ESSENTIAL MILAN Don’T Forget to Mark the Duomo, Brera and Navigli on Your ‘Must See’ List by Maryalicia Post
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Feature 49 EYE ON TraVEL ESSENTIAL MILAN Don’t forget to mark the Duomo, Brera and Navigli on your ‘must see’ list by Maryalicia Post Piazza Del Duomo Milan’s freshly scrubbed cathedral, the Duomo, is one sight no visitor is going to miss. Standing at the very centre of the city in its own piazza, it is Milan’s heart and soul. The cathedral’s facade, in the words of Mark Twain, seems a “delusion of frostwork,” while the interior is a stone forest of columns pierced with rosy light from the stained glass windows. It is the world’s largest Gothic cathedral, big enough to hold 40,000 people; not surprisingly, it took nearly 500 years to complete. Go up on the roof, too, for a close-up look at the thousands of spires and statues that surmount the cathedral. And don’t forget your camera! To access the roof, leave the cathedral by the main door and turn left. The inconspicuous doorway leading A courtyard in the Navigli district both to the stairs (201 steps) and the lift is around the corner tucked into a flank of the A cobbled street in the Brera district building. particularly from the Giacamo Arengario Buy your ticket – €6 for the stairs or restaurant. Open for lunch and dinner, €10 for the lift – across the street from reservations essential. Via G. Marconi, 1 opened to the public in 1998. Open from the entrance at Info Point, Via dell corner of Piazza del Duomo. Telephone: 02 9:00 to 12:00 and from 13:00 to 16:00. A 'Arcivescovado, 1. Roof visits open from 72093814. wide variety of restaurants and bistros 09:00 daily. Closing times vary, but from The Royal Palace, once the home of the enliven Brera’s winding streets and Happy late March to late October, the last ticket is Visconti and Sforza families, and later of Hour is celebrated here with gusto. Every sold at 21:15. the Spanish and Austrian governors, is month, on the 3rd Saturday, there’s the Round off your exploration with an set back in its own courtyard to the right traditional Antique Market. Fabriano, excursion under the Duomo, to the 4th of the Cathedral. Damaged by fire after Via Ponte Vetero 17. Closest Metro stop, Century Baptistery. It was first discovered bombing in WWII, the Royal Palace was Lanza; Cavalli e Nastri, Via Brera 2, Metro in 1940 when a bomb shelter was being dug a neglected treasure until the year 2000, Montenapoleone. Both stops serve the under the cathedral. Subsequent excavations when a definitive restoration was begun. Pinacoteca di Brera, Via Brera 28. Open for the Metro uncovered more of the site, Enough has already been accomplished to Tuesday-Sunday 8:30-19:15. The Brera is a including the remains of the Basilica of give visitors an idea of the glory of court 10-minute walk from the Duomo. Santa Tecla and 1st century Roman baths. life when the city played a major role in Tickets are available from the booth inside the affairs of Europe. The palace hosts Navigli/Ticinese Though its vibrant the cathedral, at the back. Metro: Duomo. temporary shows and exhibitions. Happy Hour is the main draw of Milan’s Navigli area, its unsophisticated, almost The Arengario, the pseudo-classical A Brera facade building on the right of the Piazza del Brera Few artists could afford to live in rural character is worth sampling even Duomo was the municipal headquarters the Brera district now, though it’s still called without the “eat all you want for the price Milan’s “bohemian” quarter. Today, it is of one drink” evening scene. There are Milan’s Metro is clean and easy to use but from which Italy’s Fascist dictator, Benito crowded at peak hours of 7:00-9:00 and courtyards that look as if they come from Mussolini, addressed the crowds on the a popular haunt for strolling, dining and 17:00-20:00. Tickets are available from bars, piazza below. It was constructed in 1935. browsing in up-market boutiques. Narrow the 18th century, an old washhouse on the tobacconists, stationers, newspaper stands, or The site had previously been reserved streets give the area its atmosphere; unusual edge of a stream, artists’ workshops, two station vending machines. for a second Triumphal Arch to balance shops ensure there’s always something to canals and the quasi-abandoned Darsena For full information and a route map, the entrance to the shopping mall, the see. Call in at Fabriano, for quality writing lake. (Tip: bring mosquito repellent.) East visit: www.atm-mi.it Galleria, opposite. In 2011, after 10 years of accessories, paper, cards, and gift ideas, of the canals, deeper into the working class restoration, the Arengario re-opened as the or browse through Cavalli e Nastri’s trove Ticinese area, you’ll find interesting old The following congresses will be held in “Museum of the 1900s.” Displaying over 400 of vintage designer clothing, bags, hats buildings, cafes and small restaurants. Many Milan in September 2012: works of 20th century art, it provides a rare and jewellery. A magnet for art lovers of the original factory worker families still 3rd EuCornea Congress (6-8 Sept); overview of “Futurism,” an Italian/Fascist is the Pinacoteca di Brera, the National live here – despite the area’s growing appeal 2nd World Congress of Paediatric social and artistic movement that died out Art Gallery, housed in a magnificent to middle class and professional people. Ophthalmology and Strabismus (7-9 Sept); with the end of WW II. There are wonderful old convent. The Botanical Gardens, an Metro: Porta Genova. From the Duomo, a 12th EURETINA Congress (6-9 Sept); views of the Piazza from the Arengario, enclosed oasis behind the Pinacoteca, walk to Ticinese takes about 30 minutes. XXX Congress of the ESCRS (8-12 Sept). EUROTIMES | Volume 17 | Issue 4.