My Milan (Italy)

Still snowy and C-O-O-O-O-LD in Milan

2012-02-11T19:26:00.004+01:00

The snow of a number of days ago is lingering a lot longer than usual because of the unusual cold (worst winter weather in about 30 years is the televised rumor going around). Going outside feels like stepping into a freezer. Milan has been spared the worst, so I'm really not complaining. Within a few days, the streets and sidewalks were mostly clear, though there's fluffy white (and grungy) stuff piled up on higher surfaces, on the parks and along the road sides.

Here's a gray day snap of the chilly stuff piled on top of some of the information totem poles scattered throughout the Sforza Castle grounds.

May I brag a bit?

I did the English translations for these!

Enjoy!

Handy Helpful Hint: validating your bus-tram-light rail tickets

2012-02-06T17:52:00.005+01:00

I see lots of people, Italians included, suffering through their first exposure to these tickets with the magnetic strip, so I thought I'd give you a helping hand, especially for those not used to taking public transportation.

On the bus, tram and light rail ("passante") tickets used in Milan there is a stylized arrow pointing in the direction in which the ticket needs to be inserted into the machine, whether the direction is perpendicular to the ground, and away from you, as is the case with the subway, or--as in this case--straight downwards in front of you (light rail uses both kinds).

Where's the arrow? Look to the left hand side of the ticket in my hand; it's also pointing in the direction of the much more visible ATM logo.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-01T17:55:00.003+01:00

Rainy Sunday

2012-01-28T17:05:00.009+01:00

Weatherman had said clouds.

I took him at his word.

And got stuck out and about...More......

...without an umbrella.

Silly me.

(No complaining, though; the rain is light...have beret, will travel...and we need it badly.)

Doing a 'light painting' while snug, dry and warm on a tram headed for home on a chilly Sunday after a cozy morning at a local library with a nice friend...who even fixed me lunch!

Enjoy!

To not forget: train track 21

2012-01-27T07:41:00.026+01:00

Track 21, Central Train Station, Milan.

Chilly winter morning, January 30, 1944.

600 Italian Jewish men, women and children packed into train wagons.

Destination: Auschwitz....More......

There are so many sites and pages dedicated to the Holocaust (or denying the Holocaust), and it is not always easy to discern the underlying motives of the authors. I tried to find a widely respected, authoritative and disinterested source for basic information: the Britannica encyclopedia, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/269548/Holocaust.

Reliable chronologies help to frame events in context.

Italy's racial laws were passed on the 5th of September 1938, but exportations took place only after the first fall and return to power, heavily assisted by (some say a puppet of) the Nazis, of Mussolini. The German occupation of Italy and the Republic of Salò dates to September 1943.

On January 30, 1944, six hundred Italian Jewish men, women and children were taken to track 21. They arrived in Auschwitz Birkenau on the 6th of February.

Within a few hours, 500 of them already were gassed and burned.

A memorial dedicated to the victims has been begun on track 21 (binario 21) in Milan's Stazione Centrale, though the progress creeps along as funding permits. The website dedicated to the project has a chronology of the events in Italian. [The single page in English has unforgivable errors...why, oh why, do companies and associations resist using capable native speaker translators? Translating a couple of pages, at least for an overview (which needs to be written with the foreign reader in mind, and not be "merely" a translation of the Italian text) will cost no more than about a hundred bucks. A word to the wise is sufficient.]

The panoramic chronology on "Historyplace.com" tends to ignore Italy, but does present a German-centered framework: http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/holocaust/timeline.html. (As you can see for yourself on the page dedicated to the site's authors, the site was born out of the study of letters to and from an American airman flying missions over Germany. While it's true that the principal authors were closely related to the family in question, it's also true that they are historians with college degrees, and were assisted by another historian. Nevertheless, it's always good to keep your thinking cap on.)

Why this message on this site, and why today?

This site is dedicated to Milan, a city I love, and though I tend to present its positive aspects (there already are enough complainers around us and on the web), today is a day for remembering.

To not forget.

To not repeat.

Photoless Friday: Affordable Art Fair Milan, February 2-5

2012-01-27T00:05:00.001+01:00

Intrigued by contemporary art, and have a secret desire hidden by a shy wallet to buy and collect?

Superstudio più's Affordable Art Fair Milan is for you...More......

Affordable Art Fair Milan, via Tortona 27, 2-5 February 2012

Thursday 2 February 11:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M., Art&Flames Night Event 6 P.M. - 10 P.M.

Friday 3 February 11:30 A.M. - 8:30 P.M.

Saturday 4 February 11:30 A.M. - 8:30 P.M.

Sunday 5 February 11:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.

It promises a good selection of contemporary art pieces from E. 100 to E. 5000. (And since the pieces are contemporary and most probably by little, or lesser, known artists, the national cultural patrimony laws won't prohibit you taking whatever you buy out of the country...something always to keep in mind when shopping for art.)

But you have to fork over E. 13 just to get in.... (it seems ridiculous to me to pay for the privilege of giving someone more money....).

Nevertheless, it should be challenging and exciting to see what's bubbling in the newest of new art markets (as I presume there'll be lots of younger unestablished artists offering these affordable prices).

I'm still undecided (it ain't just the money...O.K., it is partly the money...it's mostly a dig-in-my-heels disgust at having to pay in order to pay...), though I've been yearning to go (this surprised little miss non-contemporary-art me) ever since I saw the first ads.

If you go, let me know what you think. (They also hold these Affordable Art Fairs in London, Brussels, New York, Amsterdam, Melbourne and Singapore.)

In the meantime, it's a good place to remind you again (ad nauseam?) that I get no kickbacks of any kind--not even a stick of chewing gum!--for my reviews and comments.

Lifted directly from their web site is the following:

SUPERSTUDIO PIU'
Via TORTONA, 27 - MILANO 20144
Tel. +39 02 422501 - Fax +39 02 475851
e-mail: info@superstudiogroup.com

HOW TO REACH US
SUBWAY: Green line MM2 P.ta Genova or S.Agostino
BUS: Lines 47- 59 - 68 - 74 - 90/91
TRAM: Lines 14 - 29/30
LINATE AIRPORT: Bus 73 to S.Babila + Red line MM1 Cadorna + Green line MM2 P.ta Genova or S.Agostino
MALPENSA AIRPORT: Malpensa Express train to Cadorna + Green line MM2 P.ta Genova or S.Agostino

For more info (yeah!, they have pages in English), see:

http://www.affordableartfair.it/content/bigliettie_info?lang=en

and

http://www.superstudiogroup.com/index.php?disp=conta

Enjoy!

Photoless Friday

2012-01-27T00:05:00.000+01:00

Already Photoless Friday, again, whew!

Run, before it closes on Monday the 30th of this month, the photographic exhibit of the "manimals"...More......

...of Guido Daniele ("manimali" comes from the conjunction of "mani"/hands and "animali"/animals), the body painter who does the extraordinary animals painted on hands, or other kinds of body painting (for example, for the Mueller yoghurt commercial).

The exhibit is in the "Chiostro dei Glicini" (Wisteria Courtyard) of the Società Umanitaria nestled into the Renaissance ex-monastery of S. Maria della Pace on the corner of via Daverio and--where the current entrance is at n. 48--via S. Barnaba, behind the "Tribunale" (Milan's central courthouse).

The exhibit, open "every day" (though one has to be careful in Italy, this often means "except Sunday") from 10 A.M. to 8 P.M., has been mounted to bring to the attention of the public and Umanitaria's students (generally reasonable fees, folks!) the theatrical make-up course that will be offered there, and for which Guido Daniele has promised to teach.

For more information about the course:

Accademia Professionale di Trucco Artistico di Gabriella De Michele
tel. +39.02.579.68.379
formazionedemichele@umanitaria.it

Upcoming strikes and traffic blocks

2012-01-25T08:47:00.019+01:00

It’s prohibited to the driver to speak.

Liberalization may, or may not, be the right medicine for the Italian economy overall, but in addition to the recent taxi strike, other sectors also are striking in protest: trains, local transportation, planes, ferries, trucks, gas stations, pharmacies and lawyers.

Need the scoop in English?...More......

Thursday and Friday, February 26-27, 2012:

TRENORD: the train service in Lombardy principally in and out of the Cadorna station that includes the Malpensa Express light train to and from Malpensa Airport. For further information (probably only in Italian): 800-500-005 (toll-free from inside Italy).

--“RFI” network: strikes from 9 P.M. Thursday to 9 P.M. Friday. Certain principal trains guaranteed only on Friday from 6 A.M. to 9 P.M. and from 4:30 P.M. to 7 P.M.
--“FerrovieNord” network: strikes—INCLUDING THE MALPENSA EXPRESS in and out of the Stazione Centrale—from 9 P.M. Thursday to the end of service on Friday (midnight?!). Certain principal trains guaranteed on Friday from 6 A.M. to 9 A.M. and from 4:30 P.M. to 7 P.M.
--Some lines will be modified, rather than cancelled, on the 26th (in Italian): http://www.cronacamilano.it/wp-content/uploads/cronaca/21235/modifiche-treni-giovedì-26-gennaio-2012.pdf
--Some lines are guaranteed on the 27th (in Italian): http://www.cronacamilano.it/wp-content/uploads/cronaca/21235/treni-garantiti-27-gennaio-2012.pdf

TRENITALIA: the governmental train service covering all of Italy. For further information (probably only in Italian): 02.89.20.21 (if that doesn’t work, try it without the “02”), 199.892.021, 199.30.30.60 (this latter only for disabled passengers). Some, or all, of these numbers may be fee-based.

--Strike from 9 P.M. on Thursday to 9 P.M. on Friday
--Their standard page about essential services in case of a strike (in English!): http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=10caf6923cdea110VgnVCM1000003f16f90aRCRD

FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2012

ATM-Milan’s urban transportation system: strikes from 8:45 A.M. to 3 P.M., then again from 6 P.M. to the end of service (midnight?!).

SHIPS, FERRIES AND PLANES: Pilots, stewards, stewardesses and personnel of Alitalia-Cai and Meridiana Fly, as well as in the airports of Roma Fiumicino and Roma Ciampino. More precise information about ships and ferries was not specified.

CURRENT

TRAFFIC BLOCKS TO COMBAT POLLUTION. Beginning January 23, the situation is complicated by local traffic blocks due to high smog levels. For this, see the web pages (usually only in Italian, sigh) of each city involved. How to find the address? They usually follow this formula: http://www.comune.citynameinitalian.it, ex.: http://www.comune.milano.it.

Heading to Milan? Here are the cities in the “Hinterland” (Milan and surrounding small cities) involved: Abbiategrasso, Albairate, Assago, Baranzate, Bareggio, Bollate, Bresso, Carugate, Canegrate, Cassano d’Adda, Cernusco sul Naviglio, Cesano Boscone, Cesate, Cinisello Balsamo, Cologno Monzese, Colturano, Cornaredo, Corsico, Inzago, Lainate, Legnano, Locate di Triulzi, Magenta, Melegnano, Milano, Motta Visconti, Novate Milanese, Peschiera Borromeo, Pioltello, Robecco sul Naviglio, Rozzano, Segrate, Sesto San Giovanni, Settimo Milanese, Vanzaghello, Vimodrone and Vittuone.

TRUCKS transporting goods of all sorts – in progress, they generally park/go painfully slowly on important roads and highways essentially blocking traffic for everyone

NEAR FUTURE

PHARMACIES – February 1st

LAWYERS – February 23-24

GAS STATIONS – on and off, three days at a time, TBA

…in short, it’s a moment to thank the Cosmos that one didn’t give in to the temptation to move out of Milan, or at least to the far flung suburbs, to *try* to save on rent….

If you read Italian, and want to check the sources for yourselves for further info (downloaded Wednesday, January 24, 2012, facts not checked):

http://www.cronacamilano.it/cronaca/21235-sciopero-treni-milano-26-e-27-gennaio-2012-orari-corse-garantite-infoline-per-passeggeri.html,

http://www.cronacamilano.it/cronaca/21243-blocco-traffico-hinterland-milano-dal-23-gennaio-2012-elenco-comuni-aderenti-e-info.html,

http://www.cronacamilano.it/cronaca/21238-sciopero-atm-milano-27-gennaio-2012-orari-e-corse-garantite-linee-urbane-ed-extraurbane.html,

http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2012/gennaio/23/fermano_taxi_poi_Farmacie_Calendario_co_8_120123021.shtml,

http://www.tgcom24.mediaset.it/cronaca/articoli/1034974/sciopero-tir-il-governo-basta-blocchi-manifestante-travolto-e-ucciso-da-un-camion.shtml

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T00:15:00.001+01:00

"The fog comes on little cat feet..."

2012-01-24T07:33:00.003+01:00

The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

("Fog," Carl Sandburg, 1878-1967)

Taxis waiting next to the Cadorna station...yesterday

2012-01-23T08:26:00.020+01:00

Taxis waiting at Cadorna's side exit, mid-morning yesterday.

Don't expect to see them waiting, today.

There's a national taxi strike, today, from 8 A.M. to 10 P.M....More......

Arriving in Milan's Linate Airport? Take the Linate Express, bus X73, E. 1.50, Monday-Friday, 7 A.M.-8 P.M. For the price of a regular bus ticket (E.1.50), in about a half an hour it goes nonstop to Piazza San Babila at the other end of Corso Vittorio Emanuele behind the Duomo. On normal (non-strike, non-trade fair) days, there are taxis at the stand, there, waiting to whisk you to your destination. The general area is well-served by bus, tram and metro.

Arriving at Milan's Malpensa Airport? Take the Malpensa Express: http://www.malpensaexpress.it/en/index.php. It's a fast and easy "trenino" (little/light train) that costs only E. 11 one way. Some are nonstop, some stop at a few places along the way. Some get into the Cadorna station (in the general area of the Sforza castle, so still quite central), some now get into the Stazione Centrale. At both, taxis usually are waiting just outside all exits...but not today. From either train station, bus, tram and metro transportation is easy to the rest of the city.

New to town, and worried that the tram, bus, metro (subway) and "passante" (urban light train) indications on your map may be old? Have an iPhone? Then you're in luck. There's an app for checking Milan's public transportation system, see my: http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/06/photoless-friday-16-got-smart-phone.html.

A word to the wise is sufficient...no matter how tired and frazzled you are, do not give in to the temptation to take a pirate taxi.

How do you know?

If someone comes up to you furtively, whispering "taxi, taxi," you can be sure it's a pirate taxi.

These are private individuals working under the table without licenses, without safety controls, without training and without insurance.

I think you get the picture.

Good luck!

Ghosts of riders past, present and future

2012-01-22T08:55:00.007+01:00

While I confer with my artist friend about which pictures I snapped in his studio yesterday to put on my blog, here's another of my metro snaps....More......

People in bright colors, especially red, are eye-catching, and while the (slow) mechanism of my digital camera was going off, someone in bright yellow walked past, leaving a ghostly trail, a superimposed soul.

I saw the person in yellow coming towards us out of the corner of my eye, and--now that I'm familiar with the rhythm of my camera--pressed just in time for the snap to be taken just as the person was passing...one example of my "light painting" techniques for your personal, non-commercial viewing.

Enjoy!

Photoless Friday: what's on in Milan

2012-01-20T00:05:00.000+01:00

What's on in Milan for today and the rest of the weekend?

"Hello Milan" is a good place to check...and it's in English!...More......

Here's a copy-and-paste from their website in English (yeah!): http://www.hellomilano.it/What'sOn/WhatsOn.htm

20 January 2012, Friday

20.00: Ballet at La Scala. “Excelsior”. Music by Romualdo Marenco. Conductor David Coleman. Etoile Roberto Bolle. €19/138. Teatro alla Scala, Piazza della Scala • M1/3 Duomo

21.00: Ballet. “The Swan Lake,” music by Tchaikovsky, performed by the Russian National Ballet Theatre. €28/53. Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Viale dell’Innovazione 1 • M1 Precotto + tram 7; buses 86, 87

21.30: Silent film. “Faust” directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. With live piano accompaniment by Antonio Zambrini. €3.50/5.50 + annual membership card €3. Spazio Oberdan, Viale Vittorio Veneto 2 • M1 Porta Venezia

22.00: Latin jazz. Performed by the Trio Sdo’. Admission free. Drinks purchase required. Fermento Art&Pub, Via Camillo Ugoni 18 • bus 92, tram 2

22.00: Live jazz-pop. Performed by Roberto Cecchetto, guitar, and Cristiano Calcagnile, percussion and electronics. Admission free with 2012 annual membership card (€25), donations welcome. Arci, La Scighera, Via Candiani 131• Passante Bovisa, tram 3, buses 92 and 82

21 January 2012, Saturday

16.30: Organ concert. “Beate Martyr, prospera” performed by Giulio Mercati, organ: poetry reading by Sandro Boccardi. Admission free. Basilica of San Vincenzo in Prato, Piazzetta Beria di Argentine on the corner with via San Calocero • M2 Sant’Ambrogio

17.00: Orchestral music. Music by Grieg and Nielsen, performed by the Pomeriggi Musicali Orchestra, conducted by Giordano Bellincampi, with Paolo Bordoni, piano. €8/19. Teatro Dal Verme, Via San Giovanni sul Muro 2 • M1 Cairoli

18.00: Chamber music. Music by Bach and Morricone, performed by Wacky Brass Quintet. Free tickets will be available from last Tuesday at the Urban Center, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele 11/12. Entrance free. Palazzo Marino, Piazza della Scala 2 • MMI, M3 Duomo

19.00: Film preview, in English and Spanish, with Italian subtitles. "Another silence", directed by Santiago Amigorena. Starring: Marie-Josée Croze, Ignacio Rogers, Luis Ziembrowski, Alin Salas, Luc Vandal, Roger Frappier. Entrance €3.50/5.50 + annual membership card €3. Spazio Oberdan, Viale Vittorio Veneto 2 • M1 Porta Venezia

19.30: Opera sung in French, at La Scala. Les contes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach. Orchestra conducted by Marko Letonja. €26/224. Teatro alla Scala, Piazza della Scala • M1/3 Duomo

21.00: Ballet. “The Swan Lake,” music by Tchaikovsky, performed by the Russian National Ballet Theatre. €28/53. Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Viale dell’Innovazione 1 • M1 Precotto + tram 7; buses 86, 87

22.00: Live swing for dancing. Lady Dillinger. Booking recommended, phone the mobile number 334.311.2926. €10, plus annual membership card. Jumpin’ Jazz Cultural Association, Viale Monza 140 (first floor) • M1 Gorla

22.00: Live music. Band Of Skulls, Milk White and Shiva Racket. Admission free, with annual membership card. Arci Magnolia, Via Circonvallazione Idroscalo 41, Segrate (east of Milan) • M1 San Babila, then bus 73 to Linate Aerop.-S.Felicino

22.00: Live funk, blues, swing. Performed by The Hawks. Admission free. Drinks purchase required. Fermento Art&Pub, Via Camillo Ugoni 18 • bus 92, tram 2

22.00: Live pop folk rock. Performed by “I Treni all'Alba” with Paolo Carlotto and Daniele Pierini, guitars, Sabino Pace, piano, and Felice Sciscioli, drums. Admission free with 2012 annual membership card (€25), donations welcome. Arci, La Scighera, Via Candiani 131• Passante Bovisa, tram 3, buses 92 and 82

22 January 2012, Sunday

Time to be confirmed: Football. Inter versus Lazio. Stadio Meazza San Siro, Via Piccolomini 5 • M1 Lotto + bus 49

11.00: Chamber music. Music by Nino Rota, Bohuslav Martinu and Alessandro Solbiati, performed by the Albatros Trio. €10. Palazzina Liberty, Largo Marinai d’Italia • trams 12, 27; buses 60, 73, 62, 45, 66, 92

11.00: Chamber music. Music by Beethoven and Nino Rota, performed by Antares Quartet. Free tickets will be available from last Tuesday at the Urban Center, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele 11/12. Entrance free. Palazzo Marino, Piazza della Scala 2 • MMI, M3 Duomo

20.00: Ballet at La Scala. “Excelsior”. Music by Romualdo Marenco. Conductor David Coleman. Etoile Roberto Bolle. €19/138. Teatro alla Scala, Piazza della Scala • M1/3 Duomo

21.00: Ballet. “The Swan Lake,” music by Tchaikovsky, performed by the Russian National Ballet Theatre. €28/53. Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Viale dell’Innovazione 1 • M1 Precotto + tram 7; buses 86, 87

21.15: Film preview, in English and Spanish, with Italian subtitles. "Another silence", directed by Santiago Amigorena. Starring: Marie-Josée Croze, Ignacio Rogers, Luis Ziembrowski, Alin Salas, Luc Vandal, Roger Frappier. Entrance €3.50/5.50 + annual membership card €3. Spazio Oberdan, Viale Vittorio Veneto 2 • M1 Porta Venezia

21.30: Live music. Very Short Shorts, Tempelhof, Cabeki. Admission free, with annual membership card. Arci Magnolia, Via Circonvallazione Idroscalo 41, Segrate (east of Milan) • M1 San Babila, then bus 73 to Linate Aerop.-S.Felicino

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T08:49:00.002+01:00

Via Manzoni, 9

2012-01-16T20:40:00.014+01:00

Adorable delicate portico with two lithe female caryatids over the ionic capitals...Who built this, and for whom? My trusty "Milano" by the Touring Club Italiano has....More......

