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 Archbishop's house |
2 Piazza Fontana Milan, Milan 20122 Italy |
The Archbishop's palace was designed, in its present forms, by Pellegrini, from 1565 on, commissioned by Carlo Borromeo. The central nucleus of the building is the inner courtyard, onto which opened the homes of the cathedral's clerics. Characterized by the disciplined style of 16th century Lombard architecture, it represents one of the examples that was most often imitated in the 17th century as a model of monumental courtyards. Pellegrini also designed the two portals opening onto Via Arcivescovado and Via delle Ore, while the monumental façade facing Piazza Fontana was built by Piermarini in the last decades of the 18th century. The complex also includes the decagonal stable building, one of the most sophisticated and complex 16th century buildings. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Historic bank |
3 Piazza Tommaso Edison Milan, Milan 20123 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turistico) http://www.bancaditalia.it/ |
Designed by Luigi Broggi between 1907 and 1912, this building is characterized by a monumental style with a markedly nationalistic decorative, rhetoric flavour. Built in cooperation with Giuseppe Nava, in line with the culture of the Brera Arts Academy at which Broggi was a professor, this building was one of the first to be constructed in this area of the city that would eventually become the business district. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: steb  |
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19th Century house |
3 Via Degli Omenoni Milan, Milan 20121 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turisfico) |
Built by the sculptor, Leone Leoni between 1562 and 1566 as his Milan residence, this building is famous above all for it's façade, which has eight telamons sculpted in solid stone. The rest of the decoration is highly ornamental and reflects the cultured style of its architect. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Luca Montemurri |
 Photo: txkun |
 Photo: Fabio_C.73 |
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City's most famous landmark |
Piazza del Duomo Milan, Milan 20123 Italy +39 2 8646 3456 |
Watched over by the Madonnina, the cathedral's high rose marble spires represent the city's most famous artistic and religious monument. The dimensions of Christendom's third biggest church are still awe-inspiring at 108m high (to the tip of the tallest spire) and 158m long. A range of architectural styles feature: doorways are 17th century, the central balcony from the late 18th Century and the three main upper windows early 19th-century pieces by Carlo Amati. The cathedral's vast interior overwhelms: its impressive pillars, vaults and streamlined arches enhanced by light that floods through the splendid stained-glass windows and the wonderful statuary surrounding the naves. Admission to Roof: EUR 6 (in elevator), EUR 4 (on foot), EUR 8 (family = two adults and two children up to 14 years) Admission to Baptistery: EUR 1.50 Admission to Treasure: EUR 1. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Dan Kamminga |
 Photo: Paul Hankinson |
 Photo: D. Mendaña |
 Photo: Jeff Rubin |
 Photo: Graham Currie |
 Photo: snail's trail |
 Photo: JaseMan |
 Multi-purpose exhibition space |
3 Via Gian Domenico Romagnosi Milan, Milan 20121 Italy +39 (0)2 87 4175 / +39 (0)2 869 3911 http://www.fondazionefeltrinel... |
On the opposite side of Via Manzoni, Via Romagnosi, which was opened after the demolition of the church of Santa Maria del Giardino, is home to the Feltrinelli Foundation. Founded in 1973, the institute has a library with large volumes, ancient books and periodicals. Its archives specialise mostly in the economic, political and social aspects of the Italian workers movement and social dissent from the eighteenth century until present times. They organise seminars and meetings with political and historic debates. Review © 2007, Wcities |
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Legend and truth combined |
Piazza Duomo Milan 20123 Italy |
Flavia Giulia Elena Augusta, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, converted to Christianity at the age of 60 and went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 327 AD. There, legend has it, she found four nails from Jesus' cross. Three of the nails were lost, but the one remaining nail is part of the famous Ferrea crown which is kept at Monza. In 1576 San Carlo Borromeo revived the cult of the nail during the plague when he carried the Holy Nail in a procession up to the Miraculous Madonna of San Celso. The epidemic ceased soon after this. This event is commemorated yearly around the 14th of September on the day dedicated to the Exaltation of the Cross, when the Holy Nail is displayed to the public for forty hours through latches called 'nivola' which are thought to have been invented by Leonardo da Vinci. Review © 2007, Wcities |
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Home of the famous poet |
1 Via Morone Milan, Milan 20121 Italy +39 2 8646 0403 http://www.casadelmanzoni.mi.it |
