6/16 -- Explore Milan

We got a tour of parts of central Milan today, focusing on the Duomo inside and out. There are 135 spires on the building, which was constructed on and off for 500 years, so there are many different architectural styles in it. It is in many ways an outdoor art museum because there are hundreds if not thousands of statues on the facade and more inside. The stone is a piedmont marble that looks white from a distance, but is made of many pastel shades close up.

Most cathedrals are shaped like a cross with a long skinny main part crossed by a shorter skinny part. Here, the transept (the cross part) is barely wider than the main body because that is so wide. It is said to hold up to 40,000 people. The inside marble is much darker than that outside, probably due to soot from candles and heating. Inside a main attraction is a statue of St. Bartholomew, who was flayed. He looks like he is wearing a stole, but it is his skin.

This is a monthly sundial. The metal strip runs the width of
the Duomo and the zodiac symbols are set in the floor so
that the light from a side window shines on to the
appropriate image each month.

This unusual sculpture is by Lucio Fontana,
who was declared a joint winner of the contest
to design one of the Duomo doors, but the
other guy got the commission. He was offered
the commission for a marble altarpiece. This
is a bronze casting of his second plaster
model from 1954. Neither was ever done
in marble.

Above/below: St. Bartholomew. Below you
can more clearly see that the 'wrap' is his skin.

Outside, we looked at the bishops rooms which are connected by a tunnel, a Mussolini remnant, and the doors.

The snake and the dragon are apparently
eating a baby. The snake represents the
Sforzesca family.

Gargoyles are extra long to keep draining water away from
the marble, which is more delicate than some other types.

The marble was transported using some
of the canals we saw yesterday.

Sculpture of a saint injured by a spear.

Museum built by Mussolini. Interesting is
the two-story glass shape inside the
stone walls.

The main door

This panel shows damage in several places
due to war activity.

We walked into the glass-roofed shopping center we saw yesterday to take a look at a 'library' book store dedicated to art. The proprietor has information about his store on the web, but you have to come to the store to buy anything. It is filled with art objects and books from floor to ceiling.

After that, we walked to a nearby restaurant for brunch, Italian style -- 4 little plates to be shared by 2 with croutonish things, teeny salami or turkey sandwiches, unidentified fried objects that were meat or vegetables wrapped in dough, and little open face sandwiches about the width of a quarter. This was followed by saffron risotto. I have been underimpressed with my risotto experiences in the US, but it has been quite tasty here.

Leonardo da Vinci

We also had a speaker talk to us about immigration challenges here. He was an Iranian Kurd and was falsely accused of unaccepted political activity, jailed for 2 years and tortured. Once he got out of jail, he had few opportunities and his family paid $15,000 to get him a fake id to allow him to fly to Italy. He fumbled around some trying to understand the European rules for asylum, but it was granted and now he is a permanent resident of Italy, working on becoming a citizen. He likes Italy in large part because the people are very open and accepting and he feels like a part of the community. Other countries have accepted asylum seekers but they tend to be kept on the outskirts of society, which he thinks leads to some of the violence Europe has experienced.

After lunch, we walked to the Sforzesca Castle, an enormous fortress with 2 moats that is now a series of museums and holds Michelangelo's last uncompleted Pieta work. It is in the upper 80s today and the 15 minute walk was a challenge in itself, so we skipped the museums and ambled back to the air conditioned comfort of our hotel.

Giuseppe Garibaldi, probably the castle owner

 

The Austrians taking over -- you can see the shape of
the whole thing.

One of the former moats

Symbol of the Sforzesca family -- same as the
snake with the dragon by the Duomo

After an hour, we went across the street to the Rinascente,an enormous 7 floor department store that has a terrace bar and restaurant with a great view of the top of the Duomo. You can pay 14 Euros each to walk to the top of the Duomo or 17 euros to take an elevator, but you can get a free view from the terrace. Unfortunately, the bar was closed for an upcoming private event and there was such a long line for the restaurant that we couldn't get  close enough for a picture. We did manage to get close enough for photos after dinner, when we showed Sandra and Joe the chocolate selection. On the plus side, the terrace is right  next to a huge high-end chocolate section and we perused the options. Like Bruges in 2013, they had shoes made of chocolate, and purses too.

We joined our group for a glass of prosecco and then went to dinner with several of them. The portions were HUGE -- we could have easily shared either of our  meals and been happily full. Tomorrow, we leave for Tirano.