...let me down. Not a peep about this lovely little building now occupied by the UniCredit bank, at least in my 1998 edition (and I'm loathe to buy another one--they're darn costly, but worth it--until I can be assured that some significant additions and improvements have been made).

By the looks of the portico and considering the work up and down via Manzoni at the time, it surely dates to the 19th century.

The area--though not the building, as is implied by the commemorative plaque--once sported the family home of Prospero Moisè Loria, the founder of Humaniter/Umanitaria, the philanthropist and businessman who founded a school in the late 19th century so his factory workers--fresh from the illiterate countryside--could pull themselves up by their own bootstraps...the school still thrives, and offers a head-spinning array of courses for fun and work-related self-improvement, all at a very reasonable price: http://www.humaniter.org/index.asp.

I snapped this picture with you in mind on the 29th of July, 2011, around 1-1:30 P.M.

For a (free) design for needlepoint and cross-stitch featuring one of the capitals, see my blog on needlepoint, Ars acupicturae stellae - Star's Needlepoint art: http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2012/01/milan-monday-beautiful-capital-from-via.html.

Enjoy!

Men's Fashion Week Blog...for a day...and Beware of Area C

2012-01-15T17:09:00.037+01:00

Men's fashion week is a happening in Milan. Not quite as big as the women's fashion week, but Milan lives on and for upper end readymade wear just the same...and it conveniently coincides this year (at least) with the winter time sales (proof in the pudding is in the eating...here's a snap I took this foschia*-touched afternoon down via Spiga, together with via Montenapoleone, one of the two most chic readymade wear shopping streets in Milan...and that means in the world....More......

*"foschia" is the lightest of light fogs, not even a mist, that gives a pearly gray sheen to eye level views, though the sky overhead is still blue.

Fashion buyers, fans, journalists, photographers and bloggers from all over the world gather here...and those yearning for their ten minutes of Warhol-esque fame get their golden opportunity. (I didn't have the courage to take a picture of one ripe example of a fashion victum, uh, buyer, et al. ... a pudgy fellow with wild and crazy curly hair, heavy dark-rimmed round glasses, a hunter-style mid-thigh length plaid jacket in a dusty mustard and siena, dark pants and strappy army style boots ... how does one politely say, "Excuse me, you look like a hick from the sticks, may I take your picture in order to poke fun of you on my blog?" ... what *is* it with "high" fashion, anyway? Why does so much of it have to look goofy, or purposefully odd? "Signs o' the times" would probably be the answer.)

In past years, the streets in the Montenapoleone area, where the (enchanting) Bagatti Valsecchi Museum where I work also is located, were packed with strolling local window shoppers and (sticking out like sore thumbs) fashion floods, but this year I was hard pressed to get some populated shots. Could have been bad timing...right after lunch...could have been the freezing weather (2°C / 36°F)...I hope it's not the crumbling economy. Here's a snap in via Montenapoleone with some typical Italian and Milanese details and the brightly colored Gucci shop enlivening the shot.

This couple is stylin' down via Spiga (though the woman should do something with all that HAIR). Guys, please notice that you CAN wear comfortable AND attractive shoes that AREN'T tennies (one of my pet peeves).

Here's proof that it really was a sunny day. A stylin' guy on the left, a couple of visitors checking their map on the right, and one of Milan's two remaining medieval gates in the rear, right where via Spiga hits via Manzoni.

For more info on men's fashion week...in English!...here's a link to the web site of the national Italian chamber of commerce dedicated to fashion: http://www.cameramoda.it/en/fashion-show/63_MILANO_MODA_UOMO___14___17_GENNAIO_2012/#timeline

Before closing, a word to the wise..."Area C" is due to start up tomorrow, the 16th of January, 2012. I mentioned it a few posts ago. Remember what it is? In case you don't--and don't want to pay the city entry fee, or get a whopping big fine--it's a new approach (replacing the ZTL) to limiting traffic entering the downtown circle/cerchio (hence the "C") once delimited by the Renaissance era Spanish city walls. There is an entry fee to pay from Monday to Friday from 7:30 A.M. to 7:30 P.M. Check out the city's pages about it...in English (yeah!): http://www.comune.milano.it/portale/wps/portal/CDM?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/contentlibrary/Per+Saperne/Per+Saperne/Area+C/English/

Enjoy!

Photoless Friday and upcoming fun stuff to do in Milan

2012-01-13T07:00:00.000+01:00

Already have plans for the 14th of January?

If they don't involve the bonfire of S. Antonio, they can...More......

Morimondo is a delightful little town with a lovely and historic monastery.

On the 14th (http://www.visitamilano.it/turismo/eventi/index.html?id=53393&idbonsainode=150&urlp=Fal%C3%B2_di_S._Antonio_53393) and 15th (http://www.visitamilano.it/turismo/eventi/index.html?id=57685&idbonsainode=150&urlp=Fal%C3%B2_di_Sant'Antonio_57685)of January there will be traditional bonfires at sundown celebrating the saint associated with nerve pain, called "the fire of S. Antonio." Cheer up, there also will be mulled wine and goodies (though not explicity stated, most probably for sale).

Until the 17th, more bonfires dedicated to the saint are available in other small towns that are part of the larger metropolis of Milan.

Also on the 15th of January, and on a regular basis throughout the year, is the open air market ("borsino") in downtown via Armorari (near Piazza Cordusio) of old stamps and postcards for collectors, see http://www.visitamilano.it/turismo/eventi/index.html?id=30860&idbonsainode=149&urlp=Borsino_della_filatelia_e_della_cartolina_30860.

Above cited sites are in Italian--can't be helped--but since I've located the right page for you, I'm hoping dates and times will be easier to find in them.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-11T11:27:00.002+01:00

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth

2012-01-08T18:05:00.031+01:00

"Uhhh...thanks...you shouldn't have...really.... Pssst, what are we going to do with it?"

That probably captures the real comments of Milan's city council members when presented with...More......

... this super gigantic bronze sculpture (the base comes up to about my chest, and I'm fairly tall) purporting to reproduce the horse that Leonardo da Vinci would have produced for the commemorative equestrian sculpture depicting Francesco Sforza, which originally was intended for the area between the city and the Sforza Castle.

In my previous message with info on the horse (see http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/06/photoless-friday-15-aida-and-notre-dame.html), I sanctimoniously stated that the Americans didn't understand that it wasn't really Leonardo's horse.

I stand corrected.

Apparently, the Italians in charge of San Siro don't understand either: there are big banners touting "Leonardo's horse" all over the front of the gallop stadium (as opposed to the trotting stadium) in front of which the statue has been perched.

Spurious, or hypothetical, it's still interesting to see, and a trip out to the horse races might be fun, anyway, since the 1920s structures by Paolo Vietti-Violi are delightful. (Took a peek at the posted rates for getting in to follow the races: men E. 5, women E. 1 ... now why is that? So few women go to the races that they want to encourage them to come? For more info on the racing, go to: http://www.ippodromimilano.it/ ... an English version is available by clicking on the link in the upper middle right.)

So...how to get there?

Get yourself to Piazzale Lotto. Various busses go, but since the numbers may change it's not helpful to cite them. There is a Lotto stop on the red number 1 metro (subway) line, too. The subway exits all seem to be on the opposite side of the piazza from the direction that you need to go. Get above ground, and look for trees. There's a snippet of park next to the entrance of the Lido di Milano, a 1930s historic sport center with a city-owned pool, tennis courts, etc. You'll need to walk along the park next to the Lido on Via Caprilli. (For Lido entrance info in Italian: http://www.milanosport.it/intranet/MILANOSPOR/Impianti/LIDO1/index.htm)

Across the street from where the little park stops Via Ciprilli continues along a grafitti-covered stuccoed brick wall enclosing the race track grounds.

Keep following the graffiti-covered wall for about 10 minutes to this adorable little entrance.

It was open today, Sunday, even when there were no races to give access to the little pizzeria tucked into the right hand end of the secondary stands (the one with the horse sculpture in front). If you're able to go when there are races it will be easier to get closer to the horse.

Enjoy!

(I took these photos around 2:30-3 P.M. today for your personal non-commercial enjoyment.)

Yesterday and (almost) Today

2012-01-07T18:33:00.014+01:00

In the background on the left, the Late Renaissance drum of the Early Christian church, San Lorenzo*. In the foreground on the right,...More......

...the back of a school built in the "Novecento" period "of consensus"** during which the architectural style, in my opinion, was a wonderful balance between sterile and cold Rationalism and previous "been there, done that" more decorative styles. There also is an eery preview of post-modernism. But more about this another day.

All against today's bright blue sky (And the temps? Nippy, but coats and gloves were sufficient.)

*See my http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/12/what-are-standard-to-see-and-do-things.html#0

**A backhand way to refer to the period when--at least seemingly--the majority of Italians were in favor of the restoration of a kind of order by the Fascists after a couple of decades of violent social unrest alternating with brief periods of uneasy quiet. The period of consensus itself began to unravel, beginning with the mid-30s colonial wars in Africa, right through the ignominious adherence to the alliance with Hitler and the anti-semitic laws. For further reading, see Mussolini by Prof. Pierre Milza, published in French in 1999 and in Italian in 2000.

What did the Befana bring you?

2012-01-06T07:31:00.007+01:00

Yesterday, I wrote in my blog about Milan that I wanted panettone* from the Befana. I only half meant it...calories! calories! calories!

Be careful what you wish for...More......

Yesterday, I unwittingly helped the Befana.

As you already might have read, a friend who drives took me and her delightful little daughters to Viboldone, and on the way she wanted to stop at the new 'spaccio' of Bindi.

It turned out not to be a 'spaccio,' but a factory direct outlet with a caffè offering their goodies (sweet and savory) and a store, all designed with a great eye.

And the panettone was on sale.

I couldn't resist, and my excuse was to compare the Bindi panettone with my memory of my favorite for its wonderful quality-price ratio: the Motta Original Recipe panettone.

Results?

The Bindi panettone is good...but--even on sale--at twice the price of the Motta, it's not worth it.

Go, Motta!

*For a photo, see my: http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2010/12/merry-christmas-panettone.html

P.S., are you ready for the usual 'service announcement?' I get no kickbacks of any kind for mentioning products and/or services.

More Chiaravalle

2012-01-05T16:58:00.036+01:00

Went to Chiaravalle, just outside of Milan, again. It's a Romanesque and Gothic period monastery with some 16th century frescoes and architectural bits, 17th century frescoes, and...since the last time I went there...a revamped shop and bar.More......

For the general skinny on the monastery, go to my previous message: http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2010/10/chiaravalle-monastery-just-outside-of.html#0

What's new?

The little bar is now snuggled into a little recessed slant-roofed building on the left after entering this street-side gate (in front of which stops the bus 77 available in Piazza Medaglia d'Oro, the "Porta Romana" stop of the yellow metro line) built by Giuliano della Rovere around 1500 (before becoming THAT Pope Julius II...Michelangelo's patron and nightmare), which I photographed around 4 P.M. on the 2nd of July 2005.

Another afternoon shot from July, this time of the Romanesque (brick) church façade with a Renaissance (white marble) porch tacked onto it.

My lovely new friend L. and her sweet kids G. and G. and I poked around in the church a bit (thanks for the lovely afternoon!)...

...then in the cloisters, which--because of the wintery blight--are less spectacular this time of the year, but ever so refreshingly quiet, and the light was right for...

...a snap through the glass of the monk's refectory (dining hall), while the...

...chapterhouse (council room) is seen better in this 2005 snap because the door was open (for once).

The art and frescoes are lovely (I am determined to get an unfuzzy snap of the Luini Madonna and Child...no easy task since it's at the top of a forbidden staircase, and I don't have a tripod), but today's trip was principally for the little shop.

A wonderful place for products (mostly) produced by monks all over Italy. Aside from the small religious objects, there are wines, beers, liquors (the "Amaro di Chiaravalle" is heavenly, no pun intended), perfumes, soaps, face creams, teas of all sorts both tasty and medicinal (n. 3 for sleeping is not just effective, it's also very good), chocolates, and even--for those in the neighborhood--some meats and cheeses. There also is a little bookstore with religious and art books, CDs of (marvelous) Gregorian chanting and some postcards.

For more information about visiting the church (pretty normal hours, but they may be upset by wedding services), see their official site (only in Italian...sigh): http://www.borgodichiaravalle.it/.

For more info (also in Italian) about the little shop--whose hours mirror those of the abbey--see: http://www.borgodichiaravalle.it/negozi/bar-del-monastero.html.

Go visit the church and cloister (even if you're not religious, you're visiting the church as if it were a museum: give generously to the church's restoration and upkeep...there are money boxes floating around in the church and cloisters...they have light and cleaning bills, too, the benefits of which you are experiencing as you visit), get some goodies for yourself, and take some home for friends.

Enjoy!

Delightful place to hang out

2012-01-04T21:19:00.005+01:00

Encouraged by the happy memory of a new friend (Hi, N.!), I finally stopped into Bar Magenta at the corner of Via Carducci and Corso Magenta in Largo d'Ancona. I've only been meaning to do it for, oh, maybe 15 years...More......

I don't rush into things, do I?

Lovely on the outside, authentic and picturesque on the inside, it's bigger than it looks from the outside, and not only offers coffee and drinks, but also simple food and--yes!--free WiFi.

For more info, see this site, as I couldn't find an official one for the bar: http://milano.tonight.eu/birreria/bar_magenta

(Remember, I get no kickbacks of any kind for these notices.)

Enjoy!

Waiting for the Befana in Milan

2012-01-03T19:54:00.016+01:00

Never miss a good honest opportunity for more chocolates, or gifts, that's my advice. The Befana is on her way, if you're in Italy...More......

She's an old Italian hag (no offense meant, in case she's reading this!) riding on a broom who brings little toys and candy for the stockings hanging on the fireplace on January 6. I wonder if she'll bring me more panettone (the wonderful Italian equivalent of fruit cake...but much more cake-y).

In case you're looking for stocking stuffers to give her a hand, the holiday stands are still up in Piazza Beccaria and--as seen here--in the enormous open air porch in front of the Stazione Centrale (it used to be so convenient to pull up there with taxis in bad weather...).

Probably just as well if she doesn't. Too many calories.

(I snapped this pic this afternoon around 3 P.M. with you in mind. Enjoy!)

Happy first day of the New Year

2012-01-01T16:18:00.005+01:00

Perched, a bit doubtful but at the same time hopeful that 2012 will be a good year.

Happy, healthy and prosperous new year to us all.

Racing to the end of 2011

2011-12-31T22:39:00.007+01:00

Racing to the end of 2011, just about an hour left....More...

A few firecrackers popping here and there...despite Milan's city-wide ban for safety's sake.

Mercifully quiet in my apartment building and surroundings...the noisy youth disturbing the late night peace now and then are doing their thing somewhere else (I'm turning into such a curmudgeon!).

Here's a snap I took recently on a moving tram. I love my light paintings. Hope you enjoy them, too.

Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Happy Birthday grapes

2011-12-30T18:57:00.005+01:00

In honor of my dear sweet sister's birthday and the holiday season, here's a snap--with intriguing reflections--of a Christmas tree with one of her favorite motifs: grapes.

Happy Birthday, sweetie!

Post-Christmas Milan

2011-12-27T15:30:00.033+01:00

Dec. 26, 2011. Slept in a tiny bit. Did some work reading (too much R&R can't be good for me). Ate a quick lunch, nothing special. Went for a nice long brisk walk on the day after Christmas. My neighborhood was very quiet.

What shops there are on the main drag were closed for the holiday (St. Stephen's Day in Italy).

(Italian duct tape...any engineers out there? For a funny flowchart on the conundrum of duct tape vs. WD-40, see: https://sites.google.com/site/starsthisandthat/home/funny)....More...

Walked past the sculpture of (THE) Giuseppe Verdi in front of the Old Musician's Home he founded. He grew up poor, and so reputedly was a tightwad, but apparently knew how to spend his money where it was needed. The place still toddles along helping elderly impoverished professional musicians spend their last years in decent comfort and company.

Walked past some cute Christmas dwarves in Corso Vercelli (the continuation of Corso Magenta after Piazza Baracca) all the way to Piazza Cordusio--halfway between the Duomo and the Sforza Castle--almost without seeing a soul, only to bump into the fringe of a packed human flood on that pedestrian walk. Turned on my heels, jumped on the next tram for which I thankfully had to wait only a few minutes, and hightailed it back home. Quick cup of tea with a nearby friend, then home. Sewing machine still out, so did a few repairs that have been languishing lo these many months, and got started on another. That was the 26th.

