If you're planning a trip to Milano, there's lots (and I mean LOTS) of blogposts and articles, about what to see there and what to do, where to eat and where to go for a shopping spree. That's why this blog post is entirely about what made my heart flutter while exploring this buzzing and bustling metropolis. So let's start walking the memory lane!
To me, Milano left totally different impression than Rome where me and my husband went last year for our "January Escape". Italy's capital city appeared somehow much more relaxed and looked like enjoying the dolce vita in a much calmer and slower manner. Meanwhile Milano was always busy, constantly moving, full of sounds, and people. Groups of tourists patiently waiting in line in front of Il Duomo, somehow looked much larger than the ones in front of Il Colosseo in Rome. Nevertheless I had much fun while exploring this city, trying to capture it's own vibe.
Winter in Milano is much more cooler than in the South of Italy. During our stay in the city we experienced snow, rain, and sunshine. That's why our mornings usually begun by reading weather forecast and planning the objects that we wanted to see accordingly. Sunny days were used to visit outdoor objects while rainy/snow ones were spent in galleries, museums, and... churches. Yup, there's an abundance of these buildings in the city, so I think that my thirst for religious art and architecture is quenched for a while.
Milano is full of hidden gems that you can discover only if you know about them beforehand. Like San Bernardino ale Osa, a church quite close to Il Duomo, that has this one chapel decorated with... human bones. I have already seen a church in Kutna Hora that was adorned in simmilar "fashion", but somehow I found San Bernardino much more macabre-looking.
The objects in Milano are scattered around the city, but the public transport system is comfortable, so we hopped from metro to trams and busses, while exploring the city.
Without a doubt, the highlight of this trip was getting to see Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. One thing is to see it being reproduced on countless objects, but it is a completely different situation when you find yourself in front of it. I was amazed by its size, its context (there's a crucifixion scene painted by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano on the opposite wall), and the idea that da Vinci wanted to depict. His idea fix was to paint how the words of Christ ("I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me") affected his disciples. Shock, disbelief, fury - these and other emotions are so raw in the picture that I had such a pleasure exploring all the faces that surround Christ in the center. Since the visit in this particular chapel of Santa Maria delle Grazie is limited to 30 minutes, I was listening to the audio guide and imagining Leonardo painting his masterpiece here. Since this object was the last that we saw before our flight back, it was a proper climax of this whole trip.
All in all, Milano was quite an experience! I am glad that I got a chance to explore this city (hooray for cheap plane tickets!), to enjoy Italian cuisine, and to feast my eyes on paintings in Pinacoteca di Brera. This was a perfect way to end the first month of 2019.
Stay tuned for a blog post about our day trip to Bergamo!
Photos (c) Things I Like Blog
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