Milan: Multitudes, Museums, & Models

Hello again, Blogonauts!

For two weeks we have ricocheted across northern Italy together. We have shared artistry & architecture, history & histrionics, foodery & tomfoolery.

Yet, even as the customs of Venetto and Lombardy began to feel familiar and perhaps semi-comprehensible, they did little to prepare me for Milan.

Imagine crowds akin to spring break at Disney World or New Year's Eve on Times Square. And then give to a significant percentage of that throng the fashion daring-do usually found only at places like the Oscars or the Met Gala. Now if you set your dial for such an event at 10, then Milan, on a spring Saturday or Sunday, warrants perhaps an 8 or 9...but no lower.

We'll start, as everyone does, with the Piazza del Duomo. At least two reasons draw the droves to the expansive plaza outside the cathedral's front door: The first is the ornate gothic exterior of the Duomo itself. It is a psychedelic structure of statuary and stone like no other. It's hard to look away! (More on that in a moment.)

Duomo, Vittorio Emanuele II statue, & Piazza del Duomo

 

Video of the Piazza del Duomo

The second is, and I'm not joking, is the world's first covered shopping mall. Italy was united into a single country only in 1861, and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II bears the name of its first king. A grand triumphal arch seems to solemnify both the unification and the entrance to the Galleria. And on the Piazza, a victorious statue of Vittorio Emanuele II stands astride his steed, seeming to unite church, country, and couture.

(In truth, his horse is looking at the Duomo, but VE2 himself is gazing at the entrance to the Galleria. Perhaps he's longing for an espresso and a tiramisu.)

Entrance to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

 

Entrance to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

 

Art at the transept of the Galleria

Mosaic on the floor of the Galleria

 

Vittorio Emanuelle II (and his pigeon retinue)

Built in the 1870s, and yet surprisingly lit by electricity, crowds flooded the Galleria daily from its opening to today. The Galleria is now filled with high-end cafés and high-priced designer stores. It is an impressive space even by 21st century standards. During the 19th century, it could perhaps have seemed like one of the seven wonders of the world.

Now, let's return for a moment to the Duomo. Worship on this spot has been a tradition for more than 2000 years. The first Christian church here was built during the 4th century AD, but archaeologists found evidence that it was constructed on top of the remains of a Roman temple dedicated to the goddess Minerva. Work began on this Duomo in 1386 and lasted until 1810. And as if four and a quarter centuries wasn't nearly enough time, they continued adding flourishes until the 1960s.

 

Wandering around the Duomo's exterior is like exploring an outdoor sculptural museum. More than a thousand carved saints decorate Duomo's walls, niches, and tower tops. Binoculars would help you to see those placed loftily on sky-piercing spires. But for a better look at the forest of stone towers, there is only one place to be: atop the Duomo itself.

And so I headed for the lift that carries visitors skyward. From that vantage point we could could see eye-to-eye with the saints, the pigeons, and dozens of gargoyles.

Up On The Duomo's Roof

 

 

A few of the gargoyles gracing the Duomo

My visit to the Duomo's interior fell on Sunday, when priests and prelates celebrate nearly non-stop masses for nearly non-existent communicants. Their predilection for smells and bells limited tourist access to the nave and altar. But some corners remained open to secular visitors, so I took a few photos.

The most impressive element is the church's mammoth size. On the crucifix hanging above the altar is said to be a relic given to the church by St. Helen, Emperor Constantine's mother: One of the nails from Jesus' crucifixion.

On one side aisle stands a particularly gruesome statue that depicts St. Bartolomeo, one of Jesus' disciples who was martyred by being flayed (skinned alive). The statue shows him wearing his skin like a robe; it's almost a textbook on human anatomy. And notably, this statue was the created by an artist studying with Leonardo Da Vinci, who was noted for his interest in human anatomy.

St. Bartolomeo statue

 
So let's move on. Speaking of Da Vinci, on the far side of the Galleria is a large statue of Leonardo in a park also named for him. For two decades Milan was his home. Directly across the street from Da Vinci stands the humble facade of Italy's best known opera houses: La Scala. (Darn! There were no tickets available for Saturday's performance of Lucia di Lammermoor.)

LeonardoDa Vinci

La Scala Opera House

I continued to walk along routes suggested by my travel guides. Milan is one of the chief fashion centers of the world, and the fashion industry seems even to leak into the streets. As I ambled along, I came across a couple of gorgeous models wearing bridal gowns, and being coached by photographers who were carrying cameras with arm-length lenses, along with a cadre of courtiers. Later on, when I complimented a cab driver's good English, he said he had learned it by hanging out with fashion models. Indeed, he's now married to one.

 
Beyond the Piazza del Duomo neighborhood, let's include here 3 other sites I visited. First, an online walking tour took me to Castello Sforzesco, one of the largest fortresses in Europe. The Duke of Milan had it built in the 15th century, and of course later rulers modernized it as the centuries progressed. It is now situated on a vast green park, and its interior is filled with museums. When I was there it was chock-a-block full of Milanese enjoying the benefits of city life en masse.

Second, for a couple of hours I also perused the art in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, Milan's oldest art museum. Because Da Vinci was resident in Milan for so long, his influence on the local artists ran deep, and many of his students have works on display here. There are also Renaissance works by Raphael, Caravaggio, and a host of others.

Da Vinci's portrait of a musician

 

Portrait by Andrea Appiani, Da Vinci's student

And third, two weeks ago, we started with frescoes, so let's close my journey with one of the world's most famous frescoes (of sorts). Da Vinci painted "The Last Supper" on the wall of a monastic dining hall, now located next to the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Tickets to see it have to be reserved far in advance, but I was lucky to find an opening. The painting doesn't look "healthy", but it has undergone restoration, and the drama of the moment captured (when Jesus said one of the disciples would betray him) is still very clear.

But I learned from the displays that, in painting the piece, Leonardo made an error. Rather than applying paint to wet plaster, he used a dry fresco technique that he had developed, presumably so that he could take his time creating the work. However, this was a far inferior technique. Leonardo unwittingly ensured that the work would not have the staying power of the standard methods of fresco painting. At the far end of the room is another artist's contemporaneous fresco of the crucifixion. In contrast, it shows very little wear and tear.

Luckily, when it became obvious that the original Last Supper would likely deteriorate, many began to paint copies onto canvas. In the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, there is a full-sized copy of at least the dining table, Jesus, and the disciples. The painter omitted the wondrous background and diner's feet found in the original. But you can see how it looked a mere 100 years after Da Vinci created it.

Last Supper reproduction in Pinacoteca Ambrosiana

 
I will leave you with one final food photo from the trip. This is a window display of various ways of serving mozzarella, meat, vegetables, and spices. Once ordered, they would be warmed in an oven before being served, but in general people would carry these to eat these in a nearby park. I personally didn't have enough appetite for them.

So that's it! As I finish up this Milanese synopsis, I am back home in New Hampshire, after a long day of travel and a much needed restful night. Thanks for joining me on this Italian jaunt.

And keep an eye out! I'll let you know when I post a new entry.

Blog to you later!