Today, the 27th, was a bit livelier.

Still slept in a bit (I mean an extra hour...can't power sleep til after noon, as I once did when younger), still did some work reading (I really shouldn't sound so sanctimonious...it is interesting), but this time got myself up and out of the house before lunch. Walked briskly down to the store where my "rikorda.it" book with my photos was waiting (fun product: you upload your photos into one of their pre-fab photo book formats, click "send," and they'll print it out, and send it to a photo shop near you; you pay only when you pick it up).

On the way, I passed Verdi's Old Musician's Home (in a Neo-Gothic Venetian style), then walked some more, and snapped more pics,...

...including this little late 18th century mortuary chapel (whose sentiments are more appropriate for serious musings on the last day of the year, "You will be what I am now...") on the other side of Piazzale Aquileia from the 19th century panopticon prison of San Vittore (named after the nearby church) still in use.

Tiring out (I had been walking for about an hour and a half, after all), I took the bus home for a leisurely lunch, now some blogging, then back to the mending and a bit of movie watching on TV.

So as not to leave you on such a pensive note, here's what you need to look for if you need a gas station in town. They're not very obvious.

Tomorrow, visits with friends in sight! Yeah!

Merry Christmas to all and a hint from Naples

2011-12-25T09:13:00.013+01:00

Christmas joy on the Grand Canal of Milan on the 18th of December, 2010...I'm not often out this late at night, so with this year's austerity measures I couldn't say whether the lights are up this year, or not, but they probably have the strung lights up, at least. The underwater lights were unusually kitschy for Milan, though they make for a good pic.

But now, to the point of the post...Hurray for the Neapolitans.

A free sit-down lunch in the lovely Galleria Principe di Napoli for those less fortunate...More......(if you read Italian, or just would like to see a snap, go to: http://www.2duerighe.com/campania/napoli/3290-napoli-un-pranzo-per-tutti-sotto-la-galleria-principe.html.)

The galleria is like Milan's, though the latter is bigger and better (I sound like I'm from Texas, don't I?!).

It's a great idea, kudos to you and a hint for us for next year.

(P.S., Dear Mr. Mayor, the organizer said they've been doing it for 16 years, and now can get it organized in 10 days...in Naples, I'm astounded...so why re-invent the wheel? Invite them to come to Milan to tell you how they do it.)

Merry Christmas to all!

"False friends" and dry goods

2011-12-23T16:21:00.013+01:00

A "drogheria" might have been a place where you could have gotten drugs in the olden days, but it isn't anymore. "Drogheria" in this case is a false, not a true, "friend" in that it looks and sounds a bit like a word in English, but doesn't mean the same thing. Today, a "drogheria" is a kind of old-fashioned mom-and-pop little dry goods store, rather hard to find in Milan these days.

There's a nifty one in Milan with an address on Corso Magenta, but with the entrance on Largo d'Ancona.

Why is it so nifty?...More......

Because, besides having a little bit of everything any self-respecting supermarket has (deoderant, house cleaning supplies, shampoo and the like), it also has candy-by-the-pound, teas and...drum roll, please...even some not-easy-to-find exotic food, such as various kinds of chutneys, English cookies (called "biscuits" in UK English, thank you very much), Chinese rice noodles and the like.

The place is called "Grossi" after a family name, but don't look for that on the store front.

All you'll see that is prominent are the yellow and red "J&B Scotch" signs, liquors and wines also being sold here.

Interested in more info about this and other exotic food stores I've found in Milan (no easy task)?

Go here, and download my (occasionally updated) list: https://sites.google.com/site/starsthisandthat/home/my-milan-italy/eating-and-drinking-in-milan.

Forewarned is forearmed. The place is teentsy, and so half the store ends up behind the counter, or way up high, or behind glass doors, so you'll have to ask for help. In fact, within seconds of coming in, you'll be asked "Posso aiutarLa?" (May I help you?) or "Ha bisogno?" (Do you need something?), or something of the sort. So this means you'll get good service, and hopefully will find what you want, but there will be no price and product comparing.

If you're ready to jump into the purchase of your favorite kind of chutney (etc.), a simple "Sì, ma parla inglese?" (Yes, but do you speak English?) will get you started. If you just want to look around a bit, "Vorrei dare un'occhiata prima, grazie" (I'd like to look around a bit, first, thank you) will do.

Enjoy!

Christmas promises and Toll House cookies

2011-12-22T21:54:00.004+01:00

I promised some friends I'd make authentic Toll House chocolate chip cookies for the Christmas lunch to which they so kindly have invited me.

Misson accomplished...and taste testing complete.

Had to make them with M&Ms because there are no chocolate chips, here.

Yummy just the same and jolly to boot!

What are the standard "To See and Do" things in Milan?

2011-12-20T18:14:00.030+01:00

“What’s there to see and do in Milan?,” I was asked. That depends, of course, on a few important variables, such as personal interests, length of stay, and whether, or not, it’s your first time in Milan. If the latter is the case, I hope you’ve planned at least three full days to visit the city…and you’ll still only scratch the surface! Believe it, or not!

For special events...More......

...(including organ concerts on the city’s Renaissance organs) and temporary exhibits, the visitor should check at the government tourist office (once called APT, now IAT in Lombardy, at least) located in the Piazza Cairoli in front of the Sforza Castle.

The Last Supper (il Cenacolo) by Leonardo da Vinci in the refectory of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is de rigeur for a first-time visit to Milan, and reservations are necessary sometimes a couple of months in advance (http://www.cenacolovinciano.org/, +39.02.8942.1146). Do me a favor. When you go into the refectory, resist the temptation to look first at the Last Supper on the right. Force yourself to look at the Crucifixion fresco on the left. It was finished only a very short time before Leonardo’s work, but it smacks fully of the Early Renaissance style: crammed with figures (the more figures there are, the more they got paid!), everything important smashed up into the front plane, heads all on the same levels, a great attention to surface detail, etc., etc., etc. THEN look on the right at what is left of Leonardo’s masterpiece, its seeming simplicity underscoring the gravity of the moment, the attention to the psychological impact of the precise moment that Christ says, “One of you will betray me.” The contrast showing you how revolutionary Leonardo was couldn’t be more plain. Don’t miss seeing the church, itself, either: the long nave dates to the Early Renaissance period, even if from the late 15th century, while the enormous polygonal chapel—substituting the original and more typical cross shape—now forming the apse was either built by, or inspired by a design by, the famous architect Bramante, who left Milan around the time the French invaded the city (1499), and hightailed it to Rome, where he built the little San Pietro in Montorio chapel, launching the High Renaissance style. Milan had him first!!!

A few other world-renowned "do not miss" items would be these (official web sites, even if only in Italian, have been preferred, when available…if you need English, use your favorite internet search engine):

--the world-famous paintings at the Pinacoteca di Brera (Mantegna's Dead Christ, Bramante's Uomini famosi, Raphael's Marriage of the Virgin, and Piero della Francesca's Virgin and Saints, just to name a few) (http://www.brera.beniculturali.it/, in Italian)
--the world-famous works at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana (Caravaggio's Fruit Basket and Raphael's full-size sketches for the School of Athens, Ambrogio De Predis' Portrait of a Woman, Leonardo's Portrait of a Musician, the Pietà and Madonna Enthroned and Saints by Bramantino, other works by post-Leonardo Lombard masters, and, on a kitsch-y note, a lock of Lucrezia Borgia's hair, for history buffs) (http://www.ambrosiana.eu/cms/visita_virtuale-417.html, for the moment in Italian, the “English” button doesn’t work)
--the world-famous works at the Sforza Castle (including the life-size equestrian marble sculpture of Bernabò Visconti by Bonino da Campione and--completely out of character for this museum that concentrates principally on Lombard art--Michelangelo's Rondanini Pietà; the painting gallery has just reopened after being renewed) (for the “Museo di arte antica”, see: http://www.milanocastello.it/ing/info.html, yeah, the version in English works!; there are other museums in the castle, as well: Egyptian art, Decorative Arts, and temporary exhibits)
--the world-famous Crucifix and Gospel book cover of Ariberto d'Intimiano, Milan's last vastly powerful "prince-archbishop" in the first half of the 11th century (in the museum of the Duomo and the treasury of the Duomo, respectively; both have other marvelous things, too), as well as the Duomo, itself, a fascinating example of a balancing act between the late International Gothic style and local Italian/Milanese architectural currents, later modified by late Renaissance post-Tridentine religious requirements by Saint Charles Borromeo's favorite architect, Pellegrini…start the exterior visit at the back, where the architecture comes from the late 14th century…the farther you move towards the front, the “younger” the architecture is, until you get to the façade finished in a historical style in the early 19th century (http://duomomilano.it/?lang=en, yeah, in English!)
--the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, a marvelous and fairly early "noble" use of previously denigrated "industrial" materials of iron and glass…and you thought malls were a recent invention! (http://www.tripadvisor.it/Attraction_Review-g187849-d194342-Reviews-Galleria_Vittorio_Emanuele_II-Milan_Lombardy.html)
--the Early Christian imperial basilica of San Lorenzo, its ancient Roman colonnade, and the blocks taken from the abandoned ancient Roman arena to shore up the foundations…these are off the right hand nave under its chapel [the stairway goes down behind the altar] of Sant’Aquilino which is another “don’t miss”…even if you do have to pay to get in…it’s part of the oldest areas of the church, and dates to the 4th century A.D., and perhaps even was the intended burial place of Galla Placidia, the ancient Roman empress…her so-called “Mausoleum” in Ravenna originally wasn’t a mausoleum, and the presence of a sarcophagus reputedly containing her remains is not documented there until about the 8th, or 9th, century A.D., as I recall…notice the ancient Roman doorway between the two chapel areas, as well as the ancient Roman mosaic fragments still adorning the two chapels’ walls (don't forget that Milan was the de facto capital of the western world from the late 3rd century A.D. onward--the Edict of Constantine, fundamental for Christianity's survival and flourishing, was issued here in 313 A.D.--prior to the threat of invasions by Gauls that encouraged the court to move to Ravenna in 402 A.D.) (http://www.sanlorenzomaggiore.com/new_website/, in Italian)
--the basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in all its artistic, architectural and historical glory; don’t miss the Chapel of San Vittorio off the right hand nave…even if you do have to pay to get in…it dates from the 4th-5th century A.D.! Besides, are you from UCLA? Royce Hall’s façade was inspired by the façade of this church. What is it like to hear the Mass in Latin? You can find out, here…they have one around 11 A.M. on Sundays…check the web site! Oh, and by the way, the Catholic churches in all of the diocese of Milan—the Catholic church’s biggest diocese—follow the rite established by Saint Ambrose about 400 years before the merging of the Roman and Gallic rites in the Carolingian period resulting in today’s Catholic rite (Without Saint Ambrose's insistence on Christianity's orthodox, rather than Arian, traditions, the history of Christianity, and hence the Occident, probably would have been radically different; almost the entire panoramic history of Christianity can be followed through the architecture and art works of this church) (http://www.basilicasantambrogio.it/, site in Italian)
--the Portrait of a Woman by Pollaiuolo at the Poldi Pezzoli Museum is lovely, and there are other lovely, but less famous, things there by famous and less famous artists, as well; the museum was opened to the public in the 19th century as a house museum featuring all the art and artifacts collected by the noble Poldi Pezzoli, but it was heavily bombed during WWII, so it was reconstructed principally as a “normal” museum (http://www.museopoldipezzoli.it/en, in English)
--the Museum of Science and Technology is far more interesting than the name implies; in addition to its fascinating range of developments, materials and machines of all kinds—there are even (small) remains of an ancient Roman ship, as well as a reassembled antique clock workshop and real submarine, planes and trains!—it also has large globes, frescoes and a freely adapted Renaissance copy of Leonardo's Last Supper (one of the ways we can imagine what the damaged parts of the fresco looked like), and, you also can see for yourself what a Renaissance monastery would have been like…the museum is housed in one, and the foundations of the ancient Roman imperial mausoleum over which it was built have been revealed in the courtyard (http://www.museoscienza.org/english/, in English)
--La Scala Theater: when there are no practice sessions going on, it is possible to view the inside of the opera house when visiting the theater's museum; if that’s your principal purpose for visiting this museum full of knick knacks once belonging to famous musicians and conductors, as well as music pieces, pianos, sketches for costumes, etc., and their portraits, ask at the ticket booth before paying (http://www.teatroallascala.org/en/index.html, in English)
--the relatively recent Diocesan Museum in the ex-cloisters of the church of Sant’Eustorgio (itself choc-a-bloc with wonderful lovely things, including the Renaissance Cappella Portinari); this museum offers religious art, including fragments from the 4th century A.D. sculpted wooden doors of Sant’Ambrogio, and often has lovely temporary exhibits (http://www.museodiocesano.it/storiaEng.asp?sez=1&link=1, site in English)
--the Archaeology Museum, set into the reworked Renaissance cloisters of the church of San Maurizio (see below), it offers not only a taste of Milan’s ancient Celtic and Roman past through art and artifacts, but—if you go out into the courtyard—you’ll also be able to see some of the structures once belonging to the ancient Roman circus, an imperial age addition to the earlier republican period city walls (fragments of the foundations of which are visible in the basement level of the museum); if you’re lucky enough, the polygonal tower (so polygonal that it looks round) is open: it was turned into a chapel in the Gothic period, and its frescoes, fairly recently restored, are only rarely available to the public (http://www.comune.milano.it/portale/wps/portal/CDM?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/contentlibrary/Per+Saperne/Per+Saperne/Museo+Archeologico/, in Italian...dear City of Milan Webmaster...shorten your link addresses!)
--the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum is one of Europe's most important and best preserved historic house museums; it has some very interesting pieces, including works by Gentile and Giovanni Bellini, as well as by Giampietrino and Zenale, post-Leonardo masters, but its principal strong point lies in the fact that it is a "magic window" onto Milan's recent aristocratic past: each item has been replaced where the original owners intended it to be, so it is an authentic experience of the taste and noble life style of Milanese aristocracy at the end of the 19th century (http://www.museobagattivalsecchi.org, in English); the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum was one of the founding museums of the Circuit of Historic House Museums in Milan: http://www.casemuseo.it/en/ (in English)

Other equally important, but lesser known things, are:

--the church of San Maurizio, founded during the late Lombard, or early Carolingian, period (i.e., around 7th-8th century A.D.), the current building was started in 1503, finished about 20 years later, and is carpeted with marvelous frescoes, principally by Bernardino Luini, one of Milan's post-Leonardo masters, and his sons (http://www.tripadvisor.it/Attraction_Review-g187849-d591217-Reviews-Chiesa_di_San_Maurizio_al_Monastero_Maggiore-Milan_Lombardy.html)
--the Museo del Risorgimento, for Italian 19th century history buffs (http://www.museodelrisorgimento.mi.it/, in Italian)
--the Museo di Milano, for the curious: what was Milan like? Here there are painted views of how beautiful Milan once was, before they began covering the canals with asphalt and tearing down old buildings to make way for new (this latter aspect, however, typical of Milan's historical striving to be modern, so in itself is indicative) (http://www.rete800lombardo.it/museo-di-milano-presentazione, in Italian)
--Filarete's mid-15th century ground-breaking and influential hospital, now used as the main seat for Milan's state university humanities campus, Università degli Studi Milano; Filarete had planned a larger structure, but stayed in Milan only long enough to see the right hand / 15th century part (with the external porticoes) built until his Florentine fancy pants were no longer welcome by the local Lombard architects, who finished his building with some decidedly non-Florentine taste; the central part (where the main portal and large courtyard is) was built in the early 17th century, though the façade is “in style” with the earlier part; the left hand section—today a plain dark red—was added to the hospital by a private benefactor during the early 19th century Napoleonic period. Heavily bombed in WWII, the structure was converted into a university in the 1950s (http://www.unimi.it/ENG/)
--the Natural History Museum (http://www.comune.milano.it/dseserver/webcity/Documenti.nsf/webHomePage?OpenForm&settore=MCOI-6C5J9V_HP, in Italian)
--the Planetarium built by the famous architect, Portaluppi (http://www.comune.milano.it/dseserver/webcity/Documenti.nsf/webHomePage?OpenForm&settore=SVIY-5HNGA3_HP, in Italian)
--the Mondadori headquarters outside Milan, built by the same architect responsible for Brasilia: Oscar Niemeyer (http://www.architetturadelmoderno.it/scheda_nodo.php?id=193, in Italian)
--some of the art in public spaces also might be interesting (Arnoldo Pomodoro, il Sole, Piazza Meda; Claes van Oldenburg, l’Ago, Piazza Cadorna; Igor Mitoraj, Piazza Santa Maria del Carmine) as well as the unintentionally kitschy "Leonardo" horse, which—despite what the American donors say—isn’t really HIS horse, since we still don’t know what definitive form his life-sized model took, and he never executed the sculpture (today’s bronze version by Nina Akamu is appropriately placed in the piazza just in front of Milan’s horse racing stadium in the area called “San Siro”…a great place for this “white elephant”)
--a host of Milan's other churches, too numerous and too varied in their appeal to mention individually (O.K., I can’t resist: be sure to see Sant’Eustorgio with ancient origins, but the current structure principally from the Gothic and Pre- and Early Renaissance periods…O.K., I also can’t resist mentioning San Nazaro and San Simpliciano, both founded originally in the 4th century A.D., but both subject to rebuilding throughout the ages…San Nazaro, on Corso di Porta Romana, is fascinating because its now destroyed atrium butted up against a long covered portico in the street leading out from the republican era city gate, in the area of Piazza Missori, out and down this street headed in the general direction of Rome, hence the street’s name…the gate farther down in Piazza Medaglia d’Oro was built in the late 16th century, and was part of the Spanish Walls which once circumference and protected the city until torn down during the Austrian Hapsburg period in the 18th century)
--other scraps of Milan's historical monuments scattered throughout town: ruined bits of the ancient Roman baths in Corso dei Servi, the imperial palace in via Brisa; the foundations of the ancient arena in via Molino delle Armi; the foundations of part of the ancient Roman circus in, well, via Circo; the foundations of the ancient Roman granary under a building in via dei Bossi, and available only with special permission from the Beni Culturali office; an interesting medieval and Renaissance palazzo façade near the beginning of Corso di Porta Venezia, etc. The “Navigli” (canal system) which used to surround the whole city, but now survives only in the one area near Sant’Eustorgio (there are boat tours available, and it’s also one of the more popular night time areas for the young and young-at-heart). The only two gates still standing from the medieval period: the "porta nuova" at the end of via Manzoni (not to be confused with the "Porta Nuova" at the end of Corso di Porta Nuova) and the gate kitty corner to San Lorenzo (look at a map: these two gates are opposite one another, and will give you an idea of the size of the medieval city of Milan). At Piazza Medaglia d'Oro is the late 16th century gate, once part of the mid-16th century onwards "Spanish Walls"...the next larger circle, giving you an idea of the size of the city until the late 18th century. From the 16th century onwards, the swathes of buildings surviving "modernization" become more consistent, including the 19th century semi-circle, called Foro Bonaparte, around the city side of the Sforza Castle

It’s hard to stop!

