Italy 3: Milan (18th September 2012)

18th September (Tuesday)

Rainy Tuesday morning, photos taken from the balcony's hotel
 

Breakfast was served on a tray in the room

Watching classic cartoons on TV

This cartoon looks like Mofli!!!

The breakfast wasn't nothing special but was included in the price

Early-morning walk through the centre of the city. Milan, the city of fashion, is shoppers’ heaven. The super “atas” (Singlish for high end) shopping area at Galleria and also the fashion district at Via Monte Napoleone certainly can keep a shopper occupied and happy (forget all about the following month when the credit card bills come)

Corso Buenos Aires, a major street  in north-eastern. With over 350 shops and outlets, it qualifies as the most important shopping street of the city; it also features the highest concentration of clothing stores in Europe! The architecture of the area is mostly late-19th and 20th Century style; the street and its surroundings are pointed with several neo-classical and art nouveau buildings

Trams along Corso Vercelli

The Piccolo Teatro della Città di Milano (Little Theatre of the City of Milan), founded in 1947 by theatre impresario Paolo Grassi and actor and director Giorgio Strehler

Instituto Cervantes of Milan in Via Dante 12

Largo Cairoli, city square situated between Via Dante and Castello Sforzesco (Sforzesco Castle). The equestrian monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi stands here, in the centre of the piazza where the two sections of Foro Bonaparte meet

Giuseppe Garibaldi equestrian statue. The bronze structure, created in 1895 by the artist Ettore Ximenes and the architect Augusto Guidini, depicts General Garibaldi proudly sitting on horseback.The statue is set on a decorative base that is sculpted with groups of figures representing “Revolution” and “Virtue”

Going to the Castello Sforzesco (Sforzesco Castle)

Sforzesco Castle was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remains of a 14th-century fortification and Later renovated and enlarged, in the 16th and 17th centuries it was one of the largest citadels in Europe

If you go to Milan this is an important place to visit. Unlike any other castle, the castle in Milan is located just in the city center, reachable by foot from Milan Cathedral. The castle has a very big open area

Lateral tower of Sforza Castle

Left tower from the outside

Inside the Sforza Castle

Gate of Sforza castle

This castle is an important monument and has long served as a symbol of power for local and foreign rulers of Milan.  Castello Sforzesco is a place that you could easily spend at least a morning or afternoon in depending on your interests

Sforza Castle is a huge Renaissance palace. Today consists of a series of courtyards and residencial quarters turned into museums. The Civiche Raccolte d'Arte Antica museum is located in the castle

This castle was known as Castello di Porta Giova (or Porta Zubia), from the name of a gate in walls located nearby. Here you can read info about this gate

The main tower

Internal courtyard. Beautiful and quiet Wonderful sanctuary to wander through the 14th and 15th century and a break from a busy commercial city. There were many wild cats and kittens! :-)

Nice and colorful flowers

The Castle contain a few small museums. Throughout the year, visitors can enjoy special art exhibitions and concerts. There is a small fee for the museums, but I toured the castle and its grounds for free and I recommend it :-)

The Sforza Castle now houses museums libraries, galleries and exhibitions. The Pinacoteca art gallery features works by artists such as Mantegna, Cesare da Sesto, Canaletto and Bellotto, whilst the Museo d’Arte Antica boasts masterpieces from Rondanini Pietà and Michelangelo

Some pictures at the back of the Castle

One of the gates

Walls

From the castle, you can see the Arch of Peace (Arco Parco Sempione, Arco della Pace)

I bought some souvenirs in a stand next to the Castle

Stairs of the Castle

Other side of the Castle

Relaxing time

One of the medieval windows

Monte dei Paschi di Siena is the oldest surviving bank in the world and Italy's third largest bank, founded in 1472 by the magistrate of the city state of Siena, Italy, as a "mount of piety", it has been operating ever since

Parafarmacia Dante (Via Dante 17)

Caffè Dante (Via Dante 15)

In Via Dante before going back to the hotel

Meeting with my friend Jairo at 13:30

And waiting for the tram

Jairo took me some pics inside the tram

As it's Milan, so we also wanted to visit the football stadium, Stadio Giuseppe Meazza ( commonly known as the San Siro stadium). It's located out of the city, not that near to public transportation, so get ready for some walk if you want to visit the stadium

Looking for the right way to arrive to the San Siro Stadium

And quick stop for a short lunch

Buon appetito!

At last, we arrived!  It's quite a long walk from the station to here but worth it to see

The stadium is located in the western part of Milan. It can be reached by tram, with line 16 ending right in front, or by underground via the Lotto metro station (line 1, red color, direction Rho Fiera) which is approximately a 15 minutes walk from San Siro. Before sport events and concerts, a free bus connection is available from Lotto station to the stadium

There was a UEFA Champions League match between Milan and Anderlecht that day and it was the Merchandise outside the San Siro Stadium. We didn't go to the match but we lived the previous environment. Here in Milan football is like a religion and shops are often decked out like shrines, every last corner covered with posters, calendars and flags

The San Siro, is the home of both A.C. Milan and F.C. Internazionale Milano. 
We took many pictures arround this magical stadium

Screen giving info about the San Siro Store, the main reference point for all soccer fans of both Milanese teams which offers a complete range of several articles at any time of the year: the official products of Inter and A.C. Milan and, with exclusive rights, those of the new brand MSS - Milano San Siro, the stadium merchandising

For me it's always these spiral columns that I'm drawn to when I see the stadium on TV

Merchandising

Even if you're unlucky enough to be in Milan when there are no matches, a pilgrimage to the San Siro is still a worthwhile addition to the football fan's city break

Not only Milan or Inter t-shirts, also of any other clubs (Barça, ManCity, Chelsea, R.M. etc.)