Next door to the imposing Palazzo Belgiojoso, looking out onto Piazza Belgiojoso (with an entrance in Via Morone), is the house that Alessandro Manzoni lived in from 1814 until he died in 1873. The building itself, which is a block with a central courtyard and side porticos is one of the characteristic examples of architecture from the renaissance. The most defining element of the building is the facade facing the piazza which has graffito plasterwork underlined by a rich decoration in terracotta executed in 1864 by Andrea Boni in traditional Lombardian renaissance style. Restored between 1962 and 1965, the building has housed the Centro Studi Manzoniani, and the Societa Storica Lombarda. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Pasquale Speranza |
 Photo: Quietude |
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Internationally renowned opera house |
Piazza della Scala Milan 20121 Italy +39 0288791 http://www.teatroallascala.org/ |
Conceived in 1776 as a fitting replacement for the Teatro Ducale (sadly destroyed by fire), the famous La Scala theatre has since become one of opera's legendary venues. Home to the prestigious La Scala di Milano opera company, it remains one of the city's liveliest cultural venues. Check the web site for maps and directions. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Andrew Stillman |
 Photo: Luca Somazzi |
 Photo: Bruce Turner |
 Photo: ottmarliebert.com |
 Photo: Jan-Wouter Stigter |
 Photo: Tom Fry |
 Photo: John Speranza |
 Photo: Cheryl Esther Nankoo |
 Photo: Allison E. Drake |
 Photo: sarah kaufman |
 Photo: Dan Shaw |
 Photo: Dragan Stevanovic |
 Photo: Carly Sutherland |
 Photo: Jocelyn_Lavin |
 Photo: Cecelia Pierotti |
 Photo: Al Milo |
 Photo: James Schoepflin |
 Photo: Amanda Slater |
 Photo: Dallas Covington |
 Photo: Robert Gall |
 Photo: vimaru.martin |
 Photo: Daniel Frías Ruiz |
 Photo: pili_stage |
 Photo: Agustin d´Empaire |
 Photo: Javier Ibañez |
 Photo: jsieso |
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You can't lodge at the Loggia |
9 Piazza Dei Mercanti Milan, Milan 20121 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turisfico) http://www.turismo.comune.mila... |
On the southern side of Piazza dei Mercanti, there is the 'Loggia degli Osii', where, from the balcony or 'parlera', the edicts and sentences issued by the municipal government were read. Dating to the early 14th century, commissioned by Matteo Visconti, it underwent refurbishing operations in the early 20th century. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: wcities |
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University HQ |
3 Via Festa del Perdono Università Statale Milan, Milan 20122 Italy |
Commissioned by Francesco Sforza in 1456 as a hospital institution for the people of the city, the building has been attributed to the Florentine architect Antonio Averlino Filarete. The central nucleus and part of the central courtyard dates to the 15th century, while the rest of the building was completed successively, in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is an extraordinarily early example of the application of functional principles in hospital architecture, while also representing one of the most significant episodes in the art and culture of 15th century Lombardy. Today it is the seat of the Università degli Studi. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: wcities |
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Famous 18th Century building |
2 Piazza Belgioioso Milan, Milan 20121 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turistico) |
Designed in 1772 by Piermarini for Prince Alberico XII Barbiano di Belgiojoso as a new residence. The building has a main courtyard and two secondary courtyards: the façade is particularly interesting, with a giant order of half columns and pilaster strips above a rusticated ashlar ground floor, and terminating in a large cornice and gable. The entrance is heightened by the projecting central volume. The coherence of the design extends to the interior decoration and furnishings, also designed by Piermarini. Feature of interest: On the first floor there is a chapel with lobate central plan, and a powder-room, also central-plan. Review © 2007, Wcities |
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Clerici's palace |
5 Via Clerici Milan, Milan 20121 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficioturisfico) |
Built in the early 18th century for Giorgio Antonio Clerici, an important figure in the diplomatic corps of the Spanish government, this extension of the previous building can be attributed, at least in part, to Francesco Croce. The characteristic feature of this palazzo is the notable difference between the decoration of the façade, with its asymmetric prospect and that of the interior. Inside, a courtyard with a portico on the entrance side and that opposite leads to another, smaller courtyard. On the right, the three-flight monumental staircase, with vault frescoed by Bortoloni, leads up to the first floor with the famous 'tapestries gallery' frescoed by Gian Battista Tiepolo. It was used as the residence of the Archduke's family from 1773 to 1778. Today the building is the seat of the Superintendency of the Environmental and Architectural Heritage of Lombardy. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Walter Travaini |