See! Milan isn’t just a gray dull city for business!

Calling all bagel makers!

2011-12-20T07:26:00.008+01:00

What do I want for Christmas?

A good bagel!...More......

...It's the "little" things you don't expect that you miss when you're an ex-pat like myself. I've talked about the foods I miss in another post (http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/03/claussen-dill-pickles-eternal-quest.html).

Let's concentrate on bagels because I'm so disappointed in the new (to me) place I had stumbled across yesterday, and which shall remain nameless for the shame of it all, oh the shame!

The magic word "bagels," and I was in the shop like a shot, but immediately suspicious. They didn't look right.

They didn't taste right, either.

The texture was too much like normal bread. It wasn't chewy at all.

And it was so greasy. Yuck.

And there was a weird after taste that the other one had, too. Too sour and bitter.

The only minimally decent bagel I've ever had in Italy was an industrially produced bagel that is no longer available. Got the scoop from the shop where I used to buy them. The producer lost the lease to the bakery, and couldn't find other suitable ovens. End of story.

So, if you make great bagels (anyone in New York reading this message?), please start producing bagels in Milan.

I'll even give you a hint.

The American-style coffee chain "Arnold" has moved into town, recently. Try selling through them, and you've already got known outlets without the bother.

Any takers gonna make me happy for Christmas?

(Thank you, Microsoft, for this free clipart, MH900424367, but a slap on your hands for this and other images: the download doesn't work properly, and was a bother!)

The fun of giving love gifts

2011-12-19T19:43:00.010+01:00

Time is money, in Milan as elsewhere. My most precious gift, which I often deny myself...More......

This year, I finally put my thoughts and my hands together.

I've seen the hen theme at the house of dear friends, who kindly invited us to dinner while my husband was still alive, and even more kindly still invite me now that he's gone, though still present, somehow, for which I'm very grateful (for the invites and for my dear sweetie's continued presence).

The thought to make the lady of the house (who's a wonderful cook) a stuffed hen for her collection always came to mind while there, but fled into dark dusty forgotten corners with the whirlwind that was life.

This year, the thought and my hands came together in the couple of days' lull between the end of a very heavy project and the appointed lunch hour.

First, the drawing, then cutting out the various bits, and...

...sewing the bits into workable larger pieces, including a gusset for the plump tummy (I'm quite proud of that!).

Finally, the assembled hen--with a tiny yellow beak and two big wattles--on her way to her new home!

I'm not so sure Italians appreciate handmade gifts. They're not very crafty, themselves, which is quite surprising given their renowned and well-deserved ability and creativity as craftsmen (and craftswomen...craftspeople...craftspersons...oh crap). At least the Milanese I know. Anyway, the poor little dear was welcomed, if without resounding fanfare, and we'll see if she makes it into any place visibile (though it will be hard to tell...if they don't like her, they may stick her away some place, and just drag her out the time, or two, a year that I go). I hope she sees more light of day than that.

Enjoy!

Today would have been...

2011-12-18T10:23:00.013+01:00

...our 16th wedding anniversary....More......

I love life, this infinite ship, this reawakened dream, this book never printed, often disordered as a handful of folded sheets of paper, as single sheets of paper, as snippets of phrases now here, now there in this room in which you have just walked, you go back and walk through it, again, and find it another and different and you translate into time your steps and into memories the corners. Somewhere there is, but I don't know where, no one knows where, a hidden door and the walls that seemed four, because thus swore the geometry of the mind, are many, too many more.
(Roberto Vecchioni, Eng. trans. S.K. Meyer)*

My dear sweet husband, I miss you so much.... Where is the door that will take me to you?

*("Amo la vita, questa nave infinita, questo sogno svegliato, questo libro mai stampato, spesso disordinato a quinterni di pagine, a fogli singoli, a stralci di frasi ora quà ora là in questa stanza che appena l'hai camminata, torni a ripercorrerla e la trovi altra e dispari e traduci in tempo i passi e in memoria gli angoli. C'è da qualche parte, ma io non so dove, nessuno qui sa dove, una porta nascosta e le pareti che sembravano quattro perché così giurava la geometria della mente, sono molte troppe di più." Roberto Vecchioni, "Quell'inutile voglia di imparare," SETTE, 17 dicembre 2009)

Golds and oranges

2011-12-14T08:38:00.006+01:00

One of the lovely blogs I follow (Serendipitous, http://chune123.blogspot.com/), which often muses poetically about the colors and changes of the seasons, asked the readers to reciprocate with fall colors, so here I go with some golds and oranges snapped mid afternoon during the "O Bej! O Bej!" (http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/12/o-bej-o-bej-2011.html) a few Sundays ago behind the Sforza castle in what is now a public park, but which used to be the duke's private hunting grounds right in his own back yard.

Enjoy!

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire..." (blech!)

2011-12-10T20:42:00.013+01:00

Used to sing "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" happily...until I tasted them...BLECH.

Far be it from me, in this delicate economic moment, to discourage spending sprees at your local chestnut vendor's, but (there's always a "but") I'm just glad I don't have to eat those nasty little things.

Awful roasted...and even worse "glacé"...so popular here.

And the Italians tell you (ad nauseam) that they have such wonderful food.

Then why do they eat these?????

(Believe it, or not...Tony Bennett just came on my radio station singing...yup, you guessed it...I'm haunted by chestnuts! What a voice! http://tonybennett.com/... I'll bet his agent put him up to singing this song....)

Here my are!

2011-12-08T09:33:00.006+01:00

Another snap from the "O bej! O bej!" fair, yesterday.

"Here my are!" shadowed on the back of a woman's coat.

(For the "Here my are!" history, see: http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2010/08/here-my-are.html.)

Enjoy!

O Bej O Bej 2011

2011-12-07T22:13:00.027+01:00

December 7th is the annual day dedicated in Milan to its patron saint, Ambrose. Lots of things are closed, so I worked at home, and decided to take a walk in the clear brisk bright wintery air after lunch. Where to go, though? Passed through Cadorna, the train station remodelled a few years ago by Gae Aulenti (there's a Claes Oldenburg sculpture out front)...More......

"Oh! I know, I'll go to the first day of the city's two day pre-Christmas fair, called "O bej! O bej!" ("Che bello! Che bello!," that is, "How beautiful! How beautiful!")." It used to be in the area around the church dedicated to S. Ambrose. Now it's all around the Sforza Castello.

Since the fair is more commercial, now, the traditional Lombard artisan products have company: products from the south, perhaps moved up here after the influx of southern workers in the 1960s for the factories. The factories have given up the ghost, unfortunately, but the yummy southern products have remained.

The crowds are pretty intense, but there were breathers now and then...I wonder if the economic crisis contributed to that. It's usually PACKED.

By the time I had made the rounds of the entire castle, the moon had come up.

On the way home, snapped a shot while walking under the strings of Xmas lights.

Once this spate of work is over mid-month, I'll get some night shots of the Xmas lights. Nothing like in the States (sniff, sniff), but the Xmas tree up in Piazza del Duomo looked nice.

Until then...Enjoy!

Milan's metro...again

2011-12-06T21:34:00.003+01:00

I love taking purposefully blurry shots that capture the perpetual motion of living in a big city. Here's one from that misty day a few Sundays ago.

Enjoy!

Green...again

2011-12-04T16:34:00.002+01:00

Late misty Milanese Sunday afternoon...snapped a couple of weeks ago for your personal non-commercial pleasure.

Enjoy!

Hopper-ish in Milan's Metro

2011-12-01T10:47:00.009+01:00

For privacy reasons, I (usually) avoid snapping people...unless they're unrecognizable for one reason or another.

Here, the folk are too far away...and too busy to look at the camera...to be identified.

A Hopper-ish moment in Milan's Metro.

Enjoy!

Golden

2011-11-28T09:23:00.005+01:00

Fall in Milan...lovely golden colors (though nothing like the gorgeous autumn landscapes in New England, U.S.A.) 'til they turn sodden with rain.

And get slippery.

Enjoy!

Purple

2011-11-27T11:00:00.005+01:00

I love these ornamental cabbages. So gorgeous.

And apparently edible, too, though after lots of cooking.

Apparently, they're as tough as they are hardy.

Beautiful and hardy, useful and ornamental.

Enjoy!

To-ing and fro-ing on a chilly misty Milanese day

2011-11-20T18:07:00.007+01:00

A friend kindly asked me to lunch with some friends. The walk to the metro stop did me good. I do miss taking my camera for a walk. So, here's the to-ing and the...More......

...fro-ing.

The first was shot today at around 11:30 A.M., the second around 5:30 P.M.

Yes, it was a long, but delightful lunch.

Now I need to get back to work, and maybe you do, too.

Enjoy!

Green

2011-11-13T17:16:00.003+01:00

I can hardly bear to add another message to my blog, taking the place of the one about my dear husband, but it has to happen sooner, or later, so here's something I need...the green of life.

Enjoy.

At the Famedio (Milan's "Pantheon") the "Greats of Milan" will be honored, today, including my dear sweet departed husband, Prof. Em. Mario Tiengo

2011-11-02T08:57:00.024+01:00

I don't usually share personal things on this blog, lots of other people do that so you don't need yet another stream o' consciousness, but today my personal life and wonderful Milan coincide. Today, my dear sweet husband, Mario Tiengo, whose death a year ago blew out the light in my life, is being honored among the "Greats of Milan."...More......

How to sum up such a great man in so few words? How to even begin to record, let alone transmit, everything he did for Italians suffering from acute, chronic and psychogenic pain? For palliative care? For those giving childbirth, preferably painlessly? To raise the awareness of general practitioners and pharmacists about pain therapy? The international fame that he brought to Milan? His almost countless publications and organized conferences, his participation in the founding of so many principal Italian anesthesiology and pain therapy professional associations and journals?

For decades dedicated to profound scientific, philosophical, cultural and sociological studies in the field, Mario founded the world's first university chair in the physiology and therapy of pain at the State University of Milan in 1982, and covered the role until his retirement in the 1990s.

He founded and directed one of the first, if not the first, pain clinics in Italy, the Padiglione Bergamasca, made possible by a generous donation of the Bergamasca-Visconti family in honor of one of their beloved family members whom Mario had helped.

He founded and directed the Anesthesiology and Intensive Care department at Milan's Mangiagalli hospital dedicated to gynecology and obstetrics, bringing epidural analgesia to Italian women.

He participated in the birth of palliative care in Italy, though his focus remained acute, chronic and psychogenic pain.

The latter interested him particularly in the last decades of his life because he saw in it a heuristic tool for trying to understand the great philosophical question that has fascinated humans for millennia, the 'brain-mind' question, in other words, where does our consciousness come from, a soul that is a thing existing apart from the body, or the 'mere' result of the incredible complexity of our brains? Scientists succeed in finding ever smaller particles and ever more rapid electrical and chemical transmissions, but we still don't know what connects our outer reality to our inner reality. For this reason, of all the historic great minds his favorite was Descartes, who thought to identify this point of contact in what he called the "pineal gland." "Let us not disparage Descartes for his 'poor science', rather, let us remember that he described and analyzed using the knowledge and terminology of his day," Mario always said, "just because something can't be detected and measured doesn't mean that it doesn't exist...it might mean that we simply don't have the right tools, yet."

Open minded, with a sincere interest in all and others around him, a big heart, genuinely concerned for his patients, whom he saw as sufferers and not as numbers, a scintilating intellect and a captivating speaker and teacher able to gauge even the most complicated concepts to the audience he had in front of him, an adored and adoring husband, a life and soul companion, his death has left Milan and the world much poorer, and has left me teetering on the edge of a bottomless abyss, held up only by the wings of his love.

Born in the Veneto, but transferred to Milan to get his medical degree, Mario remained in this marvelous city, learned to speak the Milanese dialect, and--like me--became an adopted Milanese, unable even to conceive of living somewhere else.

Thank you, Milan, for this great honor bestowed on such a great and worthy man.

(For more about Prof. Em. Mario Tiengo, here's the website I dedicated to him; he wrote the texts in Italian, and I translated them into English: "Good Evening Doctor," http://sites.google.com/site/goodeveningdoctor/)

Cezanne's first time in Milan

2011-10-23T09:30:00.007+02:00

Like Cezanne, and live in--or near--Milan?

You're in luck!

A big show of his works is in Milan for the first time...More......

(quoting the short text on the handy dandy cultural activity pages...in English!...of the Province of Milan)

Cézanne and the atéliers of Midi
60 paintings together with works on paper.
The exhibiton sheds the light on Cézanne's activity in Provance since the 1860s till the marvellous paintings of the beginning of the 20th Century.

http://www.visitamilano.it/turismo_en/eventi/index.html?id=56436&idbonsainode=100&urlp=C%C3%A9zanne_e_les_at%C3%A9liers_du_Midi_56436

Where? At the ex-Royal Palace next to the Duomo

When? From now 'til Feb. 26, 2012

Hours? 09:30 A.M. - 7:30 P.M. (days not specified, so I'm presuming all days, except the following specified ones, but you should check); Thursday, Saturday 9:30 A.M. - 10:30 P.M.; Monday, 2:30 P.M. - 7:30 P.M.

Cost? Euro 9

Telephone? +39.02.928.00.375

Web site (in Italian)? http://www.mostracezanne.it/

Enjoy!

Like a fast and furious pace of life, but don't have the purse to match?

2011-10-22T19:20:00.009+02:00

Calling all night owls!

It has just gotten easier to manoeuvre in Milan!...More......

Regular bus services for about a dozen lines available for the price of a regular ticket; for the general map and clickable links to downloadable times tables, see this page (in Italian) on Milan by night: http://www.atm-mi.it/it/AtmNews/AtmInforma/Pagine/retenotturna.aspx

For a limited number of routes running from 2 A.M. to 5 A.M. Friday and Saturday nights for the price of a regular bus ticket (good for you young and young at heart after spending wee hours in a night club), try the service Bus by night: http://www.atm-mi.it/en/ViaggiaConNoi/Pages/BusbyNight.aspx (page in English)

Wordless Wednesday (33)

2011-10-12T02:00:00.001+02:00

Black-and-White Milan

2011-10-09T13:18:00.007+02:00

Black-and-white Milan...for the fun of it...if it works....Enjoy!

(I snapped this digital photograph of part of the "Old Fiera" in color this morning just around 10:15 A.M., but with black-and-white in mind, then, using PhotoShop Elements, transformed it into a black-and-white image.)

Wordless Wednesday (32)

2011-10-05T22:56:00.003+02:00

)

Calling all shoppers! A new (and very nice) brand name outlet in Milan

2011-10-04T12:28:00.010+02:00

Love to shop? Love to get a good bargain?

You're in luck! There's a new discount brand outlet in downtown Milan.
...More...

START UP FASHION DEMOCRACY, via Omenoni, 2, tel. +39.02.8909.3683

Don't be confused by their address on via Omenoni. Even their so-called handy dandy map on the back of their handout is wrong (come on, guys...where's the editorial control?). Maybe it's their legal address. That's possible.

The entrance, in any case, is under the portico on Piazza Meda, at the part where the piazza narrows to a point behind the church of San Fedele in the direction of Piazza della Scala.

On the ground floor (there's a step, though, so it's not very wheelchair accessible...lots of progress still to be made on this front in Italy) are things for women and men, I saw an upper area too packed with shoe boxes to be available for browsing, maybe they'll bring them down for you. More men's things are up another set of stairs, while things (lots!) for tots and for the house are downstairs (there is an elevator for that part of the store).

Lovely lovely LOVELY house things of the sort perfect for one's own home, or gifts.

Most of the discounts are up to 50%, according to their advertising, but I also saw a cheery knit throw for 70% off. Beautiful, and only about E. 35 (what's that...about $42 or $45?). (If you haven't indulged in this luxury, yet, run to do it! There's almost nothing so cozy as a knit blanket that keeps you warm, and snuggles up, and stretches comfortably to fit you while you're lounging on the couch, or bed.)

For other discount shopping tips, look up the category/label "Shopping" in the right hand column.

Enjoy!

Gorgeous "tempietto" on an urban lakeside in Milan

2011-10-03T09:07:00.009+02:00

The rich really knew (know) how to live....

This little temple ("tempietto") was never really a temple. It's a decoration in the style of a tholos, or ancient Greco-Roman round temple (usually dedicated to female divinities, if I remember correctly), for the garden behind the Villa Belgioioso....More......

Today, the villa is in downtown Milan, but it used to be on the outskirts of the urban area just inside the Spanish Walls.

The villa looked out over the new public park created by Piermarini at the end of the 18th century at the behest of the (then in charge of Milan) Austrian emperor.

Where?

In a whole lot o' land that had been confiscated from monasteries closed for corruption, or presumed corruption (the monasteries were rich, and their lands and money bags were tasty targets, corruption or no corruption).

It's something quite new! A countryside style villa *IN* town.

The countryside ambiance is preserved by the large English style park (meandering walks through seemingly spontaneously growing plants and flowing little rivers) behind the Neoclassical style villa built by Piermarini's pupil, Leopold Pollock in 1790 for...you guessed it!...a Belgioioso: Count Ludovico Barbiano di Belgioioso.

When the count died, the Cisalpine Republic (set up by Napoleon in Italy...after liberating it--temporarily--from the Austrians, but before turning Italy into a kingdom, after having crowned himself emperor...yeah, I know...it's a confusing period in Italy's history) acquired the villa in 1802 to give it to Napoleon, who lived there with his wife Josephine Beauharnais, then--when it was renamed the royal palace for reasons cited above--by Josephine's son, Eugene Beauharnais, viceroy of Italy. The villa passed to the Austrians--naturally--after their return to power, and so the general in charge of feisty Milan, Johann Joseph Franz Karl Radetzky (to whom is dedicated the famous Radetzky March) lived there from 1857-58, until the Italian bid for freedom finally made permanent headway.

It was a civic seat of government until just a few years ago, when it was beautifully and aptly transformed into a museum for 19th century art.

Watch out, though... the villa's garden still may be limited to parents with small children.

I took this snap on the 12th of April, 2006, at about 5:30 P.M.

If you're interested in the (horrifically complicated) needlepoint/cross-stitch diagram of this snap, see my other blog, Ars acupicturae stellae - Star's Needlepoint Art: http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com.

Enjoy!

Horses in Milan, yeah!

2011-10-01T10:37:00.043+02:00

Who doesn't love horses?

What little girl, or boy, didn't want a horse? (Me included.)

In just a couple of weeks, there will be a horse fair in Milan, and I wanted to give you plenty of warning, so you can arrange your schedules (and that of your kids?!), and go!...More......

