#2926 Milano

I spent Sunday, 20 October in Milan, Italy with my sister. We got on a train in Rapallo that morning, and a couple of hours later, we were in Milan. Easy peasy! We took a taxi to our hotel. It was early, probably around noon, when we got to the hotel, so we checked in, left our bags, and hit the streets to explore this bustling, modern city in northern Italy.  

Most of the things we planned to see were just that: places to see. My sister, Lizzie, is an excellent navigator, so she lead me around and I didn't once worry that we'd go off track. Also, we wanted to see the same things, so that made it all easy.

It was probably about a mile from the hotel to the Duomo. Along the way, we passed by the famous opera house, Teatro alla Scalla. It was pretty underwhelming because the entire front was covered for cleaning and renovation.

La Scala opera house

However, in the little piazza where I took the photo, just behind me was a cool statue of Leonardo da Vinci.

statue of Leonardo da Vinci

I found the statue much more interesting than the opera house. The opera house is probably really beautiful inside with great acoustics, but I likely won't ever know. I don't see myself going there in the future. 

Do you see an arch over to the right behind the statue? That is the entrance to one of the most iconic, over-the-top shopping malls in the world: the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It is gigantic - four stories - and every major and minor designer has a store in this mall. There were eleventy-thousand people in there, some going into and out of the shops, some just standing there gawking, like me, and about half of the eleventy-thousand were taking selfies and 360 degree videos of the place. Lizzie didn't care much for it:

Lizzie was not thrilled to be inside the Galleria

When you walk through to the other end, you are in the Piazza del Duomo. The Cathedral is magnificent, and the vast amounts of humanity there was a bit overwhelming. This pic doesn't really do justice to the amount of people that were in the piazza.

the Duomo of Milano

Lizzie and I walked up closer to the church and took some photos, then we decided to find a place to have lunch. Our Last Supper tour began at 3:00, so we began to walk toward that destination and find  a place to eat along the way. Using her superior navigation and Googling skills, Lizzie found a listing for a restaurant not far off the path to the Last Supper church, so we decided to give it a try.

When we got there, the restaurant, La Fettunta, was fairly empty. My grandmother always said if a place is empty, it's probably not that great, or else why would it be empty? We decided to try it anyway. I was surprised and slightly taken aback when the man who greeted us asked if we had a reservation. Seriously, there were only like, four other people in there! We got a table and settled in. It was a Tuscan restaurant (even though Milan is not in Tuscany), and I was torn between the ragu del cinghiale (pasta with wild boar sauce) or a milanese (breaded veal). I decided on the pasta for a couple of reasons: 1) I'd had veal the day before, and 2) pasta. Also, all signs pointed to me having the cinghiale:

I'm going to eat cinghiale

 If you are wondering, cinghiale is pronounced ching-GA-leh.

We had a nice white wine from the Lombardy region (Milan is in Lombardy), and an antipasto. I will feature the papardelle al cinghiale  in my food post, but spoiler - it was the BEST meal I had in Italy. It was incredibly delicious. So delicious, in fact, that I dropped a big splotch on my shirt, causing me to say, "Oy cinghiale!" while I attempted to cover it with my sweater without actually wearing my sweater because it was a warm day and I walked a lot.

Anyway...the restaurant was not empty for long. Shortly after we arrived, the place started filling up with families that were clearly locals enjoying a Sunday meal out. There were children who were well-behaved, grown-ups laughing and having a good time. The people were dressed nicely; nothing really formal, but much more well-dressed than I typically see at a restaurant in Salt Lake City. More put together, I'd say.

The restaurant is on Via Santa Marta, and isn't it cute?

Via Santa Marta

It is about a mile walk from the restaurant to the church where the painting of The Last Supper is. It felt pretty good to walk off the pasta and wine a little bit. We arrived a bit early and sat in the sun, watching for our guide. We booked a small group tour, and there were just seven people in our group, and I think six of us were American. Getting in to see the painting is quite secure. You have to show your ID to get in and your ticket has your name on it. Only 30 or so people are allowed in at a time, and you get to be in the room for about 15 minutes.

The painting is not in the church. It is actually in the refectory which is the building the Dominican friars who lived there used as their dining room. da Vinci's vision was that the friars would sit there eating their meals and feeling like they were having a meal with Jesus and the apostles. It is quite interesting because the painting was done right on the wall, like a fresco, but with a different style that da Vinci was trying out. Because of the paints he used, and because the room behind the wall was the convent's kitchen, the painting, done between 1495 - 1498, has deteriorated over those 500 plus years. Much restoration has been done, and it also explains why the number of people allowed in at one time is so tightly controlled, along with the temperature in the room. 

my photo of The Last Supper

The symbolism and expressions of each apostle, as well a of Jesus, is amazing. This painting is, in every meaning of the word, awesome. Seeing it was one of the highlights of my trip. I could have stared at it for another 15 minutes, easily, but we had to leave when our alloted time was over. If you are ever in Milan, please plan to see this painting. Even if you are not really into art, this one is worth the time. The story of the refectory during the wars and everything this painting has been through in over 500 years is nothing short of amazing, maybe even miraculous.

We had time to go into the church. So unassuming on the outside:

Santa Maria delle Grazie

So stunning on the inside:

this is the back part of the church, where the dome-like structure is

this is what you see when you first walk in the front door

After the tour, we stopped for to get something to drink before continuing on the "the castle." We'd been hearing about this castle and we didn't know anything about it except that we wanted to see it. It didn't take us long to find it. As with everything, it was enormous.

one of the towers of Sforza Castle 

pano of Sforza Castle (pay no attention to the headless person there on the left)

The castle was a medieval fortification built by the Duke of Milan in the 1500s on top of the existing fort built in the 1300s (because Europe, amIright?). Now it houses a few museums and one of the pieces in one of the museums is the last Pieta that Michangelo would sculpt. You'll hear more about it when we get to Rome. Lizzie and I didn't go into the castle itself, we just walked on the grounds .

The sun was starting to set, so we headed back in the direction of the Duomo through the busy streets of Milan. Apparently there is an Arc de Triomphe, although they call it the Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace) in the city, too, but we didn't see it. 

Walking from the castle back to the Piazze del Duomo reminded me a bit of Athens, walking from Syntagma Square into the older part of the city, and also a bit of Barcelona, on Portal de l'Angel. There were lots of shops and restaurants and people going every which way, and beautiful buildings everywhere you look.

When we reached the piazza, the Duomo glowed in the setting sun. 

the Duomo of Milan

We walked up close to it to get an idea of the size of the massive doors.

those are some BIG doors

Piazza del Duomo at sunset

entrance to the Galleria

The whole area was full of people. Lizzie and I were about done. We'd been out and about for over eight hours, our feet were sore, and we were ready for the refuge of our hotel room. Since we didn't want to cut through the Galleria again, Lizzie found a more quiet back street to stroll along. We were both grateful to get back to the hotel, kick off our shoes, and relax. According to my Apple watch, I walked 7.38 miles that day.

Just for funsies, here is a pic of the outside of the hotel that I found on the web:

Hotel Manin Milano

It was a nice hotel. I think the bed was comfortable. Honestly, I was so tired, I don't really remember. I do remember that breakfast the next day there at the hotel wasn't that great. 

If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking through to the end of the tour of Milan. Our next stop is Florence, and you don't want to miss it!

xo