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A gentleman's residence |
5 Via Unione Milan, Milan 20122 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turistico) |
Created by the incorporation of several preceding buildings, its present 16th-century appearance was commissioned by the Cusani family: ownership successively passed to the Erba Odescalchi family. The complex, in part incoherent, architecture is based on two successive courtyards with a garden. The decorative elements are particularly interesting, a fine balance between tradition and innovation. Review © 2007, Wcities |
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Noble Palace |
2 Piazza della Scala Milan, Milan 20121 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turistico) |
Seat of the Municipal government of Milan, the building was designed in 1558 by architect Galeazzo Alessi for Tommaso Marino. Left incomplete after having been confiscated in lieu of the owner's debts, the construction was modified by successive owners, and was completed only when Luca Beltrami built the façade facing Piazza della Scala in 1888-1892, on the model of Alessi's original façade facing Piazza San Fedele. An example of Mannerism, the building represents a combination of exuberant decoration and architectural motifs with a sophisticated use of classical elements. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Luca Somazzi |
 Photo: Molly Rose |
 Photo: tigertigertigers |
 Photo: Goosebumps |
 Photo: Richard |
 Photo: elisa gorla - italy |
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Magistrate's palace |
2 Piazza dei Mercanti Milan 20121 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (l'ufficio turistico) |
This ancient medieval building, that once housed municipal offices and legal institutions, was rebuilt from 1562 on as 'Palazzo dei Giureconsulti' to a design by Vincenzo Seregni. The building, formed by a loggia and a tower, a 16th-century sheath built around the original 13th-century construction, is based on the architecture of Galeazzo Alessi. The complete design included an overall refurbishment of the ancient Piazza Mercanti to create a new forum, and this was partially executed with the construction, on the south side of the piazza, of the 'Scuole Palatine' building. In the 19th century, the street named Via Mercanti was opened up, totally modifying the original concept and rendering it totally unrecognizable. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Amodiovalerio Verde |
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Police headquarters |
Piazza Cesare Beccaria Milan, Milan 20122 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turistico) |
Also known as the 'Carceri nuovi', new prisons, it started functioning in 1578. With a rectangular plan, it is based on two courtyards with four small towers at the corners. The first courtyard still conserves the Doric columns and a loggia. The severe architecture recalls the function for which the building was designed, and the ashlar work gives the structure a particularly monumental character. It was restored in 1943 and today it houses the headquarters of the Municipal police force. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Alessandro Facchini |
 Photo: Andrea Fini |
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Seat of learning |
Piazza San Sepolcro Milan, Milan 20123 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turistico) |
Houses the Gallery and Library, two very important institutions in the city. Founded by Federico Borromeo as a centre for counter-reform culture, it gradually accumulated numerous collections of art and books. From the first nucleus, facing Piazza S. Sepolcro, the institution expanded to occupy the entire block. Feature of interest: The immense collection of the library includes the Codice Atlantico by Leonardo da Vinci. Review © 2007, Wcities |
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Ancient institute |
Piazza dei Mercanti Milan, Milan 20123 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turistico) |
At the centre of Piazza dei Mercanti, once a quadrangle enclosed on all four sides, one finds Palazzo della Ragione, what was known as the 'Broletto', commissioned by the ruler of the city Oldrado da Tresseno (1228-1233) who is depicted in an equestrian monument in a niche on the façade facing the piazza. The rectangular-plan building consists of a loggia on the ground floor, which today is higher than the surroundings due to the successive lowering of the street level. In 1771 another floor was added, the so-called "Teresian extension", for the Notarial Archive: it can be recognized from the large elliptic windows. The monument was restored during the 1970s. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Mattia75 |
 Photo: Chin Moi Ying |
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Nearly Duomo |
Piazza Fontana Milan, Milan 20121 Italy +39 (0)2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio turistico) |