From the 13th to the 16th, it will be held at Milan's newish trade and convention center (called the "Nuovo polo fieristico") just outside Milan in the northwest suburb Rho-Pero (not to be confused with the old trade and convention center called the "Fiera" in Milan, itself; most of the area has been re-purposed, as is so fashionable to say, these days: a work-in-progress urban requalification).

Driving there? The address is: Strada Statale del Sempione, 28, 20017 Rho (MI) (look it up yourself in Google maps for how to get there from where you are).

Don't drive? Not to fear! Though out of Milan, the New Fiera is very easy to get to. Take the red/#1 'metro' (subway) line to "Rho Fiera Milano."

Want a map and metro indications? Hoping that such a long link works, here is the link to the ATM GIROMILANO indications from the Duomo to Rho Fiera Milano on the official ATM web site.

There's only one catch: since it's in the suburbs (as the Milanese say, with a touch of their Austrian past lingering, "hinterland"), you have to pay a supplement in addition to the standard metro ticket. Get the tickets from a vending machine, and you'll be stuck wondering which of the various options to choose. Go talk to a real person, whether a third party vendor (such as the newspaper stands, or tobacconists), or directly to the source, ATM ticket windows (under the Duomo and under the Central Train Station, for instance).

As long as I'm on a roll, here's the English web site (yeah!) for the 'New Fiera,' in case you'd like to check it out. ("Why?!," you ask? Because, while scheduling your trip to Milan, if you can avoid any of the periods with a convention of any sort going on, you'll have less trouble finding a hotel room and getting a taxi, that's why.) http://www.fierarhopero.com/index.asp?LNG=ENG

But back to the horses. Since the web site of the horse trading fair http://www.cavalliamilano.it/ doesn't have a version in English (booo! How do they expect to be international without at least a page of general information in English!), here are some details for those of you, who don't speak Italian, but might like to go.

On the 15th, at 8:30 P.M. there will be 'one of the biggest dressage events in Italy.' Don't know what dressage is? That's the show of collaboration between horse and rider in which the horse is put through its paces, going backwards, sideways, etc., etc., etc. Don't expect a thrilling rodeo show, it seems veddddddy Enggggglish, but it is lovely, and pretty amazing how these huge creatures can be so delicate and light on their feet. Amazing gorgeous animals (to which humankind owes a great deal...so let's be kind, and help them survive!).

On the 16th at 3 P.M., there will be 'the jumping competition with the biggest monetary prize in Italy.' Now that *is* exciting!

Entrance fee at the gate (gulp!) for any of the days is a whopping E. 18 (eeee gads! No wonder it's the biggest monetary prize in Italy!). Kids up to the age of 12 get in free.

Want more info than this? Try contacting the organizer, IL MIO CASTELLO CAVALLI, directly: Il Mio Castello Cavalli S.r.l. - Via Feltre, 28/6 - 20132 Milano - Tel. +39.02.27086315 +39.02.27086315 - Fax +39.02.87365855 - info@cavalliamilano.it

Finally, God forbid I inadvertantly transgress any copyright laws, even in giving them this free publicity, so instead of one of their photos of their horses, here's a detail of a snap I shot on the 23rd of May, 2011, around 11:20 A.M. of one of the equestrian statues atop the Stazione Centrale.

Enjoy!

Photoless Friday (30): The Milky Way... in Lombardy

2011-09-30T02:00:00.000+02:00

To bring the park on the south of Milan to the attention not just of tourists, but also of the Milanese, the 1st and 2nd of October there are activities called "The Milky Way" (Via Lattea) planned in the center of town and in the park, itself...More......

The park must be lovely... ahem... I haven't been, yet... and I actually would love to see the cows (mooo!)... there is a working farm!

That sounds like two fun-filled days for the family.

Saturday, October 1 in Piazza Mercanti in downtown Milan, Sunday, October 2 in the park (from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M.)... don't miss it!

Want more info?

Go to the website of F.A.I.-Fondo Ambiente Italiano: http://www.fondoambiente.it/Attivita-FAI/via-lattea-alla-scoperta-del-parco-agricolo-sud.asp

(Bless them...there's an English language button in the upper right corner of their web site... but it doesn't work.)

Don't want to load down this message, so let me just say that there are lots of other great things closing this weekend. Check out the official web site of the Province of Milan, http://www.visitamilano.it, the basis for the free and handy "MilanoMese" guide about which we've spoken before.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday (31)

2011-09-28T02:00:00.001+02:00

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Lovely courtyards in Milan

2011-09-27T09:17:00.007+02:00

Milan is like a very reticent, beautiful, stately and mature woman.

The outside may be discreet, but the inside, oh so lovely...More......

Once a year, FAI-Fondo Ambiente Italiano asks private and public entities and people to open up their historic structures and gardens that usually are closed to the public. In addition, they also open their own structures, generally open to the public.

It's a way to highlight the wondrous cultural and artistic patrimony of Italy, and to call attention to the desperate need to maintain and preserve it: FAI's reason for existence.

So, look up the FAI web site, and, if you love Italian culture, sign up. The basic monthly membership doesn't cost much, and--especially if you're in Italy--has good benefits: free entrance to their properties, the fast entrance lane during those hectic show-and-tell days, and discounts on other non-FAI museum and cultural activities.

I snapped this sunny courtyard in the Brera area of Milan during FAI's May 2005 open days.

Enjoy!

Another post in honor of Women's Fashion Week in Milan: a 1930s mosaic

2011-09-26T20:37:00.006+02:00

This lovely lady decorates the exterior of a building in Porta Volta, by now on the edge of Chinatown in Milan.

I snapped this photo with you in mind on the 11th of September, 2010, at about 2:45 P.M.

If you're interested in my (freely shared) needlepoint/cross-stitch diagram of this image, go to my blog on hand done needlepoint, Ars acupicturae stellae - Star's Needlepoint Art, http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2011/09/milan-monday-43-lovely-lady-in-1930s.html.

Enjoy!

Walk a mile in my shoes...

2011-09-25T23:29:00.019+02:00

...before you criticize and accuse....

In honor of Milan's fashion week, I thought I'd recount that I used to follow The Sartorialist for awhile.

It's a marvie blog for following the latest fashion trends. The author takes (great) snaps......More......

... of people on the streets of the most fashionable towns in the world, including Milan.

He hasn't snapped a picture of my shoes, yet, so I did it for you.

Not that they're so fashionable. But without them, and another similar pair or two, I wouldn't be able to walk more than a few steps.

Put me in a taxi, get me close to the door, and in fancy shoes I can hobble to the restaurant table, or I can choose to walk...and get stuck with the likes of these.

And that's why I stopped reading that fashion blog.

Cranky snitty comments (I made a couple, myself, not all of them got past the blog author's censorshhip) without any regard for reality.

And I'm not just talkin' the "Oh, look, the emperor's new clothes!" kind of being out of touch...though there's a heck of a lot of that, too. (Maybe I'm the one out of touch....)

I'm talking the complete lack of understanding that those hideous (insert name of article of clothing, here) may be the only thing that person is able to wear in order to function.

And so I stopped following the blog.

The fact that my Mrs. Dudley DoRight comments often didn't make the grade has ~~a lot~~ nothing to do with it.

You give the blog a whirl, though...Enjoy!

Photoless Friday (29): Eavesdropping and carspotting

2011-09-22T11:01:00.003+02:00

Overheard (in Italian) on a train, yesterday:

She: "Hi, sweetheart, the train is just getting into the station."

He: "......."

She: "O.K., so you're at the front of the station."

He: "......."

She: "Which car do you have?"

He: "......."

She: "Uh, yeah...what color is it?"

Wordless Wednesday (30)

2011-09-21T08:59:00.004+02:00

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Have buckets, will travel: one version of the Sforza family crest

2011-09-19T07:00:00.007+02:00

Talk about a bit of self-propaganda, but that's what family crest are for, right? This one is packed choc-a-bloc with meaning. Where to begin?...More......

Might as well start with the Who dunnit?: Bona of Savoy and her young son, Gian Galeazzo Maria Sforza, at least according to the underlying inscription.

When? The date on the underlying inscription says the 6th Calends of January.... Huh? According to Cappelli's chronology, that means the 27th of January. And the year? MCCCCLXXVII. Huh, again? Roman numbers for 1477 A.D. (A fortified tower built in about a month? Hmmm, that sounds pretty suspect to me...maybe the inscription was made later and given that date for another reason; the Touring Club guide says that--due to the political turmoil--the decoration of the tower languished for a few years...I'd bet until around 1493...keep on reading....)

Where? On the aptly named "Tower of Bona" over the entryway to the secluded area, called "The Little Fortress" ("La Rochetta") of the Sforza Castle. She had the tower built to protect her...duchess...inside an inner part of the castle with her toddling son, the legitimate heir. A fortress within a fortress. Ludovico, her now all powerful brother-in-law, and his court lived in the adjoining palatial part of the castle, and Ludovico kept saying how much better it would be for little Gian Galeazzo Maria to be under HIS regency, instead of hers....

Why? Bona--widowed by the assassination of her husband, Galeazzo Maria, stabbed on the doorsteps of the church of St. Steven on St. Steven's Day (26 December 1476)...because he was too vain to wear the protective mail coat under his beautiful new green silk jacked embroidered with gold...thought it made him look fat...no, I'm not kidding...ya' gotta love the guy--was having to fend off power grabs by her dead husband's brothers, one of whom eventually won out: Ludovico il Moro (Ludovico the Moor, because he had dark dark hair).

And, finally, the What? The monstrous serpent swallowing up a poor soul (or the monstrous fish disgorging Jonah...the symbol, by now, was centuries old, and the origins lost; it reputedly dated back to the conquest of a Saracen shield by one of the Visconti ancestors during a Crusade) is from the Visconti crest. The eagle is a symbol of the dukedom, granted to Francesco Sforza--the powerful general-for-hire, who married Bianca Maria Visconti, the bastard-but-legitimized daughter of the last legitimate Visconti duke of Milan, Filippo Maria; the marriage gave Francesco no official claim to command, but was a pretty good pscyhological lever...added to his troops surrounding the city in 1450--by the other rulers in Italy as part of the great peace treaty of Lodi (1454), but which had to wait until the machinations of Francesco's and Bianca Maria's middle son, Ludovico il Moro, to become an imperial reality in 1493 (Ludovico forked over big bucks to the then reigning Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III, but had to keep the official recognition of his claim to the title of duke secret because the son of his assassinated brother was still alive...for about a year...until he died mysteriously on the 20th of October, 1494...). The buckets are for the ability to put out the fires of emergencies, while the burning clubs threaten to create just such emergencies and to raise a good welt, or two, in the process. (Not quite the "Speak softly, and carry a big stick" of Teddy Roosevelt, but along similar lines.) Above, the ducal crown flanked by the dates and palm branch of victory on your upper right and, just in case you didn't get it, the laurel branch of victory on your upper left.

I turned the photo into a diagram for needlepoint, or cross-stitch, should you be so handy. See my blog on hand-done needlepoint, Ars acupicturae stellae - Star's Needlepoint Art: http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com.

I took this photo with you in mind on Ferragosto, the 15th of August, at about 1:15 P.M.

Enjoy!

Photoless Friday (28): Wines in Lombardy and an upcoming wine festival!

2011-09-16T08:24:00.009+02:00

Lombardy isn't known for its wines, but it has quite a few respectable ones, including spumante (since we can't call it "champagne," anymore) from the Franciacorta area, which straddles Lombardy and the Veneto...More......

Why can't we call it "champagne," anymore? Because "Champagne" is the name of a region in France, from which this kind of sparkling white wine took its name, but now European Union rules say that only sparkling white wines from that regione can be called that. (The same thing happened to the Italian "Tocai"--now called "Friuliano," after the northeastern region of Italy in which it is principally produced--a name considered by the European Union as too similar to the Hungarian "Tocaj.")

Let's get to the point: the 25th of September there will be the Festival of the Grape in the only DOC area in the Province of Milan (the governmental organization between the levels of city and region...think of it as "county"), San Colombano near the Lambro river, in the "oltrepo pavese" region (that is, the area near to Pavia on the other side of the Po River). The hills of Miradolo Terme and Graffignana are involved, and the event is held--for the 54th time--by the San Colombano DOC Wine Association. For more information: http://www.sancolombanodoc.it, tel. +39.0371.89.88.30.

Piqued your interest in Lombard wines? Here are a few websites in Italy (YOU can look up "wines in Lombardy" easily for yourself!), which seemed reliable:

VINOSTORE.IT (yes, it's trying to sell you the wines, but the list looks helpful): http://www.vinostore.it/lombardia.php

Google maps for "vino in lombardia" (wine in Lombardy) turns up this handy map of some of the vintners in the area: http://www.google.it/search?q=vino+lombardia&hl=it&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ITIT343&prmd=imvns&source=univ&tbm=plcs&tbo=u&ei=AutyTvrKEsfj4QTuicGgDQ&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=more-results&resnum=2&ved=0CGkQtQMwAQ

Lombard wines and the "VinItaly 2011" convention: http://www.lombardiavini.it/

A pdf publication dated 2009, and which appears to have the official approval--to be taken with a grain of salt--of the Region of Lombardy, about Lombard wines: http://www.buonalombardia.it/images/File/Allegati%20pubblicazioni/Vini09%20ITA-Ok.pdf

The wine roads in Lombardy (principally Bergamo, Brescia, Lodi, Mantova, Pavia, Sondrio): http://www.paesionline.it/lombardia/itinerari_ed_escursioni/strade_del_vino.asp

Though the sources are in Italian, if you're a wine buff you'll recognize terms. Even if you're not, hopefully it should be pretty obvious when they're talking about a wine, or a city: at least you'll get the names that you then can look up in English, yourself.

Running...unfortunately, not towards a glass of wine...at the moment!

Enjoy!

"Free Italia Wi-Fi": a newly launched project...and grieving together for what we lost ten years ago, today, in New York City

2011-09-11T00:56:00.004+02:00

On Friday, the 9th of September, 2011, the "Free Italia Wi-Fi" project--aiming to offer free Wi-Fi throughout Italy, thanks to the collaboration of local levels of government--was launched.

For the moment, few communities are involved, but yours just might be one of them.

Since the project's goal is to get more ITALIANS to use the internet (according to the article on p. 27 of Saturday's paper, "Repubblica," only about 50% of us do), the site is just in Italian...at least for now, but the address and password columns should be pretty obvious:

http://www.freeitaliawifi.it/drupal7/per-il-cittadino

I'd be worried about protecting my computer from intrusions, but you can decide for yourself...on this momentous day, the 11th of September, 2011.

Story Corps aims to record a story, and make a respectful animated short out of it, for each of the lives lost on this day, ten years ago:

http://storycorps.org/animation/she-was-the-one/.

Let's remember and grieve together for all that we have lost.

Info for emergencies in Milan (and not only Milan), crossing our fingers that you won't need it

2011-09-10T23:04:00.004+02:00

City police ("vigili"; number valid only for Milan): 02.77271
Carabinieri (national police; number valid nationally): 112
Ambulance (number valid nationally): 118
Pharmacies open (number valid nationally): 800.80.11.85
24-hour Pharmacy (Central train station, Milan only): 02.66.90.735

And before you leave home, be sure you get and take with you the information for your country's consulates and embassies located wherever you intend to go.

Photoless Friday (27): hurry, hurry, hurry, the nice weather is drawing to a close

2011-09-09T09:24:00.009+02:00

Torrid heat and high humidity aside, the nice weather of summer is drawing to a close, so here's a list of things To Do before the winter chill (and high humidity) rusts our bones....More......

Biking along the "Naviglio Pavese"
The Naviglio Pavese, the canal that goes from Milan to Pavia, was a source of water for the grounds of the castle of Pavia, where some of the Milanese lords preferred to live. A bike path, complete with iron railings for safety, has been completed, and can be ridden for about 24 kilometers. (P.S., the castle in Pavia still exists, is easy to get to on foot from the train station for normally healthy people, and has interesting exhibits. The city is lovely, and has lots to offer for a day trip.)

Sporty types in for a museum visit might enjoy "Women and Sport, 1861-2011" at the Museo del Risorgimento, via Borgonuovo, 23, open til the 25th of September.

Visits to the crenellated soldiers walk along the upper rim of the Sforza castle continue until the 15th of October. For (obligatory) reservations (Ad Artem): +39.02.659.6937.

Like the castle? There also are evening visits to the underground tunnels, till the 15th of October. For (obligatory) reservations (Ad Artem): +39.02.659.6937.

For a panoramic view of Milan from the top of the "Torre Branca" in Parco Sempione, you'll have to go before the 15th of October, when the potential and unpredictable arrival of unpleasant weather makes it unfeasible. (Via Camoens)

Movie buff? Outdoor theater in three enchanting places around town: the courtyard of the world-famous music conservatory, the courtyard of the Humaniter Foundation, the public gardens now dedicated to the journalist Indro Montanelli. The series closes on the 12th of September, just around the corner, so call for info: +39.02.659.7732.

For art lovers, the exhibit "Hayez in the Milan of Manzoni and Verdi" at the Brera Pinacoteca is set to close on the 25th of this month. Yikes! I'd better go, soon, myself!

More for art lovers and lovers of Milanese history: "Memories of Milan" at the Fondazione Biblioteca di via Senato (surprise, surprise, at via Senato, n. 14) will be closing on the 23rd of October.

A good visit for the curious and for families: "Feeding the soul and spirit" lasts at the Archaeological Museum (Corso Magenta, 15) until the 31st of December. Don't miss going downstairs and into the back courtyard to see remains of the ancient Roman walls of the Republican and the Imperial periods, or going into the little attached church, San Maurizio, "carpeted" with Renaissance frescoes (the museum is in one of the ex-courtyards of the church).

Want something else to do with the kids? "Form and function in the world of mammals" at the Museo di Storia Naturale (Museum of Natural History), Corso Venezia 55, tel. +39.02.8846.3337 runs until the 2nd of October.

Enjoy!

Just back to work...and already there's a public transportation strike (oh, yeah....)

2011-09-05T21:37:00.001+02:00

Milan's city logo snapped on one of the 1927 yellow trams (all lovely wood inside). Those and all the other trams and busses and metro systems in Milan will shut down...More......at least partially...tomorrow, Tuesday, 6 Sept., from 6 P.M. til what they call "the end of the day's service"...most public transport stops running shortly after midnight, with a few stop gaps running a bit longer into the weeeeeeee hours of the morning, when all service stops, strike, or no strike.

So, there you have it.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Despite the moment's humbug, I'm still going to turn this logo into a needlepoint diagram, and put it on my needlepoint blog (if I can get the new Blogger/Blogspot interface to work for that blog...have I mentioned, yet, that I hate the new interface????? You're bound to hear me say this, again, at least a time, or two): http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com

It was sooooooooo nice...

2011-09-03T21:42:00.001+02:00

...that it's really really (really) hard to get back into the plow's yoke.

Photoless Friday (26): wanna peek behind the curtain--so to speak--at La Scala?

