Our summer trip to Italy finished in Milan, where we spent a single afternoon and night ahead of the flight back to the US.
The Gothic cathedral of Milan is a must-see sight.
Impressive on the outside, the cathedral’s interior is just okay, lacking in comparison with many other grand churches in Italy. However, where it towers above the rest is in allowing access to its roof, utterly splendid in its ensemble of pinnacles, spires, ornamentation and sculpture. Here are several of the spires on the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele side of the roof.
And here is a perspective in the opposite direction, with an unusual modern building juxtaposing itself onto the row of pinnacles.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a high-end mall connecting Piazza del Duomo with Piazza della Scala (on which the eponymous famous opera house is located). If you are in Milan, you will certainly walk though its cross-shaped passage.
Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is another top attraction in town. In fact, I could almost count it as my World Heritage site #61. It is primarily recognized for Leonardo’s The Last Supper which can only be viewed with a prior reservation via timed entry. Since I did not make such arrangements and did not see the painting, I will have to put it into the “have been near” bucket of World Heritage sites. I did photograph the church extensively – it is a beautiful masterpiece all on its own.
Our first visit to Milan 10 years ago – which was almost as short as this past one – left us underwhelmed with the city. But we did manage to walk around the center a bit more on this visit and warmed up to Milan a little. Street views such as this one quite helped.
These and a few other pictures of Milan can be found in this Flickr photoset.