Milan is the commercial and financial capital of Italy with all the big companies based here. It is also the fashion capital of the world with many of the big fashion brands originating from here.
Our bus took us up to the main castle in Milan the Sforza Castle. This is a huge 15th century castle built on the remnants of an older one. It is very impressive. Our guide gave us all the history and walked us around. One of the highlights is that it contains Michaelangelo’s last statue that he was working on when he died at age 88 in 1564.
We then headed out of the castle to walk up to the main part of the city, the Duomo. On the way we passed the famous Milan opera house the Scala but this is being renovated at the moment so was covered in scaffolding. The Duomo is where the big shopping centre the Galleria can be found and also Milan Cathedral.
The Galleria is very impressive with all the big fashion brands. Prada has had a shop here for over 100 years. The mosaic floor had links to the various parts of Italy.
They started building the cathedral in the 14th century but didn’t finish it until 1965! Amazingly it was not damaged in WW2 despite Milan and the Duomo being heavily bombed.
The cathedral is the largest one outside of the Vatican and is made entirely of marble, not bricks with marble attached. They are always working on it inside and out so a section of it is usually covered in scaffolding. It is stunning. Amazing leadlight windows from the 15th and 16th centuries and lots of statues.
After walking around the cathedral we went for lunch and headed back to the hotel for a rest - with a stop off for gelato!
Diner was a very simple take away pizza and a couple of local beers.Read more
ItalyPorta Romana45°27’7” N 9°12’18” E
ItalyPorta Romana45°27’7” N 9°12’18” E