2011-08-26T07:00:00.000+02:00

Opera buffs, you won't want to miss this!

Until the 31st of December, there are regular Tuesday and Thursday 3 P.M. guided visits to the workshop where they create the scenographic magic for La Scala in the ex-steelworks Ansaldo company building, via Bergognone, 34.

Reservations in advance are required, call CIVITA at +39-02.433.53.521.

Ready for the really amazing bit?

It's only E.5!

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday (29)

2011-08-24T07:00:00.000+02:00

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A 1930s snippet for you from Via Monti

2011-08-22T07:00:00.000+02:00

More architectural details that make fantastic needlepoint designs!

This time it's a doorway that I snapped on via Monti on Ferragosto (August 15) of 2011, at about 11:30 A.M.

If you're interested in needlepoint and/or cross-stitch, I worked this up as a free design for your personal, non-commercial use on my blog dedicated to needlepoint, Ars acupicturae stellae - Star's Needlepoint Art:

http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

Photoless Friday (25): Butterflies!

2011-08-19T07:00:00.003+02:00

Hurry hurry!

Until the 30th of August at the city's principal public garden, the Giardini pubblici, you can admire more than 50 kinds of butterflies from all over the world in a special pavilion.

The main entrance to the Giardini pubblici is on Piazza Cavour; entrances also on via Palestro and Corso di Porta Venezia. I think the pavilion is just behind the Natural History Museum, and so would be closer to these latter entrances.

From Tuesday to Friday: 3:30 P.M. - 6 P.M.
Saturday and Sunday: from 10:30 A.M. til 1 P.M., then again from 2 P.M. to 6:30 P.M.

Entrance fee E.5 (children up to and including the age of 4 enter free-of-charge)

For more information: http://www.oasidellefarfalle.it, tel. 393.513.3679

Too much excitement for one afternoon?

Recover at the "Caffè Letterario" located inside the gorgeous 15th century cloisters now housing the Teatro Grassi at the centrally located via Rovello, 2, almost at the corner of via Dante.

For more information: +39.72.333.505, http://www.sotisevents.com.

Enjoy!

Via Manzoni: n. 7

2011-08-18T07:00:00.003+02:00

Our next stop on via Manzoni?
The ex-Hotel Continentale, street n. 7, at the corner of via Romagnosi....More......

Constructed in 1865 by Luigi Clerichetti, this façade trumpeted the triumph of the bank to the educated clients and passersby, inspiring trust.

"Huh?"

Recalling the three-arched piers of ancient Roman triumphal arches, the façade offers entry past semi-hidden columns into fame, fortune, or at least a deep portico, now semi-closed with large panes of glass.

The interior of the building was heavily restructured in the 1980s to house the Banca Popolare di Bergamo, now UBI.

I took this snap with you in mind on the 29th of July, 2011, around 1-1:30 P.M., for your personal, non-commercial fun.

In the area of nn. 5 and 5/A on via Manzoni, on the other corner of via Romagnosi, where the building now sports a plaque commemorating the birth of the Italian writer Carlo Emilio Gadda, there once was the church S. Maria del Giardino (because of the green areas, whether fields belonging to the monasteries, or--after confiscation--the public gardens, just outside the medieval gate at the end of the street).

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday (28)

2011-08-17T07:00:00.002+02:00

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Life insistent

2011-08-16T01:13:00.005+02:00

Life insistent.

Snapped on Ferragosto, the 15th of August, in Largo 5° Alpini, at the corner of via Monti, at about 11:30 A.M. with you, but especially one of my favorite bloggers, in mind.

In her blog Serendipitous, Chris takes lovely pictures of her green green surroundings, and shares wonderful thoughts: http://chune123.blogspot.com/.

Enjoy!

An Art Deco snippet on via V. Monti

2011-08-15T23:08:00.006+02:00

Happy Ferragosto!

The 15th of August technically is a Catholic religious holiday in Italy--and Thank the Cosmos, because the government has just announced that all public holidays now will be celebrated on the weekends, so no more public holiday long weekends for us, sniff! sniff!--but it also is one of the most important "hinges" on which swings the Italian year.

It's one of the most beloved public holidays,...More......

...and even those stores that more and more are staying open on other holidays wouldn't give up today (unless they're in a town that lives on tourism...they'd stay open on their granny's birthday, but ya' can't blame 'em). A year without being free on Ferragosto is like a year without a vacation, at all!

So, in true Italian spirit, I pushed myself to finish in-progress projects as of yesterday.

Aaaaaaaaaaaah, I got up this morning when I wanted to, putzed around, and around 11 A.M. headed out with my trusty camera, "before it got too hot," I said to myself.

Then, Mad Dogs, Englishmen, Tourists and Me were out in the noon day sun...until 2:30 P.M. By then, I had found a shady park bench conveniently near the watchful eye of a police camera, and actually stretched out, watched the clouds, and even closed my eyes (though I don't think I dropped off), doing nothing, absolutely relaxingly nothing for about an hour...

...then I couldn't stand it any more, so I walked home.

But all along the way, I snapped shots that I'll be sharing with you.

I snapped this shot of an Art Deco architectural decoration on Via Monti with you in mind at around 11:30 A.M.

If you like needlepoint and/or cross-stitch, go to my needlepoint blog, Ars acupicturae stellae - Star's Needlepoint Art, for the free design ready to stitch for your personal, non-commercial fun:

http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2011/08/milan-monday-39-snippet-of-art-deco.html

Enjoy!

Photoless Friday (24): for Leonardo's "Last Supper" reserve your place in advance, and, in case you didn't, some hints about how to get in, anyway

2011-08-12T11:19:00.012+02:00

You know how it goes...your Significant Other hates to plan ahead. YOU know better, of course, but, for the sake of peace in the family, you'll "go with the flow" maybe grinding your teeth as silently as possible, but it's not worth arguing about.

Besides, you've got that penetratingly whiney "I told you so" practiced to a "T."

You get to Milan, you discover that one of the world's masterpieces, Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" is here. Even if you and S.O. are not great art fans, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to see one of the Seven Wonders of today's world, so you call.

"I'm sorry, but access is all booked up until early October. We hope you'll come see us the next time you're in Milan, thank you for calling." (click)

The NEXT time you're in Milan?

The stars and planets had to be aligned to get your S.O. to agree to come here THIS time. What to do?...More......

For the sake of complete information, here's the web site in English of the company VIVA TICKET officially entrusted with selling the tickets to see this marvel (only so many people per day, in order to limit damage to the fresco from sweating, breathing and the dust we kick up, just by walking):

http://www.vivaticket.it/evento.php?id_evento=298097&op=cenacoloVinciano&change_language=1

The web site has a little calendar marking the days with available tours.

Don't get discouraged, though. Call anyway, they just might have last minute cancellations.

If your S.O. is the tightfisted kind, just GO anyway.

In the first place the adjoining church is a Renaissance marvel in and of itself, and has an apse the design of which is attributed to Bramante. "Who cares?," I hear you ask. You should care: he's the guy who, right after designing this apse, fled Milan just ahead of the invading French troops (their leader thought HE should be duke of Milan), made a bee line for papal Rome (popes and cardinals with bucks to spend on art and architecture commissions, he and lots of other artists of all sorts were no dummies), where he erected the little "Tempietto," considered the watershed structure for High Renaissance architecture.

In the second place, if there's only one, or two, of you, then you just might be able to squeeze into a group, or they might have last minute cancellations.

If you'd rather not traipse all the way out to the church (it's not that far, really, and the n. 16 tram stops right in front of it) not knowing whether, or not, you'll be able to get in to see the "Last Supper" (called the "Cenacolo" in Italian), then you have the option of participating in a (at E.55, a bit pricey, but worth it...one presumes that includes all the entrance fees!) morning, or afternoon, tour of all the highlights of Milan, which includes entry into the "Last Supper."

The company AUTOSTRADALE organizes morning and afternoon tours of Milan by bus. In addition to the "Last Supper," you'll be taken to see other important highlights (some varying depending on the days and on whether you take the morning, or afternoon, tour, but always including the Sforza Castle, the Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, one of my favorite places in Milan).

http://www.autostradale.it

Tel. +39-02.7200.1304 (if you're calling from inside Milan, start with the "02")

ENJOY!

Wordless Wednesday (27)

2011-08-10T18:11:00.003+02:00

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Via Manzoni: n. 6 (Palazzo Brentani then Greppi)

2011-08-09T00:18:00.084+02:00

How fun, it's time to share another view from via Manzoni with you!

Today's special guest is Palazzo Brentani then Greppi at n. 6 on the eastern side of the street...More......

Constructed in 1829 for the Brentani family (and later acquired by the Greppi), this mansion was the scene of dramatic episodes during the years leading up to Italy's (finally) successful attempts at independence.

During what the Italians (and particularly the Milanese) still call "The Five Days of Milan," those plucky Milanese citizens tossed out the official imperial Austrian troops in March of 1848 (for more info, see: http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/03/five-days-of-milan-cinque-giornate-di.html).

Imagine the bustling around, the jockeying for position and the prideful joy at having succeeded in freeing oneself from the empire (was it such a good idea, after all? no use askin', history ain't written with IFs). Lots of informal committees turning into more and more official (new) governmental bodies. Issues getting settled, new ones being raised. Be patient, everyone, only a few months have passed.

Then Carlo Alberto of Savoy, the duke from Piedmont to whom the Milanese had turned for military help on the battle fields scattered around, appeared in early August of that same year on the balcony of this very building. Happy grateful faces turned up to him.

Faces rapidly blank with disbelief, then literally bonkers with rage. The battles around Milan hadn't been going as well as he had hoped. Fearing worse loss (perhaps even of his own reign), he cut his losses--meaning the Milanese--signed an armistice, announced it, then literally ran for his life. Thanks only to a small handful of loyals, he barely managed to escape being torn to pieces (really) by the whiskers of his chinny chin chin (a painting by Bossoli, now in the fascinating Museo del Risorgimento in Milan, room VI, shows the scene), and the Austrians--madder than wet bees--marched firmly back into town and into control...for another ten years.

The very simple and sober Eclectic façade has a series of roundels with busts of luminaries. The only female figure--seen here on the far right--is Maria Gaetana Agnesi, born in Milan on the 16th of May, 1718, the eldest of TWENTY-ONE children of Pietro Agnesi--of a bourgeois family become rich in the cloth industry and with social-ladder-climbing stars in their eyes--and Anna Brivio, the first of his three wives.

Busy man. Busy house, in via Pantano, 1.

Very VERY intelligent and much-admired little girl home schooled (even in physics) by the best university professors (some of them ecclesiastics) of the day: spoke, read and wrote Latin fluently by the age of 9 (NINE?!), Greek by the age of 11 (I think I hate her), eventually Hebrew, German (yes, I definitely hate her) and French, too (though not Spanish...hah!...she was born just in time to miss living under the Spanish Hapsburgs).

And Italian. (Don't say, "duh!"...What we know as "Italian" was the language of the 14th century Florentines Dante and Boccaccio in an Italy in which local dialects were so diversified as to be often unintelligible one to the other. The Florentine dialect was picked up by the young Venetian boy Pietro Bembo, who fell in love with it, and, in 1525, publised "A work of prose in which one reasons over everyday language," which codified it as THE form of a cultured common language to be adopted, minus the funny accent...though, lazy as folks are, this did take only a few centuries--and television--to come about). I'll bet Agnesi also spoke Milanese.

She even published (now I'm really sure I hate her) much praised books (of an encyclopedic nature, no biggie, it's the period of the Enlightenment, after all) on philosophy and mathematics, translated into French and English, and widely in use, as well as on theology. Blow-your-socks-off amazing for a woman of that period.

Bless her heart. She wanted to be a nun.

Family social ambitions precluded that...if the little performing monkey wasn't at home, who'd come to visit Pietro, and add gloss to the family tree?

She was allowed to remain unmarried, but was kept at home, where she continued to study and keep up valued correspondence with important MEN of her day.

After her father's death in 1752, finally freeeeeeeeee!, she didn't go into a convent, after all, but devoted herself to helping the miserably poor around her (unfortunately, there was plenty for her to do). She even took them into her own home, and spent every little bit of her big inheritance helping them. Now, those High Society Milanese, who had flocked to see her perform, turned up their noses at her when she went begging for money for the poor.

In 1772, Agnesi was nominated director of the women's ward of the Pio Albergo Trivulzio, a hospice for the sick and elderly founded only a year before by Prince Antonio T. Trivulzio (the institution still exists and--paired with another--still bears his name to remember his generosity). Attempts by Pietro Verri, an important man of the day, to get her assigned an annual imperial stipend because of her scholarly and good works failed.

Having already given up the richly decorated family home for less expensive dwellings so she could continue her good works, she was nominated General Director (!) of the entire (!) Pio Albergo Trivulzio in 1783, which entitled her to a luxurious suite...that she refused. She lived in normal spaces of the institution, worked extra to pay for her room and board, did stints caring for the ill, and gave to the poor what little money she managed to save.

She died quite elderly after a brief illness in her little suite at the Trivulzio on the 9th of January in turbulent (Napoleonic) 1799--only a few decades before the Brentani-Greppi mansion was first built--and was buried, as she wished, in the Porta Romana area in a common grave with fifteen other women, who had given their lives serving others. The city of Milan has honored her with a plaque and a portrait in the "Famedio" (Milan's "Hall of Fame" at the Monumental Cemetery).

Get your gender meter out, and hunt for girls in the schools of the days of her youth, and you won't find any; if you're a woman, and you're reading this, Thank the Cosmos you were born where and when you were.

So, who occupies the mansion, now?

Since 1935, when it was restructured on the inside according to a plan by the architect Giuseppe De Finetti (1892-1951), first by the Banca Nazionale then by the adjacent Banca Commerciale Italiana.

I took these snaps on the 2nd of August, 2011, around 3:30-4 P.M.

Enjoy!

P.S., as usual the principal art and architectural information was taken from "Milano" by the Touring Club Italiano. The (unverified) info on M.G. Agnesi comes from this text prepared by the high school professor Ambrogio Cazzaniga: http://www.liceoagnesi.it/contenuti/content/view/9/2110/.

Photoless Friday (23): the Easy life in Milan, and more...

2011-08-05T15:15:00.030+02:00

The pun was too good to pass up. If you are in Milan, one of the free helpful publications is...More......

...EASY MILAN (http://www.easymilano.it). Of the three free handy dandy publications in English available (we've talked about the other two, WHERE MILAN and MILANO MESE, before), this one is most focused on practical stuff, and so will be helpful for those living here. Its "classified ads" format, with some other paid advertising thrown in, is organized by subject, from Arts & Leisure to Worship, but not in alphabetical order [see me frown...], passing through employment opportunities along the way.

Coming to Milan to do some discount shopping? I guess if you're set on having that high end fashion brand splashed all over your clothes, you'd might as well spend 50% less (though it still escapes me, how a rinky dink not-even-very-good-quality cotton T-shirt could cost $500 and more in the first place). Here's yet another place to put on your list: NIKI, Viale Montenero, 78, not so far from centrally located Piazza 5 Giornate, tel. +39.02.546.88.55.

Summertime closures haunt the city, though, so call ahead.

Speaking of summertime closures, hungry after all that shopping? How about some Mexican food for lunch? It's already ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE to find a Mexican food restaurant open for lunch in Milan (boooooooo!). Where to go?

During the year (except for August), go to Otra Vez on Viale Monte Nero, about halfway between Piazza 5 Giornate and Piazza Medaglia d'Oro. "It's August, though!," I hear you cry. Fear not. The "sister" restaurant, Cueva Maya, on Viale Monte Nero, but closer to Piazza Medaglia d'Oro, is open for lunch (but only in August).

"How IS their food?," you ask. I just had lunch at Cueva Maya a couple of days ago, and it was pretty good (coming from Southern California, where Mexican food is native, I consider myself, if not an expert, at least quite informed).

Beware of getting burritos anywhere in Milan. ALWAYS ask first, "Do you fix your burritos ahead of time, and then heat them up in the microwave?" ("Preparate in anticipo i vostri burritos e poi li riscaldate nel micronde?") If the answer is "sì" (and it probably will be), pick something else. At Cueva Maya, that "something else" interesting on the menu was a 'taco' with grilled beef, which turned out to be a thick flour tortilla heated on the grill, then folded in half around the stuffing. Wasn't anything like the tacos (with stiff deep-fried corn tortillas) I know. Turns out to be the burrito I had wanted all along, just not double folded, but I was all the happier for it.

How about the hot sauce for dipping the tortilla chips? Unlike a different (and supposedly snazzy) Mexican food restaurant I tried a few months back, at least here it seems like the tomatoes of their sauce were fresh, not canned (boooooo!), but there was too much hot pepper and not enough cilantro for my taste...in fact, you could hardly taste the cilantro at all...was it more authentically Mexican this way? Was it adjusted for Italian taste buds? I don't know. Maybe one of my gazillion (11) readers is Mexican, and will be able to answer this searing question.

How was the bill at the end of the meal? A heck of a lot for Mexican food, in my book, but not so bad for Milanese standards: E.15 for the taco (with a spoon each of refriend beans, sour cream and guacamole and a bit of greens, but I didn't go away hungry) and E.3 for the bottle of water, a whoppin' E.18 plus the E.2 tip for a grand total of E.20 ($28.20 at the current exchange rate of 1.41...OUCH! I wish I hadn't done that calculation).

Would I go back?

Now that I've seen that calculation, I'll be MUCH less tempted, until I can't resist the Mexican food bug bite any longer...maybe next year..., but in their defense, that plate was pretty darn close to what I consider good Mexican food.

Via Manzoni: generic view, then nn. 1 and 2-4

2011-08-04T08:11:00.065+02:00

I'm very excited about today's post, as it's the first of a series I've been wanting to do for a long time.

Building by (more significant) building, I'll take you down--already chic in the seventeenth century--via Manzoni (here seen in a generic shot) stretching over the...More......

...pre-Roman Celtic settlement from the area of the first ancient Roman city gate of the age of Julius Caesar and/or Augustus in Piazza della Scala, past the area of the second ancient Roman gate located at the corner of via Manzoni and via Montenapoleone and dating to the epoch of the emperor Massimilian, to the medieval gate, Porta Nuova, at the opening of Piazza Cavour giving entry to the eighteenth and nineteenth century public gardens now filling the space (where monasteries--at least one with Early Christian origins--and their territories once were the rule) up to where the Spanish Walls of the second half of the sixteenth century went...that's quite a few jumps in history, isn't it?! (I'd say, "Cool!," but that would date me.)

If you're a history buff, for a (very) brief overview of the area, see my posts http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2010/12/more-taxis-in-milan-this-is-turning.html and http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/08/bookworms-epigraphy-and-luck-of-non.html. Of course, I now have the bug to do something more meaty, but that will have to wait.

Let's get directly to the business at hand: the buildings on via Manzoni, with the even numbers on the eastern side of the street and the uneven numbers on the western side.

