Milan
The Duomo and the Castle
One of the most unforgettable experiences in Milan is a visit to the Duomo’s roof. You can take the elevator for a quick ride up or climb the stairs for a more adventurous ascent. Once on the terraces, you’ll be surrounded by a forest of white marble spires and statues.
The fantastic view stretches out over the city and all the way to the Alps, creating an incomparable atmosphere.
The Duomo is the second-largest cathedral in Italy, right after St. Peter’s in Rome. This impressive Gothic monument dominates the vast square below, while the “Madonnina,” a gilded copper statue of the Blessed Virgin, watches over the entire city from its highest point.
The construction of the spires and towers was completed in the mid-19th century. Each one is crowned with a statue looking out over the city. The tallest spire reaches a height of 109 meters. The breathtaking walk on the roof allows you to get up close and personal with all of them.
At the heart of Milan stands the Sforza Castle, a Renaissance fortress originally built by Francesco Sforza in 1450 on the remains of a 14th-century fortification. It’s one of Milan’s most famous landmarks, a testament to the city’s long and often turbulent history. Over the centuries, the castle has been demolished, rebuilt, and restored multiple times, making it a powerful symbol of both joyous and dramatic events in Milan’s past.
Museums Inside the Castle
Today, the Sforza Castle is a cultural hub, housing an impressive array of museums. The most renowned is the Pinacoteca, a prestigious art gallery that features a collection including Michelangelo’s last sculpture, the Rondanini Pietà.
Beyond this masterpiece, the castle complex offers a rich variety of other collections, including: The Museum of Ancient Art, The Furniture Museum, The Museum of Musical Instruments and Applied Arts, The Egyptian and Prehistoric sections of the Archaeological Museum.
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The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is one of the most striking monuments of Lombard Renaissance. It was built between 1466 and 1490 under the direction of Guiniforte Solari, only subsequently, in 1492 the apsidal part was added by Bramante. The inside of the church has a double series of side chapels which highlights the Solari’s Gothic background just as the arcades on the two rows of columns. The vaults bear frescoed decorations dating from the birth of the building, rediscovered after they had been hidden in 600.
In the refectory of the Dominican convent, besides the church, you will find this great work of art that Leonardo da Vinci was commissioned to paint by Ludovico il Moro, from 1496 to 1498. The Last Supper, painted by Leonardo da Vinci (1495-1497), is one of the most famous works of art in the world. The fresco is included in the UNESCO’s list.
If you want to see it you need to ask me when you book your stay.
Leonardo and the forgotten history of a vineyard.
A forgotten story links Leonardo da Vinci to Milan – the story of a vineyard. The same vineyard that Ludovico “Il Moro” Duke of Milan, gave to Leonardo as a gift in 1498. Today it is born again, within the original rows and with the original vine stock.
In 2014 the “Bosco verticale” wins the Highrise Award, the competition that rewards the most innovative skyscrapers in the world. On November 19, 2014, the final award has been assigned to this project. It is a confirmation of the excellent work done by the architects Stefano Boeri, Gianandrea Barreca, Giovanni La Varra of Boeri Studio.
The two towers have received LEED Gold, the highest degree of energy certification. This was possible because Bosco Verticale is a system that optimizes, recovers and produces energy.
With over 1,000 plants and trees the Vertical Forest helps creating a microclimate and filtering is an important issue in the urban environment. The diversity and features of plants produce humidity, absorb CO2 and dust, produce oxygen, protect the irradiation and acoustic pollution, improving the comfort of living and saving energy. The irrigation of plants will be done to a large extent through a centralized filtration of water.
San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore is one of the most ancient churches in Milan. It is another jem of Milanese art hidden behind a simple facade and returned to the city after 30 years of restauration, in June 2015. Walk through the door and you are overwhelmed and ravished by the frescoes that cover every inch of its walls and vaults.
Built as a monastery for cloistered nuns, it is considered the Sistine Chapel of Milan for the beauty of its frescoes, that come from the schools of the Luinis, Boltraffio, Foppa. Those artists were real masters of the art in Lombary in the XVI century.
The place is divided in two parts: the church itself and the monastery, that used to be stricktly reserved to nuns and it is called the Hall of the Nuns. Eight chapels, distributed on both sides, are mostly painted by the Luinis, both father Bernardino and his three sons as well as the other masters.
A real jewel is the Hall of the Nuns where the works of the great artists astonish in succession.
In Milan, there is an important museum housing masterpieces from some of the biggest Italian artists. While most think of the Vatican Museums or Uffizi Gallery as the best art museums in Italy, the lesser-known Pinacoteca di Brera is one of the best art museums in the world. It houses more than 400 works from the 14th to the 20th century by master painters such as Piero della Francesca, Raphael, and Caravaggio.
The Palazzo itself is a work of art. The Jesuits built the Baroque palace at the end of the 17th century as a convent. After they were moved out, Palazzo Brera was remodeled in the neoclassical style.