Our Travels

September 30, 2024–

Today, we drove from Lezzeno, Lago di Como, Lombardia to Milano (Milan). I loved this city when we landed with my parents in 1968. The very little I saw then as we waited for the bus to take us closer to my grandparents’ home town seemed bright and vibrant—lots of energy—compared to the medieval nature of most everything else we would see during our visit at the time. Today, we drove a little bit through Milan to gain access to the main piazza and later to depart for Lezzeno. I still love Milan! The buildings are large/huge and heavy but not bawdy or over-the-top showy. There are various communities in Milan, and the sections of the city reflect their diversity as apparent through the restaurants, their specialties, the stores in town,…. Unfortunately, we did not linger in the large city. Our focus today was the Piazza del Duomo, the Duomo itself, the Museum of the Duomo, the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II, and whatever else we could see along the way between our parking structure (about 3/4 of a mile away). Unfortunately, it is impossible for one to see everything of note in one visit unless one were to focus the entire time in one place, and even then, I wonder what might be left behind. Think, for example, of all the years we’ve lived in the Chicago area and how we are still discovering new sights….

The Duomo di Milano, aka Cattedrale di Milano, or Basilica Della Nativita di Santa Maria, is IMPRESSIVE! It was reminiscent to me of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, although the two are not at all alike. The detail in the exterior marble/stone, however, what the artist/s and builder/s were able to accomplish with such hard surfaces, is what reminds me of the similarities between the two. The Duomo of Milan’s exterior is mostly light-colored with subtle pastel streaks/veins, the statues everywhere are sculpted ever-so-tastefully all over the exterior facets of the building, the spires and the top of the Church are sculpted to look so delicate that the appearance from below is that of elegant lace. The interior of the Church is huge. There are many HUGE marble columns throughout, marble-looking floor, headstones for the archbishops who are buried under the floor of the Church (this is typical), a few crypts of archbishops who have attained the state of Beatified (on their way to becoming Saints)—these crypts show the actual body of the archbishop in a glass-front coffin, the subterranean crypt St. Charles Borromeo (who had been an archbishop here and attained Sainthood), and so on, and so on. There was one statue that intrigued me because the man looked like a skeleton, yet one could see he was carrying something, one could see his detailed musculature, and bone structure. I thought I saw at least one extra leg to the side-read of the way that he was facing…. When I looked him up, I found that he was St. Bartholomew, one of Jesus’ Apostles. By some accounts, he had been martyred first by skinning him alive and then by beheading. The artist shows St. Bartholomew carrying his own skin! WOW! Medieval sculpture….

We purchased tickets to the Museo del Duomo (Duomo Museum). We typically don’t choose to go to most museums, but this had been a package deal: Duomo entry plus Museum. So….The Museum contained historical artifacts relative to the history of the Duomo from its inception to how we see it today. Two things stood out to me: One statue was a young man upside down on a Cross (he had been crucified). I later learned that perhaps he was St. Bartholomew. Some versions of what happened to St. Bartholomew suggest that he was crucified upside down, like St. Peter, and not beheaded after all. But this statue had all of its skin, it seemed…. Perhaps it was St. Peter? Not sure right now. The other thing that I learned is that St. Lucia (St. Lucy) was a pretty big deal. She is the patron saint of eyes/eyesight. The way to identify her in statues is to look for a platter that she is holding with two eyes on it. Finally, altogether, I am learning that these people who have become Saints or are on their way to Sainthood look like regular people, like you and me….

Whereas the Duomo di Milano is a spectacular edifice to the Catholic Church’s most treasured faith/beliefs, the Galleria di Vittorio Emmanuele II is an incredible edifice to the importance of capitalism for the revival/survival/prosperity of a great city. The appearance alone is outstanding! There is a glass-domed ceiling, arches, marble-like tiled flooring with interesting design work…. The stores therein are all exclusive, high-end,…. We saw Gucci, Montblanc, Prada, and the like everywhere within that Galleria! There are Cafes, Restaurants, Bars, Bakeries, Gelaterias (Gelato shops),…. Just on the perimeter of this Galleria, more toward the exterior, is a continuation of this shopping venue. However, this gallery is nowhere near as stunning as the Victor Emmanuel II Galleria; rather, it is just like any other galleria that I’ve seen in Veneto and in other piazzas. In this periphery, one can find McDonald’s, burger joints, including Burger King, kiosks that sold sport stuff or Coke/Energy Drinks,….This Victor Emmanuel II Galleria is something that a visitor to Milan would at least like to see, if for nothing else, its structure, its high-end stores, and the people who mostly window shop as well as those few who come out carrying a bag from one of those exclusive designer stores.

The remainder of the Piazza del Duomo contains at least one palace, of course. That goes without saying because palaces have been pretty easy to find in the towns we’ve visited so far, especially in or around the main historic piazzas.

On the way back to the parking structure, we passed a military presence with a military truck and two uniformed soldiers on foot. They were guarding the Sinagoga Centrale di Milano, I.e.., the main Synagogue of Milan. This building has a beautiful blue and white-starred facade, its front door appeared to have been closed, the property was fenced and gated, and there was a dark wall plaque dedicated to those who had been kidnapped (and many were executed) during the Holocaust. We had seen such armed presence even in Germany when we walked past a Jewish synagogue.

Finally, I asked the guards in front of the Sinagoga Centrale what the seemingly attached (through a cat walk) structure to the right was. Answer: Ralph Lauren’s house (one of several around the world)! WOW! But, then again, Milan is probably a logical place for one of his houses. I had heard that Milan was a center for the haute couture crowd, for designer clothing,….The guards said that their job was to guard the Synagogue next door, however, not Ralph Lauren’s property. We did not tour the house, so I am not certain what it was/how it looked. However, a quick Google search suggests that whatever it is, it is exclusive.

An interesting thing: So, we walked to the office of the parking structure to pay the bill for the day’s parking so that we could retrieve our car. On the wall was a poster that suggested that this was also an authorized distributor of Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, direct from the producer. DOP is a label that says that this Parmesan cheese is authentic and was produced in Emilia-Reggiana, folllowing all required standards for it to be called Parmigiano Reggiano. Who would have thought that one could pay one’s parking fees and purchase fresh Parmigiano Reggiano DOP from the same place/in an underground parking structure?

Milan has art, music, fashion, history, iconic buildings, including churches and a stunning Cathedral, museums, at least one university,…. Everywhere one looks in this central part of the city speaks of famed and notoriety. This was our first time visiting Milan, and it was a thrill to see what we could see today. I figure that it would take a long, long time to see the many things that this city has to offer. Until next time—.