Milan -- Return to Italy

We are always happy to return to Italy. Unfortunately being a bit sick did make it difficult to enjoy the wonderful Italian food. Nonetheless, we made do, and were also very appreciative of the history of Milan.

Milan is another city that was very important during the Roman Empire, and after the Empire legalized Christianity, Milan became its religious center. The site of the current Duomo (cathedral) of Milan was the site of a church as early as the 4th Century. The current spectacular building is the third largest in the world (after St. Peter's in the Vatican and the cathedral in Sevilla). When it was  begun in 1386, it was designed to hold the enire population of Milan -- 40,000 people:

Although we generally do not like to pay to see churches, we were happy to pay 15 Euros each for the full ticket in Milan. In addition to seeing the inside of the Duomo (impressive stained-glass windows and 100 giant columns), we visited the Duomo museum (which houses the many statues that have been taken down from the Duomo over the years, along with a scale-model of the building), and got to climb up to the building's roof. This was definitely the best part.

First, on the way up, there is an intermediate stop where you get a good look at the building's flying buttresses:

Then, on the roof itself, you have great views of the city (duh), but also of many of the 135 statues of saints that sit on pillars around the building (this guy seems to be taking in the view of modern Milan with us or perhaps he is judging Milan's modern materialism):

Being on the roof of the Duomo really makes it obvious what an incredible architectual achievement the building is, especially considering that its construction took place mostly between 800 and 400 years ago!

After the Duomo, we visited  one of Milan's main art museums, the Pinocoteca de Brera, which contains paintings almost entirely from Italian artists. Although we were not really impressed with the art -- so, so, much of it religious -- there were two interesting things about the museum. First, it is in a beautiful old building that also houses an art school (sorry, no pictures); and second, they have built a large clear "box" in which the museum's art restorers do their work. Very interesting to be able to watch this process.

Of course, the Duomo is not even close to the only church in Milan. We also were able to visit two others. First, the beautiful Church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore. This heavily-frescoed church was built for a group of closistered nuns, which means it is basically two churches back to back -- one for the public, and the other for the nuns so they can participate in the services without being seen (even including a small space in the wall between the sections so they could receive communion). Here you can see the ceiling and just some of the frescos on the nun's side of the church:

And, the frescos are not limited to scences from the New Testament. Here is part of a fresco representing the story of Noah and the flood -- we were surprised to see a couple of unicorns (?!?) climbing up the gangplank into the ark.

The second church was the Basilica di Sant Ambrogio. Yet another site where a church has stood since the 4th Century. The original church (called the Basilica of the Martyrs) was built by St. Ambrose in 379-386, and the relics of the original martyrs remain in the current church. Although not the original building, the current 11th-12th century building is impressively old. There are also two very interesting older items in the church, both of which can be seen in the photo below. On the left, is the 4th century sarcophagus of Stilicho, which contains many carvings of Jesus and his disciples. To the right is the golden alter and the wooden structure above it (called a ciborium) are from the 9th century. The basilica of Sant Ambrogio is definitely worth a visit if you are in Milan.

Finally, we walked a lot in Milan (of course), and wandered through the grounds of the impressive Sforzesco Castle. This impressive structure (including at least one drawbridge over a now water-less moat) was begun in the 15th century, but significantly expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries when it was one of the largest in Europe. Now, it houses about nine different museums (it really is huge), and its courtyard is open to the public where plenty of people are just strolling through or hanging out.

While Milan may not be our favorite city in Italy, it was good to learn about the extensive history of yet another city that has been a center of various civilizations for over 1500 years.

Now, on to Venice.

Ciao,

Jeff and Shana