering along the Corso di Porta Ticinese, you find these stunning Roman columns, Colonne di San Lorenzo, just in front of the Basilica of San Lorenzo…

One of my very good decisions was to stay in the Carrobbio district in Zone 1 of Milan. I say that because I am traveling alone and this little area is very hip, with loads of young people and the locals milling about. There are people around all of the time, sitting next to the tram line either drinking espresso or sipping Spritz. It was just perfect, and not only that there are plenty of fantastic restaurants and cafes serving local Lombardy cuisine. The more I travel the more I realise finding that place that has a bit of ambience is a good thing and the Carrobbio is full of personality. I had also had a great stay at the Hotel Regina just around the corner on Via Cesare Correnti. There were trams nearby and this location is central enough to walk the fifteen minutes to Piazza del Duomo and/or to the Navigli Canal area that is full of charm and beauty.

Loved watching all of the trams and the people riding bikes everywhere, what a great way to start my trip in Italy for 2022

Before I left home I made sure I had a ticket to visit Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper”. Tickets do sell fast and depending on what day you want to visit it is best to book ahead for this one. This is Da Vinci’s largest work. The Renaissance masterpiece is housed in the chapel beside the church of Santa Maria Delle Grazie.

I could have walked to the Museum from Carrobbio but was on the clock that first morning in Milan since it was timed for 10am, so I jumped in a taxi and landed on the Corso Magenta with great ease.

I had a great coffee across the street to at Caffe Le Grazie just before I went into the timed allotment viewing. It is a very special situation in there, considering ‘Last Supper’ survived bombardment in World War 2. I needed a Green Pass and Passport on entering, but other than that I was very happy I made the time to see this work and the adjoining cathedral. The more recent restorations took place in 1999.

'Last Supper' by Leonardo da Vinci (1494-1498)

Basilica of Santa Maria Delle Grazie

Just walking around this city is the best way to see a variety of scenery, beautiful architectural gems and the everyday street life of the Milanese.

While sitting for a cappuccino to gather my thoughts and write some notes in my journal I made the decision to book the Terrace walk for the Duomo di Milano. After all of the times I have used the city of Milan as a gateway I was really looking forward to seeing this cathedral in the main piazza in the Centro Storico of the city. It did not disappoint, what a magnificent beauty she is. There are a number of variations of tickets you can buy….

I decided to walk up to the terrace to sample the city from the top and get up closer to the Gothic architecture and details. I think it would be great at sunset, although one might be a little weary to wander up a bunch of stairs at the time of the day, you can take an elevator if not up for the hike.

Beginning in 1386, this Gothic beauty took six centuries to complete and is dedicated to the Nativity of Saint Mary.  It is said to be the largest cathedral in Italy (St Peters in Rome is bigger but that belongs to the Sovereign state of Vatican City) and remains a popular spot for the locals and the tourists to meet and explore Milan.  Geographically and centrally located in the heart of Milano, you could circumnavigate the square to investigate the cities architectural and artistic treasures.  And one of the lovely things is that the many trams that hum around the city and traverse the main cathedral square. It is said to be the "hub of Milanese Life", in the magnificent Piazza del Duomo.  

The trams of Milan are very beautiful with their bright colours that weave in and around the city centres. There are many historic carriages like this one that tours around the Piazza della Scala just beyond the Duomo. The network is 181km long and has been operating since early in the 1880s, and has had a number of reiterations with advances in transportation over the years. They trundle along up and down the main streets and into the inner suburbs of the city making quite the vision for the locals and visitors to the city.

A wonderful meeting point in the middle of Piazza del Duomo, or more importantly a monument symbolic of a newly unified Italy with the first King at the helm.  This monument was designed by Ercole Rosa and portrays the king in the battle of San Martino during the time of the Risorgimento.  The landmark for the sculpture dates back to 1878 and aligns symmetrically with the cathedral door entrance.  

The Entrance to the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II......