This square is named after the fountain designed by Giuseppe Piermarini and sculpted by Giuseppe Franchi in 1782. It is one of the few historical piazzas of the city, which generally features large building blocks with hidden interior courtyards rather than open communal spaces. The original buildings have been replaced by more recent pieces of architecture. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: aba |
 Photo: Alan Denney |
 Photo: Fabio Meroni |
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Arnaldo Pomodoro's disc |
Piazza Filippo Meda Milan, Milan 20121 Italy |
Separated from Piazza Belgioioso by a large park, Piazza Filippo Meda was opened in 1926 after Corso Matteotti was opened (ex-Corso del Littorio) right the way down to Piazza San Babila. The long space in the square is dominated by the large revolving bronze disc created by sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro. It is 4.5 metres in diameter and rests on a pivot so that it will turn with the wind or when pushed. Thus the slow movements and reflections of the lacerated disc give it an amazing lightness that suggests a heavenly star randomly come to land in the square. In the background stands the curved form of the Piazza Meda Offices' Building designed by Studio BBPR, the 1928 building by P. Magistretti (no.3), the 1929 HQ of the Banca Popolare by G. Greppi, and the 1928 Palazzo Crespi by P. Portaluppi (between Corso Matteotti and Via Verri). Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: leonardo crippa |
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Site-specific architecture |
Piazza Filipo Meda Milan, Milan 20123 Italy |
In 1958 after the construction of the Torre Velasca the BBPR group (Banfi, Belgojoso, Peressutti and Rogers)planned an office building between Via Hoepli and Via Catena which look over Piazza Meda. Finished in 1968, with the collaboration of Luigi Caccia Dominioni, who planned the structure facing the church of San Fidele, the building continues the high porticos of Via Hoepli and by way of a large circular structure (from which it gets the name 'panettone', a link is formed with the neighbouring renaissance apse. The clear contrast in scale between the portico and the openings above, and the circular structure, which has reinforced concrete on the inside and metal and glass on the outside is in dialogue with the surrounding architecture, giving rise to the term architectural 'contextualism' which has made the Torre Velasca such a famous and controversial work of architecture. Review © 2007, Wcities |
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The city's impressive central square |
Piazza del Duomo Milan, Milan 20121 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turistico) |
The gigantic central square in front of Milan cathedral has always been a reference point for Milan's town planners. It was a meeting point for important roads before and during the Roman period. In the 4th century, it was a religious centre with the construction of the Basilica of Santa Tecla, and the Baptistry of San Giovanni alle Fonti (both demolished in the mid-14th century and their foundations can be seen below the space in front of the cathedral). Since 1386, the cathedral has been the religious and cultural centre of the city. Symmetrical porticoes line the longer sides (with the Arengario pavilions built in 1939 and the Royal Palace on the south side and Galleria on the north side). In the centre stands the equestrian statue of Vittorio Emanuele II by Ercole Rosa (1878) which was covered until a few years ago by flashing advertising signs. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Meg Powers |
 Photo: Eneko Ametzaga |
 Photo: David Morgan-Mar |
 Photo: Joey See |
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Old royal residence |
12 Piazza del Duomo Milan, Milan 20123 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turistico) |
The seat of government in the city was originally the Palazzo del Broletto, where the municipal institutions were located. It became a noble residence during the rule of the Torriane and Visconti families, who gave it its shape that can in part still be seen, based on a system of two courtyards. Partially demolished to make way for the Cathedral nave, the building was refurbished after 1452 by Francesco Sforza. Used as the seat of power by the Spanish rulers, it underwent substantial modifications until the late 18th century, in particular the extensive work by Giuseppe Piermarini. Alongside the volumes of the Palazzo there is the Arengario, seat of the Palazzo del Turismo, with its two pavilions designed in 1939 (and completed in 1956) by the architects Enrico Agostino Griffini, Pier Giulio Magistretti, Giovanni Muzio and Piero Portaluppi. Feature of interest - On the first floor of the Palazzo, there is the famous 'Sala delle Cariatidi', in the location of the ancient theatre destroyed by fire in 1776. This hall is now undergoing restoration. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Sergio Bertolini |
 Photo: milan_parekh |
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Jesuit churc in the San Fedele square |
Piazza San Fedele Milan, Milan 20121 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turistico) |
