By 8:45 AM breakfast was over and we gathered in the hotel lobby as Scott handed out our Vox listening devices. We were to keep these as constant companions for most of our Tauck travels. Lesson over, we headed out to our bus and met our driver Alfredo. He would be be with us throughout our trip.
The day was supposed to start with a quick bus tour of Milan. Due to a race, however, many of the streets had been blocked off. Our guide still managed to point out a triumphal arch begun in 1807 in honor of Napoleon. Turns out the Italians didn’t care for Napoleon very much so that when the arch was finished in 1838 it became the Arch of Peace in honor of the coronation of Ferdinand I as King of Lombardy-Venetia. Another landmark was the Torre Branca (Branca Tower) built by Benito Mussollini in 1933. You can go to the top via an elevator for panoramic views of Milan. We also drove by some modern pieces of art
The first stop of the day was at the Sforza Castle. It was built in the 1300’s as a military fortress and was originally surrounded by a moat. Defenses were escalated by the Sforza duke in 1450 in anticipation of an attack by Venetians. The family built their Renaissance palace into the fortress. Leonardo da Vinci lived there when he served as a military engineer contributing to the design of the ramparts. The Castle is now primarily museums.
After learning of the history of the Castle we were guided to the highlight of the museum, Michelangelo’s Pieta Rondanini. This was Michelangelo’s 4th Pieta, and he died in his late 80’s while still working on it. (According to Rick Steves, “a Pieta by definition is a representation of a dead Christ with a sorrowful Virgin Mary.”). It sits in a room that was once used as a hospital for sick Spanish soldiers. The fact that it is unfinished makes it more interesting than the perfect Pieta in the Vatican. It’s roughness forces you to use your imagination as to what Michelangelo’s intentions may have been. There is an extra arm, and it isn’t clear which direction Jesus is facing. In addition, the two bodies appear to merge into one. It was wonderful being able to view this sculpture without the usual crowds.
We headed back toward the hotel where the bus dropped us off at the Piazza Della Scala. It is connected to the main square of Milan, Piazza del Duomo and is named after the famous Teatro Alla Scala Opera House. In the middle of the piazza sits a monument of Leonardo da Vinci. Our guide spent a lot of time reviewing each of the panels of the statue highlighting Leonardo’s life.
A tour of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II came next. It was named after Italy’s first king of the Kingdom of Italy and is Italy’s oldest active shopping gallery. It is filled to the brim with high end stores, i.e. Prada, Gucci, etc. Our guide told us how it was designed and built by architect Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877. At only 29 years of age, he fell off scaffolding the day before the gallery opened and died. One story is that his body fell on the part of the mosaic floor featuring a Torino (little bull). It is supposed to be good luck if you step on the bulls testicles and spin clockwise two times. Evidently it is a popular thing to do because the mosaic must be replaced every few years.
The formal tour was now over and we were free to do as we pleased until 4:30. Scott recommended going to the Rinascente food court for lunch, which is where we decided to head. La Rinascente is a collection of high-end stores with Italian and international brands in fashion, accessories, beauty, home goods and food. Just going up the escalator was a visual treat as we passed displays of clothing, shoes, furniture, etc. On the top floor were several restaurants and kiosks offering foodstuffs from gourmet gelato, to incredible baked goods. We ended up sharing a delicious eggplant and cheese hot sandwich.
We still had some time on our hands and thought we should go inside the spectacular Milan Duomo. At first we were going to sneak in for free with a group heading to mass, but we decided to take the honest way in and purchased tickets. The ticket was only to see the inside of the church, although one could take an elevator up to the roof.
The Duomo was started in 1386, but wasn’t finished until 1888. I was correct in thinking it was built in the gothic style. In fact the entire edifice is enormous and quite spectacular. There was damage done to the church during WWII and some stained glass windows needed to be replaced. A rather macabre statue can be found inside. It is a statue of a bald St. Bartolomeo, an apostle and 1st century martyr, skinned alive by the Romans. It was carved by a student of Leonardo da Vinci, and almost looks like a anatomy dissection.
Time for the highlight of the day. We are about to go see Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. According to Scott is is extremely difficult to get tickets, but we lucked out. The painting is located in Santa Maria della Gracie a church and Dominican convent. The Sforza family from the Castle written I wrote about earlier, hired Leonardo to decorate the dining hall of the monastery.
Unfortunately the technique Leonardo used to paint the walls using egg whites began deteriorating within 6 years of its completion. During WWII sandbags were lined up against the wall in an attempt to prevent its destruction. The church was bombed and much destroyed, but the painted wall remained unharmed. A 21 year restoration project completed in 1999 cleaned away 500 years of touch-ups and the results are remarkable. Each figure in the painting has a story to tell.
One last tidbit about the painting that our guide told us about. The Dominicans actually destroyed part of the painting by putting a door under where Jesus is sitting in 1652. Apparently they felt the painting was too far gone to be saved. Also across from Leonardo’s works is a Crucifixation scene by Giovanni Donato da Montorfano painted in 1495.
This evening Paul made reservations for us at restaurant called Bosco Verticale located in the Porto Nuova district of Milan. I had read about buildings covered with trees, but I had never seen any until now. Quite incredible, as was our dinner. Fresh tomato soup with ricotta, artichoke with some kind of cream sauce, and fresh pesto pasta that was incredible, I don’t remember dessert, but I’m sure it was phenomenal. After dinner they gave us some homemade digestifs lemoncello and another one made from berries. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to others.
BY THE WAY WITH WENDY & DAN 