The enormous BCI-Banca Commerciale Italiana building has a gorgeous Beaux Arts style façade on Piazza della Scala. This enormous and purposefully magnificent bank structure was built in two phases first in the years of economic recovery after a late 19th century crash (1905-11), then as WWI allowed (1913-24). The architect was Luca Beltrami, a Milanese, who was responsible for the restoration of the Sforza Castle in Milan, and became influential nationally for the preservation and reinterpretation of historic structures for then-modern use. Recently, I've heard rumors that the bank is going to dedicate at least a part of this building to creating a museum, in order to house its extensive art collection. Sounds great! Hope it doesn't take too long.

Its façade, with modern street numbers 2 and 4, takes up the north-eastern corner of Piazza della Scala and the beginning of via Manzoni. Notice how architects of the period thought in a panoramic way about the presentation of the structure: the whole profile of the building resembles the structure of a single column, with its (here dark) base, the (here tall, white with windows) body and the capital (here, the frieze and cornice). This approach can even be seen in the earliest skyscrapers in Chicago, but I digress.

The cornice is decorated with an elaborate frieze of putti with vegetal, garland and shield motifs, with some details picked out in gold leaf. The spanking white background and the confinement of the more elaborate detail to the frieze helps to keep the over all effect from being over the top.

On the opposite side of the street, at the modern n. 1, via Manzoni, is this 1955 reconstruction of a somber Neoclassical structure dating to 1840-44 (I suspect the building suffered badly in the heavy bombings of 1943). This building is famous for having been the seat of Milanese pre-Unification revolutionaries inspired by Mazzini and belonging to the club called "Circolo dell'Unione," as well as having once housed the historic caffé Cova, now found at the corner of via S. Andrea and via Montenapoleone. As you can see, the main façade of the building on via Manzoni is graced with columns and a somber frieze of spirals and acanthus leaves. (On the far left side of the photo, you can see a glimpse of the porch of La Scala.)

There, those are our first steps down via Manzoni...more fun stuff to come!

Most of the western side of the street was shot around 1:00-1:30 P.M. on the 29th of July, 2011, while most of the eastern shots were taken around 3:30-4:00 P.M. on the 2nd of August, 2011.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday (26)

2011-08-03T09:06:00.003+02:00

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Bookworms, epigraphy and the luck of the (non) Irish

2011-08-02T07:00:00.001+02:00

Us bookworms get excited about the oddest things, I admit. But let's leave that aside, for the moment, and let me set the stage, properly....More......

The fearful self-isolation then death (1447) of the last legitimate duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, followed by bloody settlings of old festering wounds, bursts of rage, backstage back-stabbings, burning archives (oddly, the tax records, too...), the ducal castle-fortress (useful to defend the city against invaders, but also to defend the dukes against the citizens) half torn down, a couple of years of brilliant hopes for citizens' self-government (well, the male, free, white and empowered, although not noble, but that's already a step ahead), then trembling and anguish at the prospect of getting gobbled up by feared powers-that-be. Appearing on the horizon, literally in shining armor, whom do we have? Good ol' Frank.

Francesco Sforza, expert general-for-hire (ahem, they're politely called "condottieri"), who just happens to be married to Bianca Visconti, the young and lovely bastard-but-legitimized-by-the-pope daughter and only direct heir (but not to overt power, no, no, no, Salic Law, you know) of dear deceased Filippo.

"I'll save you!," says Francesco. (He did.)

"I won't rebuild the castle-fortress!" (He did, actually, but had his imported fancy-pants architect, Filarete, beautify it a bit in the new Florentine Renaissance style to soften the blow.)

"In exchange, I'll be the duke!" (He wasn't...legally...one of his sons finally pulled that off a couple of decades and tons o' money to the Holy Roman Emperor, later, but it's just a piece of paper, right?)

And one of his right hand men was Gaspare Vimercati, whom you also have to thank for Santa Maria delle Grazie (where, about fifty years later, Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper), another condottiere, and the proud new owner--after it had been confiscated by Sforza from its original owners (evidently of the Taverna and Secco d'Aragona families, as the family crests flanking the door attest)--of the house on the street, where the first ring of ancient Roman walls had gone, long before: via Filodrammatici, n. 1.

The gorgeous doorway from that mid-15th century period opens this message. The pointed arch and the florets help mark it as Gothic. The chubby putti climbing whimsically up the acanthus leaves along its profile could be seen as a concession to the new Florentine style and/or as Gothic, yes, Gothic...there was quite a strain of naturalism running through the Gothic style, believe it, or not.

And, luck of the (non) Irish, it has been cleaned, recently, yeah! (It was so black with accumulated grime and soot that those old photos of mine aren't even worth hunting up.)

So that's already a jump for joy.

What really made this little bookworm happy is that the photos I snapped of the epigraphy (the carved writing) came out really really well, double yeah! Francesco is flanked by and towers over...

...Julius Caesar on the viewer's left and...

...Alexander the Great on the viewer's right (no boot-licking going on here, nope, nope).

Above it all, the pinnacle with the motto - SITE - FATA - VOCANT -...and for anyone familiar with epigraphy, you'll see change in the making...tall and slender straight V-cuts with abruptly stuck on serifs, sharply squeezed "Os", a tilted bar to the "As" and "N" and little diamond, or triangular, interpuncts at mid-line. Looking forward to the Renaissance revival of Imperial style lettering, but with a wistful backward glance to the Gothic style much beloved in Milan, cross-roads between north and south of the Alps.

Oh, the things that get our little bookworm hearts a-pumping!

A Lion Motif Corbel on the Palazzo dei Giureconsulti

2011-08-01T15:00:00.012+02:00

The Palazzo dei Giureconsulti (the 16th century building for the magistrate body) has an interesting history. First off, it's one of the sides of the piazza (which used to be completely enclosed by its own walls with gates, like a little fortress) surrounding the Broletto...More......

...which deserves a later post all of its own.

I've mentioned some factoids about the Palazzo, before, in the post about the statue of St. Ambrose on its façade(http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2010/11/monuments-st-ambrose-takes-place-of.html#0), so go there for the skinny.

Here, instead, is a detail of a lion motif corbel on the façade, which I turned into a diagram for those of you, who love to do needlepoint and cross-stitch (see my Ars actupicturae stellae - Star's Needlepoint Art: http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2011/08/milan-monday-37-another-lion.html).

I snapped this shot on the 8th of July, 2011, at about 1:30 P.M. for your personal, non-commercial enjoyment.

Saronno...what a lovely day I had, yesterday (and it could have been even better, if...)

2011-07-31T08:00:00.000+02:00

What a lovely day I had in nearby Saronno, yesterday (that is, Saturday, the 30th of July, 2011...if I can get the "delayed publishing" to work...testing...testing...one, two, three... :-)

First of all, it started out with free regional train tickets, thanks to a kind friend. Good deal! (Thanks!!!)

Second, it corresponded with my first day of FREEEEEEEEDOM, now that the (marvelous...but it's still work, folks) Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, where I have been working since the beginning of 2000...wow...) has closed to the public for the August rituals of deep house-cleaning and the like. (http://www.museobagattivalsecchi.org)

Third, because I finally got to do something I've wanted to do for a looooonnng time, and that brings me to the day's activities, starting with a small brewery beer and some lunch...

More......

...well, it was SUPPOSED to start with some small brewery beer...their website says--somewhere--that they're open for lunch, but the hours are nowhere to be found...and last minute plans didn't allow for calling (well, O.K., I could have tried calling in the morning, but by then I figured that I was going, anyway, and that, if the brewery wasn't open for lunch, I'd find SOMETHING good to eat, this is Italy, after all). Boo-hoo. As I found out reading their handy dandy sign on their door, they're open for lunch only on the weekdays (and not open at all on Sunday...forewarned is forewarmed). La Fabbrica Birrificio Artigianale, Via Padre Giuliani, 38 (http://www.publafabbrica.net/)...it's on the "wrong side" of the tracks...take the underground corridor to the back side, and it's about a 10-15 minute walk, and a bit farther down the road than the marker on the Google Maps, but just go a bit farther on, and you'll see the sign. I'll try, again, in the fall, and give you the scoop on the mug. (http://maps.google.it/maps?q=via+padre+giuliani+38,+saronno&hl=it&sll=41.47566,12.392578&sspn=15.13575,39.331055&t=h&z=16)

What was next on the list? The Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Miracles (il Santuario della Beata Vergine dei Miracoli, Piazza del Santuario, 1), also on the "wrong" side of the tracks, but easy to find, and about a 10-15 minute walk from the brewery. It reopens in the afternoon at 3 P.M. Fair enough. Might as well eat nearby, right? Not as easy as it sounds. Found a couple of caffes open, but...get ready for it...I had to eat at a McDonalds. In Italy. Now, don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with a McDonalds burger and fries once or twice a year (calories, folks, calories), but to HAVE to eat there because there was nothing Italian nearby. And it was a good excuse for a burger, fries and a coke. (http://www.santuariodisaronno.it/)

Lovely 16th century church, bit overdone on the interior with the verrrrrrrry Milanese (Lombard?) tradition of white stucco relief sculptures detailed with gilding. Paintings supposedly by the masters Ferrari and Luini. Their touted museum? Much to my dismay, open only by appointment, for guided visits...for groups...or pilgrims. Oh well, the church was interesting, and worth the visit.

Next on the list? The Museo Giuseppe Giannetti of ceramics, via F. Carcano, 9 (just around the corner from the front side of the Saronno central train station)...tah dah!...THE reason why I had wanted to go to Saronno in the first place. Mr. Giannetti collected ceramics from the 17th century onwards (the ceramics, that is, not his collecting activities...just an ESL joke for my students!), and his last surviving daughter gave the house and the collections to a non-profit organization set up to manage the museum: http://www.museogianetti.it/. The museum is open only a few days a week and only in the afternoons til 6 P.M., so you have to plan well to see it, but it's worth it, too. (Thank you, too, to the volunteer, who gave me permission to take photographs...I hope lots of people see this post, and go!) The collection--as you can see in this photo--starts with mostly Chinese examples of porcelain, since the secret of its making eluded Europeans for quite some time: kaolin, a fine white clay (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/311676/kaolin).

Once the secret was uncovered--first in Meissen, I think--the hunt was on for kaolin in Europe...turns out that there were sources, but never of the high quality found in China. On the other hand, the European places and workshops and styles--some influenced by Chinese products, then gradually exploring the medium in styles more European in nature, while continuing to flirt with the oriental style--are so varied and so many that I'm not going to bore you with a detailed list...you'll just have to go for yourself.

Some really gorgeous pieces, but can't move on to the next museum without sharing my all-time favorite in the museum...of a pug, of course!

Last on the list only because the hours on the website said it stayed open til 7 P.M. was the local technology museum located in some ex-train station works buildings (M.I.L.S.-Museo delle Industrie e del Lavoro Saronnese, via Don Griffanti, 6, also on the "right" side of the train tracks, and about a 10-15 minute walk in the opposite direction from the Gianetti, http://www.museomils.it/). Sounds dull? I don't think it would have been dull...technology shaped and shapes and will shape our lives, and really can be fascinating...but "would have been"...there's your clue. I had checked the web site beforehand, and it said that it was closed in August. The 30th, albeit the last Saturday in the month, still was in July. Didn't even think to call ahead. SURELY they'd post on their web site if they were going to close early. Ha! I fell for it. Walking along the graffiti-covered wall (in theme, though, so it may have been encouraged by the museum), the area looked suspiciously inactive. On the door, a plastic sheet protector with their closing days (from the 30th of July to....), already peeling off of the door, and flapping in the breeze. I'm lucky it was there at all. And so I will have to go back when it reopens in the fall...after all, I still have to try out the brewery....

My dear husband used to say to me, using this very typical Italian phrase, "Well, you wanted to be an Italian, you wanted a bicycle, now pedal!" (For my ESL students, do you remember what the English version is? ... "You made your bed, now lie in it!")

Heaven (shade) and torrid hell (direct sun) in Saronno, HOT and only semi-productive, but happy, that was my day, and I'm looking forward to going back.

(And remember: I don't get any kick back of any kind for mentioning these places, and all the photos are mine, and are for your personal, non-commercial enjoyment.)

(Now the delayed posting experiment begins...hope to see this post pop up on Sunday, the 31st of July, 2011.)

Memento...palestrae

2011-07-30T10:53:00.001+02:00

Memento palestrae....

Photoless Friday (22): a few more fun things to do in Milan (including golf and tennis!)

2011-07-29T09:08:00.025+02:00

Let's start today's "Photoless Friday" with a fun thing to do in Milan that is about to close, shall we?...More......

... (N.B., for my ESL students, that's just aboout the only time you'll hear an American speaker of English use the word "shall," which is vedddddddddy Britishhhhh.)

Looking for something to do in Milan, as parts of the city settle down for a month-long summertime siesta?

Run to the Duomo! Tomorrow, the 30th of July, is the last day of special organized guided tours (in English, or Italian), which include the cathedral, itself, the underlying remains of the Baptistry of San Giovanni, the Duomo's treasury (small, but some gorgeous and historic stuff), and access--via elevator for most of the way, thank you--to the Duomo's terrace. Today and tomorrow should be lovely, with a few puffy clouds (if the weather man has hit it on the nose), so this is a good opportunity. E.20 (gulp..., but you do get a lot of bang for your buck)...here's the interesting bit: online payment only (http://www.duomomilano.it)...now how do they expect tourists to do that? Just in case, in the block of buildings behind the Duomo, with your back to the apse of the Duomo, just under the portico on the right hand side is the tourist office for the Duomo...try asking and paying there. Ya' never know.

Before we get to more fun stuff, a practical hint. Yes, Italian phone numbers are not consistently constituted of seven numbers...in the first place, the earliest phone numbers had only a few numbers, say four, because so few people had phones; when more people got phones, what to do?, they just added numbers...makes sense to me...then, a few years ago, it became obbligatory, even within the same town, to dial the city's dialing prefix, too, so just know that +39 is the country code and everything else after that has to be dialed, even if you're dialing from within the same city.

Now, back to the fun stuff!

Here's something I've been wanting to do, myself: take a boat trip along Milan's "Naviglio Grande" (Grand Canal...I have mentioned, before, that Milan once was criss-crossed by canals supplied with water from the nearby rivers, ancient highways...). These trips are available until the 18th of September, but don't keep putting it off, like I do each year, or the deadline will be upon you in a flash, and you'll have other plans that can't be delayed. Regular departure times, varying days, E.12. Contact the Navigli Lombardi, via Copernico, 42, tel. +39.02.66.79.131.

Golf fan? Happy to let your Significant Other patter about town, while you hit a few holes? Here are some of the many clubs located in and around Milan (golf club info taken from the June 2011 issue of Where Milan):

San Siro Golf: a new driving range located at the Ippodromo (horse-racing track...where the hypothetical reconstruction of Leonardo Da Vinci's horse is...remember?...I talked about that a few Photoless Fridays ago...) in Piazzale dello Sport, 12, tel. +39-02.4821.6293.

Castello di Tolcinasco Golf and Country Club: a 27-hole championship course located in Pieve Emanuele in the province of Milan. An exclusive golf club built around an old sixteenth century castle. tel. +39-02.9042.8035.

Golf Club Milano: here's a good one...a golf club called "Milan," but in the nearby city of Monza, a 27-hole course set within the Parco Reale (Royal Park). The facility was established in 1928, and is a CONI gold-star award winner for sporting achievements. tel. +39-039.30.30.81.

Golf Club Ambrosiano: an 18-hole course located in Bubbiano, also on the outskirts (or, as we say here with our Austrian background, the "hinterland") of Milan. This club is a "Kosaido European Tour" associate. tel. +39.02.9084.0820.

Golf Club Le Rovedine: an 18-hole course in Noverasco di Opera (also in the hinterland of Milan), tel. +39.02.5760.6420.

Molinetto Country Club: an 18-hole course in Cernusco sul Naviglio (also in the hinterland of Milan). On-site facilities include a swimming pool, restaurant and 14 (!) tennis courts, tel. +39.02.9210.5128.

Golf Crema Resort: a 27-hole course located in the (relatively) nearby city of Crema. A jewel of the lower Po river valley, Crema also has lots of historic art and architecture to offer, tel. +39.0373.23.13.57.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday (25)

2011-07-27T23:12:00.001+02:00

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Yeah! The worst is over (...for now...I'm such an optimist...)

2011-07-25T21:19:00.014+02:00

Whew! That was quite a long and intensive stretch of nonstop work.

I'm exhausted. Sent the draft of the translation to the author in the wee hours of the morning. She has to fill in some missing footnote citations, look it over, see if she has any questions, and then the final touches can be done.

In the meantime, here's...More......

...an architectural detail snapped at almost 4 P.M. on the 25th of April, 2011, on via Pagano for your personal, non-commercial enjoyment.

Very simple, Neo-Classical, but very balanced. Almost like a mantlepiece over a fireplace, it's a nice touch over a street level window to basement quarters.

Milan is a beautiful city, even in the details. Yes, it's got problems like any large metropolis. Yes, it's not Florence, or Rome, or Venice, but no other city is like these, so why does Milan have to be, in order to be beautiful?!

Milan has it's own kind of beauty: snippets of its ancient Roman past sprinkled like a bit of fresh rosemary, snippets of its ancient medieval past added like a hint of garlic, chunks of its Renaissance past like diced carrots (I love carrots!), while Baroque, Neo-Classical, Eclectic, Liberty, Novecento and modern elements liberally blend into a marvelous and varied hearty soup.

And there's always so much going on, I hardly know where to start telling you about it. Aside from the museum scene, more interesting to me, there are contemporary art galleries, music concerts from Gregorian chant to hard rock and anywhere inbetween, summertime fun, plays, activities for kids, and...yummy (really yummy) food (and ice cream).

All in a very do-able area: the historic downtown area inside and just barely outside the traces of the mid-sixteenth century (Spanish) walls, which, with the ancient Roman and medieval walls, have left their mark on the current urban state of the city. (The city even used to be criss-crossed by canals... sniff sniff... I wish they'd bring them back!)

From one side of the first circle of ancient Roman walls to the other (remember, Milan is structured like a wheel within a wheel), you can walk more or less briskly in about 35 minutes. Double that plus a smidgeon for the Spanish walls.

Furthermore, then public transportation is easy to use and handy.

And we're having marvelous weather (don't look now, but alternating waves of heat and rain are on the doorstep, though), so...

...what are you waiting for?

Come to Milan!

If this architectural fragment looks like just the frame for a needlepoint, or cross-stitch, that you're designing, it inspired today's "Milan Monday" on my needlepoint blog, Ars acupicturae stellae - Star's Needlepoint Art: http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2011/07/milan-monday-36-frame-for-your-own.html

Enjoy!

Still glorious weather in Milan...