To the side of the Piazza del Duomo are two inviting arches designed by Guiseppe Mengoni that lead into the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele. After the Risorgimento and at the beginning of a newly unified Italy the city of Milan was a hub of activity and transformation. By the year 1865 there were new plans all over Italy to honour the achievements of Garibaldi and his men, and to celebrate the King Vittorio Emmanuele II.

The Piazza del Duomo and then the Gallery we see today were for the next few years to be the landmarks of innovation, function and visual beauty. And to this day the triumphal arches you see when entering the Gallery are potent reminders of the power and commercial presence that Milan represents.

The mosaic paving beneath your feet too is a work of art, and is "decorated with the crests of the House of Savoy and of the four cities that served as the capitals of the Kingdom of Italy (Milan, Turin, Florence and Rome)"

When you first walk into the Gallery you see many an elegant Caffe that are full of locals, and the many visitors to the city. Certainly the fact that the high end fashion retailers like Prada, Dior, Moncler, Louis Vuitton and others are the first boutiques you come across give you a sense just how regal this space is.

I loved watching all of the people taking photos in front of the stores, perhaps for their Instagram profiles. It was definitely a hive of activity for the people strolling though to admire the beautiful window displays, and like me who were looking up, down and around to take in the visual decor of the mosaic floors, the paintings, the architecture, and the grand structure itself.

The Villa Necchi Campiglio in Milan....A Museum and Green Oasis in the heart of Milano, Italy

If you are looking for something fresh in the city where modernist architecture meets villa meets green oasis, look no further than the Villa Necchi Campiglio. Before I visited this architectural marvel I had seen the villa in a number of films. More recently the ‘House of Gucci’, ‘I am Love’ and the Series ‘Made in Italy’. I was rather intrigued when I discovered it is in fact a museum and an institution of design and modernist principles in the leafy streets of Milan.

Conceived by the Campiglio and Necchi Family in the early 1930s. Architect Peiro Portaluppi was engaged to give birth to a design and for an urban villa in the heart of the city, just a few streets back from Corso Venezia. The vision entailed… a family residence, large garden, swimming pool (the first in the city centre) and a tennis court.

The visual aesthetics and design principles make for a fascinating tour de force. Even now almost one hundred years later this villa holds its own. Marble bathrooms, walnut floors, brass, metal, glass features, and stucco ceiling designs in each room. There is elegant lighting, sculptural pieces and art from Modigliani, Picasso, Magritte, Miro, Morandi, Canaletto.

In more recent years art collections donated by Claudia Gian Ferrari and by Aligheiro and Emilietta de’Michelli adorn the walls giving this modern beauty a warmth and vivacity in rooms of cool greens paired with tall windows and views out to the garden and pool.

Even with the modernist elegance there are many rooms that marry 18th Century antiques and art objects with decorative flourishes making the rooms warm and inviting for friends and family that would come to visit the residence when the family lived in the villa. From what I have read about the Necchi sisters they were very sociable and enjoyed entertaining friends and family.

One of the surprises of the my day visiting the Villa Necchi Campiglio was the spring garden on display. In between formal garden hedges manicured lawns, large terracotta urns, ferns and established trees were garden beds full of frilly poppies and pansies. Along the walkway that leads to the Restaurant/Caffeteria next door was the Wisteria in full bloom. Certainly visiting in April had its benefits yet I loved wandering the garden paths just as much as seeing the interiors of the Villa.

If looking for somewhere beautiful to perch yourself after your visit to Villa Necchi Campiglio there is an elegant Caffeteria just beyond the tennis court and behind the pool. I didn’t have a reservation but managed to sit at a table inside (there are tables out in the garden too in the relaxed style of jardin d’hiver) where I very much enjoyed the Maltagliati di pasta fresca con pesto di Pomodorini disidratati, Pecorino, mandrel e menta and a glass of Marellino di Scansano Vignaioli DOC. Pranzo was suburb, but be sure to be book a reservation to secure a table.