Back in Milano

Last time I was in Milan I was severely jet-lagged and cranky, but this time was much nicer.

On Tuesday we had an organized day-trip to Milan to get into some art history shenanigans. We arrived in Milan around 9:30, sun shining, and essentially no snow on the ground, which made me super jealous. Our program bought us Metro passes for the day, which we first used to go to Castello Sforsezco, the castle of the Visconti family ruled Milan during the 14-15th centuries.

As we walked in we realized Fashion Week was currently in session in Milan, and there was a huge, closed off tent in the middle of the Castello’s grounds. The Castello was filled with ancient artifacts ranging back hundreds of years. A lot of it was sculpture-based, but there was also a great armory we got to peek into.

We didn’t get a chance to see absolutely everything, but the big event was seeing Michaelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini up close and personal. He started the sculpture in the early 1550s but died before its completion. You can definitely see the incompleteness in the sculpture – some parts look extremely completed and polished while other parts are still rough.

Best tomb ever

 After we finished our appointment at the Castello, we were given 4 hours (11:00-15:00) to explore Milan. Most of us decided to go to the Duomo via the Metro. Milano’s Duomo makes Parma’s look tiny and insignificant. Between the Piazza with the statue of Vittorio Emanuele II, the Duomo’s architecture, and the handful of preserved bodies inside, our little Parmigiano Duomo didn’t stand much of a chance. We weren’t allowed to take any photos inside unless we paid, but many people still did.

Il Duomo!

Look at the fading

After we finished inside, we wanted to find Teatro Farnese, but first, we popped into La Galleria di Vittorio Emanuele II, which was right next to the Duomo. There was some fun shops there with some quasi-recognizable names. 

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Next, we went to have lunch in a small local restaurant, which had a quasi-pasticcera downstairs and tables for eating upstairs. I had the locally famous Risotto Milanese with the cheapest glass of wine, and it was awesome. Risotto is one of my favorite Italian dishes and with saffron? Yum. Apologies because I didn’t have my iPhone to take any obnoxious Instagram photos. After lunch we found the Quadrilatero, which is a four-street intersection of some of the most expensive shopping in Milan. We also did some climbing up this cool sculpture we found.

At 3, we met up with our program directors for the big event of the day: to see da Vinci’s Last Supper at La Chiesa della Santa Maria. Appointments have to be booked months in advance and can be extremely expensive and the best part? The appointments are only fifteen minutes long. We waited to enter into a humidity-controlled chamber before entering the convent next to the Church. The Last Supper was located inside the convent’s dining hall – appropriate, but thanks to the humidity from the kitchen, who shared a wall with da Vinci’s supper, a lot of it is already fading.

The grounds of the church

Obviously, we weren’t allowed to take any photos inside, but our guide gave us a lecture on da Vinci’s piece along with the other fresco on the opposite wall. I thought we’d have some time at least be on the balcony by the Last Supper to observe it closer, but within 30 seconds of the lecture being over so was our appointment. I stayed for a little longer until security barked at us to get out.

Just in case you want/need a reference point - it doesn't really resemble this anymore :(

I still don’t understand why we had to have a guide who talked for 14 MINUTES OF OUR 15 MINUTE APPOINTMENT when there were PLENTY of signs for us to read on our own. I just wanted time to look at it!

Of course, they led us to the bookstore after the appointment was over…and of course, I bought 2 postcards.

Our official events for the day were over, so we had freedom to stay in Milan a little longer or head back to Parma. About half of us stayed behind. I arranged to meet up with a friend of mine who’s in Milan for the semester, and we grabbed some coffee and caught up with each other. He was even nice enough to take me to Milano Centrale, and I made the 6:15 back to Parma.

Our week didn’t stop there – We saw an opera yesterday at Parma’s Teatro Reggio. We saw Nabucco (click here to learn a bit about it). It was great, albeit long. Having some background knowledge on the opera definitely helped with my comprehension, especially since any comprehension I might normally have was drowned out by the singing or ancient Italian – the subtitles helped.

Currently in Mantova but will update the blog once I'm back in good 'ol Parma!