Things to do in Milan
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A
Castello Sforzesco
Originally a Visconti fortress, this immense red-brick castle was later home to the mighty Sforza dynasty that ruled Renaissance Milan. The castle’s defences were designed by Leonardo da Vinci; Napoleon later drained the moat and removed the drawbridges. Today, it shelters a series of specialised museums.
reviewed
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B
Duomo
A frenzy of flying buttresses, 135 spires and a staggering 3200 statues, Milan’s Gothic Duomo is the world’s largest of its kind, and third largest in any style in Europe. This vision of pink-tinged Candoglia marble was commissioned in 1386 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti and has a capacity for a congregation of 40,000 (Milan’s population at the time).
Centuries of construction (from east to west) finally saw it largely completed in 1812 (although various bits and bobs would not be attached until the 1960s). Crowning this Gothic splendour is a gilded copper statue of the Madonnina (Little Madonna), the city’s traditional protector. Curiously, there’s no bell tower.
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reviewed
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C
Antica Trattoria della Pesa
A recipe for instant nostalgia: take the landmark building where Ho Chi Minh stayed in the ‘30s, add literary types from nearby publishing houses, mix with comfort food - osso bucco on polenta topped with gremolata, bollito misto (boiled meat) and cotoletta (crumbed veal cutlets) - spice it up with some red, and finish with a sigh and smooth, boozy zabaglione.
reviewed
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D
Giardini Pubblici
A life story unfolds as you follow pebble paths past bumper cars and a carousel, onward past a game of kick to kick, kissing teens, a beer kiosk, baby prams, jogging paths and shady benches. Jump in, or just stop and smell the roses. For grey days the charming Museo Civico di Storia Naturale beckons, the grand neo-Romanesque building houses dinosaurs, fossils and the largest geology collection in Europe.
reviewed
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E
Parco Sempione
Everything you’d expect from Milan is here: a historic castle (Castello Sforzesco), chic bars, a museum honouring design (Triennale di Milano), lovely Liberty-style buildings (Civico Acquario) and an architectural conversation piece (Torre Branca). Plus there’s grass, winding paths, relaxed people, and peace and quiet, too.
reviewed
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F
Cimitero Monumentale
Behind striking Renaissance- revival black-and-white walls, Milan’s wealthy have kept their dynastic ambitions alive long after death with grand sculptural gestures since 1866. Nineteenth-century death-the-maiden eroticism gives way to some fabulous abstract forms from midcentury masters. Studio BBPR’s geometric steel-and-marble memorial to Milan’s WWII concentration camp dead is stark and moving. Grab a map inside the forecourt - it’s easy to get lost.
reviewed
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G
Ex Mauri
Go to this contemporary, stylish Venetian bacaro (bar) on Milan’s urban island when you need a little Lombard-free time. Pull up a school chair at a lovingly scuffed table for imaginative seafood cicheti (Venetian-style tapas) : baccalà fritters, sardines in saôr (sweet-and-sour onion jam) and braised baby octopus. Smart but hearty mains take their cues from both Venice and further afield, while the gelati and cakes are house-made.
reviewed