Baretto 1957 Milano, the bar of the stadium where the supporters meet

I tried on this jacket but I bought a black one and also a scarf

Buying the black jacket

Though we weren't able to enter the stadium, along the way we discovered a hidden treasure. Leonardo da Vinci's Bronze Horse (near the stadium's racecourse)!

Ippodromo di San Siro - Milano

Leonardo Da Vinci horse statue, the biggest equestrian statue in the world, at San Siro Hippodrome. Powerful, extraordinary, huge. A statue done in 1999 based on a model by Leonardo Da Vinci, which was destroyed in 1499. It's a 15 ton, 24 foot model!!!

A map of the local racecourse

Amazing statue beside San Siro stadium from a front view

In mid-air, the horse's expression is ambiguous, but I like to think that he's jumping for joy at the freedom he's got in that one moment in time

The horse's head

I found it at the Mondadori megastore in Piazza Duomo: Alla Mia Eta: Live In Rome (DVD)

ATM (Azienda Trasporti Milanesi) manages the public transport service of the city of Milan and of 85 towns in the province. It provides underground train, urban tramway, inter-urban tramway, urban bus and trolley bus, interurban bus and airport transfer services

Milano tram Ventotto n° 1565 - interior of a mythical tram!

Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace) in Piazza Sempione

Porta Sempione ("Simplon Gate") is a city gate of Milan, Italy. The name "Porta Sempione" is used both to refer to the gate proper and to the surrounding district ("quartiere"), a part of the Zone 1 division (the historic city centre), including the major avenue of Corso Sempione. The gate is marked by a landmark triumphal arch called Arco della Pace ("Arch of Peace"), dating back to the 19th century, but its origins can be traced back to a gate of the Roman walls of Milan

This is a nineteenth-century work of art, a triumphal arch in Milan, part of the ancient Porta Sempione, located in the center of the vast area of Piazza Sempione

And to end the day we went to the Parco Sempione, ("Simplon Park"), a large city park which represents an ideal way to disconnect with daily stress and relax in nature. Established in 1888, it has an overall area of 386,000 m², and it is located in the historic centre of the city, inside the Zone 1 administrative division

The park is adjacent to the gardens of the Sforza Castle and to the Arch of Peace, two of the prominent landmarks of Milan. The very design of the park, due to architect Emilio Alemagna, was conceived with the intent of creating panoramic views encompassing both monuments. A third prominent monument of Parco Sempione is the Palazzo dell'Arte ("Palace of Art"), built in 1933 and designed by Giovanni Muzio, which currently houses the Triennale di Milano art expo

Behind me the Arch of Peace seen from a different angle

Who said that in Milan there are no green spaces?

A large and tranquil city park surrounded by several major sights

Lake in Parco Sempione

Watching the lake and the Sforzesco Castle at the background

Ducks in the lake :-)

Ponte delle Sirenette (1842) bridge by Francesco Tettamanzi

A complete view of the bridge

When you’re bored in a museum or shopping activities are met, relax or take a walk in the park Sempione Park, between the strong and the Porta Sempione and Giardini Pubblici or public park, just outside the historic center of the Corso Venezia, which houses the Museum of Natural History. In this large park, you can perform various activities or just sit on the green grass under a tree

Outside the park

Campi di Calcetto-Calcio a 5 (five-a-side football) - Parco Sempione

Colorful houses

Milano Film Festival in Piccolo Teatro Strehler (12-23- September 2012) and other events

The rear end of the theatre

Torre a spirale (or Spiral Tower) is a bronze sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro, 5.50 metres high, located in front of the Piccolo Teatro Strehler in Largo Greppi

Milan Central Train Station: Milano Centrale in Piazza Duca d'Aosta

It's dinnertime. We wet to a restaurant near the station

Champions League game on TV: Milan vs Anderlecht

Tasty pasta... We're in Italy!

Milan Centrale is considered to be one of the most beautiful European train stations. This Milan train station was originally built in 1864 and is centrally located; not far away from many of Milan’s popular sites. In addition, the station is a great destination for high end designer shopping, which Milan is synonymous with

Even more beautiful at night

What a beauty! Il Duomo at night

We took a stroll around the centre of the city. Thanks Jairo for being my guide in Milan!

Waiting for the subway

Inside

Again at the train station Milan Centrale

Back at the hotel, it's midnight. This is the jacket that I bought in San Siro

This was my last night in Milan before going back to Genoa. Milan isn't just all about shopping or football. The famous Milan Duomo, the Castello Sforzesco or the Sempione Park with the Arch of Peace, the town hall with Leonardo da Vinci statute, the church Santa Maria delle Grazie ("Holy Mary of Grace"), Colonne di san Lorenzo and the Triennale are amongst the must-see sights in Milan. I had a wonderful time in this city and I liked it more than I thought before to go