Milano

Milano is just a short 30 minute train ride away from Pavia. If Milano (a.k.a. Milan) sounds familiar it is probably because it is the fashion mecca of the world. Now I am far from the fashion diva, but I still found it to be a rather enjoyable place. Let me tell you, there is nothing more entertaining than watching the people of Milan. Of course there are the women who are all done up: make-up, hair, nails, and the whole shebang. Her eyes squint and her personality… well to put it nicely she screams “not-nice” in big bold letters. She walks (more like struts) her stuff in rather large heels that I would shatter my ankle in if I even attempted such a feat.  She is the woman who wouldn’t be caught dead in last season’s outfit, or the wrong color purse. Oh yes she is entertaining, but my personal favorite is actually the man that follows her around. Just like the woman, he is fashionable to the T. He has got on the hippest outfit right off the male run way. He has even got the bling to match. But wait there is more! In the crook of his right arm he is holding the woman’s little Pomeranian and carrying ALL the bags; however, if you look closely you will notice that a good chunk of the bags and merchandise are actually for him. Again this is Milan people watching… free and 100% entertaining!    

Besides people watching there is also a lot of historical activities to do in this booming city. Now when you think city, do you think of a huge Gothic Cathedral in the middle of it all? I typically don’t, but that is truly the case with Milan. In fact, Milan is the location of the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world! This was far from an easy task especially when you consider that it took over five centuries to complete. It was started in 1386 and finished in 1965. That is incredible when you remember that it is made completely out of brick and marble, and this was started before major machinery. What I found to be completely mind blowing was when I realized that it took longer to build this single architectural structure than the United States has been a country! Seriously! The United States declared its independence in 1776, which means it has been a country for less than 300 years. It took five centuries to build the cathedral in Milan, and the United States has existed for half of that! Think of how many generations were spent building that, and how many people made that building their life work… it is really incredible when you put it in that perspective.

We got to go inside, and that was very beautiful as well. It was very cold in there and when we entered there was a church service taking place. The people were all bundled up as they sat there following the service. As we toured the inside there was beautiful displays of mosaic windows, paintings on the wall and even some odd statues.

In addition to going inside we also got to go on the roof. This was by far my favorite part of the cathedral. The roof top was awesome. From here you could really see the detail that went in the marble carvings. There were also angles everywhere, and it seemed to me like each time you turned around there was something new or a different perspective to take in.

I have yet to mention that I went to Milan the second day after I had arrived in Italy and that I had a fine tour guide. It was a friend of the family’s daughter, and she along with her two young daughters escorted me around pointing out the sights worth seeing. So after we had seen the infamous cathedral they took me to see Basilica Sain’Ambrogio. I found this church to be very interesting in its own way. It was not nearly as grand or bold as the Cathedral, but it has a very rich history. I learned that this church while not the largest in Europe, is one of the oldest in Milan. It was built in 379 and completed not long after in 386. A lot of this church has had to go under reconstruction, especially since the bombings during WWII destroyed some parts of it.

While I did see more sights while I was there, these were the main ones. I do hope to back to Milan a couple more times, and due to the location it is very feasible. I still want to see the original painting of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, which is located in the basement of a church in Milan. Plus I would love to see an Italian Opera at the famous La Scala Opera House. I’ll keep you posted!