The magic of Milan does not originate only from its vast historical monuments and being Europe’s fashion capital, but rather from the fact that this city has its own unique appearance and charm. Milan, Italy, by no means lives on its famous past and present.
A walk through the Old Town Square in broad daylight by the Duomo di Milano (Milan’s Cathedral) is like a walk through centuries. Taking on intimate look inside the cathedral, you will notice the intricate ceiling details and beautiful statues of saints, making the Duomo the most visited place in the city. Plus, it was so wonderful to hear Mass in Italian. But if you think that this sight is not enough, the public, during certain hours, can visit the upper part of the cathedral from which the city of Milan will open up right in front of you! To me, it felt like a grand exhibition about the life, work and everything else!
Milan by night is another experience when its streets appear with so much energy! I felt that it is architecturally a city of statement! A walk along the Castello Sforzesco (Castle) through Via Dante and Scala boasts numerous interesting parts of the city and can easily make you believe that you have stepped back into time or that on the next corner, you will meet one of Italy’s most famous designers!
Apart from all these treasures that can be seen directly from the streets of Milan, there are also many museums and galleries that are worth visiting. One most extensive highlight is definitely the Il Cenacolo (Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of The Last Supper) situated in Milan’s Refettorio di Santa Maria delle Grazie.
As food is very highly important in Italy, we ate our way through! Italian food mixes a variety of tastes and if you’ve worked up an appetite, then you will not find yourself lost! Breakfast is usually sweet, consisting of huge amounts of croissants (briosche) and biscotti (biscuits) taken together with Italian coffee (usually cappuccino). One particular home cooked lunch (buffet style) that I enjoyed together with family and friends consisted of aperitifs (aperitivo called Crodino, a non-alcoholic drink) followed by lasagna, pasta pasticciata (typical dish from Calabria, the south of Italy), arrosto con radicchio (meat with chicory), arrosto con spinaci (meat with spinach) arrosto farcito, Carciofi ripieni (artichoke type of dish), carne alla griglia (grilled meat – ribs and chicken), pomodori secchi sott’olio (tomatoes with olive oil), sottaceti (made with carrots and cauliflower), funghi trifolati sott’olio (mushroom with olive oil), quicke di porri (not sweet cake made with leek), fresh salad with olives, cheeses: leerdammer, grana and brie, polpette (meatballs), Uova Mimosa (deviled eggs) and a lot of bread particularly from Sicily together with wine, limonce (whisky with lemon) and a few other drinks! Following the main course, dessert was served, where we enjoyed different types of home made sweets: crostata di mele (with apple), pastiera Napoletana (typical cake from Naples), torta alle mele, ameretti, cioccolate in pasta sfoglia (a cake made with chocolate, apples and amaretti) and the Italian Easter cake, Colomba! It was then topped off with coffee (espresso). Yes, Italian’s really do enjoy their food and so did we!
On other occasions, we sampled fresh Italian pizza, trofie al pesto, spaghetti al sugo, vitel tonnato (meat with sauce), peperoncini ripieni (red pepper with tuna), salssiccia piccante and salsiccia normale (spicy and not spicy sausages), Viennetta (typical ice cream), Mary’s (our Italian friend) tiramisu, patatine (snacks) and torta all frutta (cake made with fruits). You definitely go to Italy to eat! You just can’t miss out, as it is part of their tradition, making it the warmest Italian welcome especially when everything we sampled was made from scratch!
For others interested in shopping rather than eating and visiting historical monuments, right outside your doorstop, Milan has leading fashion boutiques with prices ranging from affordable to expensive, retail stores, perfume shops, luxury jewellers, antique shops and Milanese markets with many traditional products. There is just so much to choose from!
Regardless of how we chose to spend our time in Italy, I discovered that it still wasn’t enough! But one thing is for sure; Milan by day and night…it is a city where there are really no limits to your imagination! Milan is such an eventful place and nowhere else in the world would you find this!