Designed by the architect Pellegrino Tibaldi, this is one of the most interesting and important Lombard monuments of the late sixteenth century. Built by the Jesuit order in 1569, the church has a single nave, divided into two spans with columns in a style reminiscent of the halls of roman baths. Despite the unfinished original plan (the presbytery was built later by Richini), the building has a notably coherent form. The external facade is a masterpiece of different architectural styles which are brought to their maximum expressive capacity here. The altars of the side naves are of particular artistic interest. At the back of the church on the right is a small chapel with a part of a fresco from the thirteenth century showing a Madonna with child called 'Madonna delle Ballerine' to which people used to come to place floral tributes. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Filippo Aroffo |
 Photo: Lucas Moellers |
 Photo: Salvatore Lo Faro |
 Photo: Walter |
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Baroque church |
Via Giuseppe Verdi Milan, Milan 20121 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turistico) |
Built between 1607-30 on the site of the ancient oratory of San Giuseppe, the church is considered the masterpiece of the 18th c. architect, Francesco Maria Ricchino, and the most representative Baroque church in the city. Externally the façade is on two levels marked by pilasters and columns. A large pediment with a balcony window stands on the tall base framing the majestic entrance surrounded by statues (by Giovanni Piazza and Francesco Somaini in 1800). Behind the façade, the octagonal body of the church is flanked by a central, apsed chamber. Within the octagon, reduced to a square with rounded corners, columns and arches support the dome. The square body of the high altar (perhaps added later) stands on the other side of a triumphal arch opposite the entrance. The altar is flanked by chapels and decorated with canvases by Giulio Cesare Procaccini and Melchiorre Gherardini. Review © 2007, Wcities |
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Masterpiece by Bramante |
3 Via Speronari Milan, Milan 20123 Italy +39 2 87 4683 |
This extremely famous church is linked to the name of Bramante. In actual fact, nearby S. Satiro has a much older foundation which was influenced by Bishop Ansperto and generally dates from the 9th century. However, the old building is almost unrecognisable following the works of the renaissance period and the nineteenth restorations. The design of the church is attributed to Bramante who presence on the site is documented in 1478. The church occupies a plot of land delineated by what is Via Torino and Via del Falcone today, an old district of the Visconti-Sforzesca era. The choir-stall is particularly original as it is small yet very deep. On the left side of the transept is a chapel 'della Pieta' where there is a Greek cross contained in a cylinder by Bramante which one can admire from Via del Falcone. There is the famous model group in the inside in polychrome terracotta, which is the work of Agostino de Fondulis (1482-83), who also made the terracotta decorations of the sacristy and dome. The sacristy is an octagonal building, by Bramante which is reached by a small hall from the right nave modified in the 19th century. This interesting building was one of the highlights of Bramante's work, evidence of which is all over the Duchy of Sforzesco. The 'caged' church exterior is a result of the later buildings which do not allow a wide view of the church, nonetheless the facade can be seen from Via del Falcone as planned by Bramante. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Eric Wilson |
 Photo: Yu |
 Photo: Aye Cofalka |
 Photo: towne |
 Photo: Michael Delli Carpini |
 Photo: Marg. Voulgaropoulou |
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Not to be missed! |
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II Milan, Milan 20121 Italy +39 2 7252 4301 (L'ufficio Turisfico) |
Construction of the "Galleria", a typically 19th-century public building now used for events, began in 1864 following a series of competitions for the design won by Giuseppe Mengoni. Large plaster eagles support its dome, 47m high and made of iron and corrugated glass. Note the telamons and caryatids on the interior façades and the Neo-Renaissance-style stucco work and graffiti. The floor of the octagon was completely restored in 1966 in rare marble mosaic showing the emblems of Italian cities. The art nouveau Bar Zucca (once the historic Camparino) facing the Piazza Duomo is the traditional stop for an aperitif and neighbours the elegant restaurant Il Savini. Feature of interest: On the mosaic floor note the symbol of the city of Turin - the black bull with worn genitals. Legend has it that revolving three times on one leg placed exactly in that position brings good luck. Review © 2007, Wcities |
 Photo: Brechje Marechal / Andy Nelson |
 Photo: Brian Vargas |
 Photo: fish-bone |
 Photo: Ahmad Alnusif |
 Photo: Marco Musso |
 Photo: Panna_Cotta |
 Photo: Stefania |
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 Photo: Enrico Zanolla |
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