2011-07-24T14:48:00.002+02:00

...still chained to my desk, working.... (sigh)

(see the last Wordless Wednesday...today is marvelously more o' the same)

Wordless Wednesday (24)

2011-07-20T17:14:00.001+02:00

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Photoless Friday (21): We've done "Milano Mese," now it's the turn of "Where Milan"

2011-07-15T13:36:00.014+02:00

Man, the work load ain't lettin' up...it's gettin' worse...so I'll have to be brief, but missed chatting with you, so here's another heads up for how to find fun stuff to do in Milan: "Where Milan"...More......

Whereas "Milano Mese," the pocket-sized font of the info of my recent posts on what to do in town, is more oriented to cultural activities of all sorts, for the locals and for visitors, "Where Milan" is magazine-sized, and is oriented more to visitors.

How is it possible to tell?

"Milano Mese" is set up by theme, yes, but also by closing dates (like a calendar in prose), and has activities of all sorts: exhibit and gallery openings and closings (personally, I wish they wouldn't mix the notices for museums--where stuff isn't for sale--and galleries--where stuff is for sale--...it's not good deontologically, and is confusing to boot), music for all tastes and hours of the day (or night), activities for kids, festivals of all kinds from folkloristic to you-name-it.

In addition to the above kinds of entertainment, "Where Milan" (http://www.wheremilan.com) also gives hints about (citing from their index): shopping, dining and essentials.

There's your clue: someone, who lives in Milan, may enjoy hunting up new places to eat and shop, but doesn't need a monthly reference guide for it. In addition, the layout is more...magazine-y, more eye-catching, and has short articles (or, at least article-y introductions to their info structured as little paragraphs, not name-date-place-cost lists). It helps being in a bigger format.

The July 2011 issue, for example, has bits on luxury shopping (the little maps to the Montenapoleone area have our museum, the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum--via Gesù 5--on it, yeah!!!) and...yumm!...gelato in Milan. At the back of the magazine is a map of the metro lines and a pretty darn detailed map of the heart of downtown (again, with our museum on it, yeah!!!).

Both "Milano Mese" and "Where Milan" are free and available in various obvious places around time (example: bookstores, hotel lobbies, the city's official info offices, museum lobbies, etc.).

Now, folks, as much as I love chatting with you, it's back to work for me! Have a good weekend! (But bring your umbrella...I saw the weather forecasts...today is GORGEOUS, but the clouds...and some cool air, Thank the Cosmos...is blowing in, just in time for the weekend, and should last 'til Monday, oh lucky us!, but after this recent spate of torrid heat and humidity, believe me, I'm not complaining about the rain!)

Summertime fun at the Idroscalo, Milan's large artifical lake

2011-07-11T08:52:00.007+02:00

People who do my kind of work (including translations and text revisions) get the worst loads dumped on them at this time of year (and just before Xmas) because everyone else is winding down for the summer.

Gotta run, but...More...

...didn't want to leave you without at least a quick hello to start out your work week, in honor of all the activities, including sandy fun, planned at Milan's artificial lake, the "Idroscalo" ("Water landing"), about which I wrote on Friday (among so many other things).

The "Idroscalo" got its name because it originally was intended for landing waterplanes: begun in 1928 in a giant hole in the ground (results of digging for gravel and sand) filled with water from an underground source (the outlet is a canale that dumps into the Lambro River), the first structures were built in 1935-36 by Gianluigi Giordani, enlarged in 1958-63 according to plans drawn up by Bittorio Gandolfi, and revised in the 1990s by Aldo Rossi.

Don't have any pictures of it, but if you'd like to needlepoint, or cross-stitch, something while you're enjoying the sun on its lawns and sandy beaches, here's something on my needlepoint blog, Ars acupicturae stellae - Star's Needlepoint blog: http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2011/07/milan-monday-35-summertime-waterside.html

Photoless Friday (20): What's on in Milan

2011-07-08T00:40:00.101+02:00

Whoosh, it's already Photoless Friday, again!, and it's another good' un'! Loads of great summertime stuff to do, and a lot of it free, and some of it about to close, so hurry up...More......

Let's start off with the stuff about to expire, then I'll list the stuff stretching out over the whole summer in Milan...so the next "What's on in Milan" messages can be dedicated only to the stuff getting ready to end (mostly art, just because that's what interests me the most).

Art your thing? Here are some of the things in Milan that look interesting to me (hence, you'll probably not find much--if anything at all--on modern/contemporary art), which are closing soon (remember that most museums are closed on Mondays):

Il teatro alla moda. Costume di scena. Grandi stilisti (Fashionable Theater. Event costumes. Great stylists). Closes: Sunday, 10 July. Palazzo Morando, via Sant'Andrea, 6. Tickets E. 8. Hours 9 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. For info: tel. +39.02.8846.5933, http://www.civicheraccoltestoriche.it.

L'anima di gomma (Rubber spirit)...should be about the nexus of aesthetic, technical aspects and fashion. Closes: 24 July. Triennale di Milano, viale Emilio Alemagna, 6. 10:30 A.M.-8:30 P.M. (Thursday/Friday until 11 P.M.) No entrance fee info listed, but could be a typo. For further information: +39.02.724.341.

Espressioni di Gio Ponti (Expressions of Gio Ponti). Closes: 24 July. Triennale di Milano, viale Emilio Alemagna, 6. 10:30 A.M. - 8:30 P.M. (Thursdays/Fridays until 11 P.M.). Entrance fee: E. 8. Thursday and Friday, from 7 P.M., entrance fee is E. 13, and includes Happy Hour at the Design Cafè. For information: +39.02.724.341.

Man Ray. Femmes e mode au Congo (Man Ray. Women and fashion in the Congo) [photographs]. Studio Marconi '65, via Tadino, 17. Closes 29 July. Hours: 10:30 A.M.-12:30 A.M., 3:30 P.M.-7 P.M. Free entrance. Closed Saturday and Sunday. For information: +39.02.295.11.297.

The Fifty Faces of Juliet [50 Man Ray photographs]. Closes 29 July. Fondazione Marconi, via Tadino, 15. 10:30 A.M.-12:30 A.M., 3:30 P.M.-7 P.M. Free entrance. Closed Saturday and Sunday. For information: +39.02.294.19.232.

Gio Ponti. Il fascino della ceramica (Gio Ponti. The allure of ceramics). Closes 31 July. Grattaceilo Pirelli, piazza Duca d'Aosta, 1. Hours: 3 P.M.-7 P.M. (Saturdays and Sundays: 10 A.M. - 7 P.M.). Entrance: free. For further information: +39-0541-787.681.

A Tribute to Photography. Primo Marella Gallery, 2. Viale Stelvio, 66. Closes: 31 July. No hours or entrance fee listed, but since it's a gallery, they might be expecting people to buy the works exhibited: forewarned is forearmed. For information. +39.02.8738.4885.

Like sports? On the Naviglio Grande (Grand Canal) there will be the Stranavigli on the 16th of July from 11 A.M. til 8 P.M. Described as a "creative water competition," it's a light-hearted competition dedicated to interesting kids in water sports and cementing good relationships between the various associations involved. Free admission, but signing up to the event is requested. For further info: +39.02.66.79.131, http://www.naviglilombardi.it.

Bike? In bici alla scoperta di Milano (Discovering Milan while riding bikes) proposes a "Milan: True and False" itinerary, departing from the Palazzo Reale, Piazza Duomo, 12 (no time given). Fee: E.1. For more info: http://www.ciclobby.it.

The World Championship of Wakeboard at Milan's artifical lake (which, itself, deserves a separate post) is coming up, rapidly. Though the Idroscalo is out of town, it's easy to get to (take the "73/" bus from Corso Europa, and get off the "tribune" entrance). Dates: July 12-17, 2011. Check out the official webside of the wakeboarding: http://www.federazionescinautico.com. the Idroscalo will host activities for different interests: public art garden, children's activities, music...

...for example, like to wallow in the Blues? (no pun intended, but it's a pretty good one) From the 20th to the 21st of July starting at 9:30 P.M. at the "Idroscalo," there will be Blues in Idro, jazz concerts free-of-charge once inside the Idroscalo area (thought I think you have to pay to get into the Idroscalo).

For more info about all the activities at the Idroscalo, see: http://www.idroscalo.info.

Music fan and can't get enough of jazz? International musicians play at the Milan Jazzin' Festival from the first of July (ahem) to the 6th of August at the Arena Civica Gianni Brera, viale G. Byron, 2. Entrance fee: (looks like it varies event to event). Begins at 9 P.M. For more information: http://www.fourone.it.

[Would someone please bring Mose Allison to Milan???!!! http://moseallison.com/]

Prefer classical music? The Milano Arte Musica: international festival of antique music has reached its fifth edition. It starts on the 20th of July, and ends on the 29th of August. Events begin at 8:30 P.M. and take place in different venues. Tickets are E. 10, on sale at the door at least 40 minutes prior to each concert; they may also be reserved: www.vivaticket.it. For more program information: http://www.lacappellamusicale.it, or call +39-02-7631.7176.

Prefer galavanting around after work? There also are Discovering Milan visits to the Last Supper and Santa Maria delle Grazie, to the Duomo and to the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio planned for the evenings, beginning at 7:30 P.M. or at 8:00 P.M. (please gather at least 15 mintues prior to departure time). Tickets cost E. 13, and prepayment and reservations are obbligatory. For information, tickets and reservations: Ad Artem, +39.02.659.7728.

Rather follow literature, cinema, science, arte, philosophy and...video games...(together with art and philosophy, go figure)? From the end of June (ahem) to the 12th of July, the "Lies and Truths" series of La Milanesiana 2011 is for you. Entrance is free, but only with reservations: +39.02.8738.7707, rsvp@fondazionecorriere.it, http://www.fondazionecorriere.it.

Want to get a bird's eye view of Milan?

There are two ways to do it: (1) from the terrace of the Duomo (up til the 24th of October, from 9 A.M. til 9 P.M. with elevator...which still leaves you with a flight of stairs, but only until 5:15 P.M. if you want to take the stairs all the way...are you nuts?!, E.5-8; for more info: http://www.duomomilanol.it); or (2) the Torre Branca (Branca Tower, til the 15th of October, via Camoens, Parco Sempione, hours are screwy, better check the web site: http://www.branca.it/it/mondo/torre-branca.asp, check it for the fee, too). Actually, come to think of it, there's a third way, too: I think the caffè at the top of the Pirelli tower (that tall white polygonal tower just in front of the Central train station) is open...that tower houses regional offices.

Notti magiche al Castello. Sotterranei serali (Magic nights at the castle. Nighttime visits to the underground tunnels). Possibile until the 15th of october. Fee: E. 10. Screwy hours here, too, but reservations are obbligatory, so call Ad Artem, +39.02.659.6937.

Naviga lungo i navigli di Leonardo (Navigate along the canals of Leonardo da Vinci). Navigli lombardi, via Copernico, 42. Fee: E. 12. Departure times: 10.15 A.M., 11.20 A.M., 12.25 A.M., 3 P.M., 4:05 P.M., 5:10 P.M., 6:15 P.M. For more info, check the site, or call: http://www.naviglilombardi.it, Autostradale: +39.02.339.10.794.

Feel like helping Italy celebrate its 150th anniversary? There's a concert (music written by Padre Davide da Bergamo) in honor of the Unification of Italy at the Duomo of Milan, in the piazza, starting at 7 P.M. on the 15th of July.

Wondering about that padre? How about some Giuseppe Verdi to honor the Unification, instead? I Lombardi alla prima crociata (The Lombards during the First Crusade) will be played on the "Salita alle Terrazze," piazza Duomo, also at 7 P.M. (Repeat performance: 18th of July at 9:30 P.M.) For more information about both of these two: http://www.duomomilano.it.

Stop! Stop! Stop! There's so much more music, in the churches and in various venues. Guess who's coming to town? ... Lou Reed, Afterhours, Chicago, George Benson, Take That, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, the Buena Vista Social Club, Duran Duran...all--except Take That (who'll play at the San Siro stadium, via dei Piccolomini, 5, fees: from E.36,80-92, 3:30 P.M., no telephone or web site given, so you'll have to hunt it up, yourself)--are at the Arena Civica (Civic Arena), viale G. Byron, 2, fees vary, for more information: http://www.fourone.it.

Want to combine music and art? At the Galleria d'Arte Moderna di Milano-GAM (Modern Art Gallery), via Palestro, 16, at 9:30 P.M. on the 22nd of July there will be the music of Verdi, Rossini and Bellini: Il canto degli italiani. Notturni in villa. Omaggio all'Italia (The Song of the Italians. Nighttime in the villa. Homage to Italy). Free admission. For more information: tel. +39.02.8912.2383, or http://www.amicidellamusicamilano.it.

Outdoor cinema, anyone? The annual summertime Arianto series has begun. Three venues, all starting at 9 P.M., fee: E. 6,50. For more information: tel. +39.02.659.7732, http://www.spaziocinema.info. (A WORD TO THE WISE: come slathered with anti-mosquito stuff.)

Craft and flea markets your thing? For starters, there's the Senigallia in the Porta Genova and surrounding areas every Saturday of July from 8 A.M. to 6 P.M.

Along the Martesana canal (Naviglio) there's another open-air vintage and craft market every first and third Sunday of the month. The next appointment in July is for the 17th, from 10 A.M. to 7 P.M. For info: http://www.elmercatelsulamartesana.it.

Thursdays in the area of Porta Genova there is the Ambrosiani antique and flea market from 7 A.M. to 3 P.M., for info call: 331.586.8336.

On the 17th of July, from 9 A.M. til 6 P.M., in via Fiori Chiari, via Madonnina, via Formentini there will be the Brera antique market, which takes place every third Sunday of the month. No further information given.

What, finally, to do with the kids?????

Here are a few good suggestions to finish off this list:

Pecci Playart&Drink: park the kids in workshops dedicated to music, while you treat yourself to an aperitif at the open bar, free for the kids...they don't say about the drinks! The hours are from 5:30 P.M. til 7 P.M. The days seem to be only every Monday til Monday the 25th of July. Museo Pecci Milano, Ripa di Porta Ticinese, 113. For more info: 0574.531.820.

Sforzinda, Sforza Castle, Piazza Castello. Games and activities to acquaint the families and kids (and not just the Milanese) with the castle. Closed Monday morning. Fee: E.1 per child; 6 activity booklet for E.5. Reservations are obbligatory: tel. +39.02.8846.3792, http://www.milanocastello.it.

Triennale Museum Kids, Triennale di Milano, viale Emilio Alemagna, 6. Workshops with special itineraries for kids through the museum's collections. Closed Mondays, the other days (though the info is a bit confused), it looks like the hours are from 10:30 A.M. to 11 P.M. Fee: E. 8. To check information: tel. +39.02.7243.4305, http://www.kids.triennaledesignmuseum.it/home.

MuseoEstate 2011, Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, via San Vittore, 21. Workshops, activities and guided tours for the whole family pretty much from 10 A.M. til 5 P.M. everyday esxcept Monday (some days even until 7 P.M.). Fee: E. 10. For more info: +39.02.48.555.1

And this is just a taste of what Milan has to offer, as listed in the Milanomese, see also http://www.visitamilano.it.

Whew! Typing all this took me so long, it's not Friday here, anymore, it's already after midnight, but I hope you'll forgive me, and...

Enjoy!

Photoless Friday (19): sensorial delights for a Friday afternoon

2011-07-01T00:03:00.054+02:00

At a loss for something to do with such a gorgeous Friday afternoon, as today promises?

Have I got some powerhouse suggestions for you for some wonderful gems known well, perhaps, only by a discerning few!...More......

Via Bagutta.

A little strip passing obliquely from Piazza San Babila towards via Manzoni...where it never arrives. It stops, instead, on via S. Andrea, home of the marvelous Civic Museum of Milan offering even centuries old painted views of the picturesque Milan of canals that is no more. The museum deserves its own post...that'll be for another day.

Today, we're first headed somewhere else that had piqued my interest each time I passed it, too much in a rush to get to work on time to even look properly in the windows.

Finally en route with a little bit of time to spare, I slipped into via Bagutta to walk calmly, not squashed by the crush of locals and tourists, at least in that short stretch parallelling the beginning both of Corso Matteotti (originally Corso del Littorale) and the famous via Montenapoleone...which is not just important for the high fashion readymade wear shops that have gobbled up the street. "Montenapo," as we locals call it, also deserves a post all its own...another day.

As I leisurely stepped along the paving stones, I felt a bubbling idea..."Wasn't there a...?," and, as soon as the idea jumped full-formed out of my head like Athena from the skull of Zeus, I was already at this place promising wonders: L'Artisan Parfumeur, via Bagutta, 8.

"Nomen omen" ('the name is a prediction'), I bet myself.

"Oh how marvelous, I wonder just how costly their tailor-made perfumes are? If you have to ask, you can't afford it. Oh, what the heck, I've got time, I've always wanted to stop in, and so just go for it."

Very glad I did.

First off, I learned that they don't do "tailor-made" perfumes, but their chain did start with a master perfume craftsman (setting up his own shop in the years after WWII, as I recall!), so the "artisan" part of the title still is apt and well-deserved.

And guess what?

The clerk was friendly (surprise of all surprises...in an Italian boutique of any type?! I'd go back just for that!) and helpful. He asked my scent preferences, then offered spritzes of them in little specially made paper cones set onto plexiglass stems so that--how fun!--to sniff them was like sipping champagne. (Very smart marketing tool, that.)

The two responding to my preferences are heavenly, the third, the first perfume created, is very nice, too, a bit like fresh clean delicate soap.

The shop is so chic, the experience, too, all so lovely, I almost didn't ask, but got up my courage for you. And you know what?

Their perfumes are only a tad more expensive than the other important large chain well known ones, so they're not out of reach, and would make a very neat treat for oneself, or an impressive gift for a female significant other (I forgot to ask if they have perfumes for men, too...stop in, ask, and let me know).

Very very much worth it.

Well, that was so satisfying, what could I possibly do, next, to top that?

"Top" is a bit strong, but there still are some fun things to come that at least equal it.

Just a few steps ahead, and if you plan right, you'll be able to have lunch at "Bagutta," one of Milan's famous culinary traditions: via Bagutta, 14. Very pleasant, very tasty, very authentic Milanese experience.

When you've finished eating and leave the restaurant, continue in the same general direction, and you'll get to another wonder: ladies' shoes so gorgeous, so expressive of fanciful yet good taste, consequently so hard on the budget, but so easy on the eyes.

Rene Caovilla di Venezia.

Couldn't see a street number, but you can't miss it at (or almost at) the corner of via Bagutta and via S. Andrea.

So, we've treated your eyes, mouth and nose to a little bit of heaven. What could possibly be left?

An excellent coffee (with, perhaps, a dessert...why not, just think of all the walking you've been doing) in yet another Milanese tradition, then stimuli for the eyes and mind.

COVA - Pasticceria-Confetteria (cake and sweets shop), founded in 1817 (that's just a couple of years after Waterloo, remember? What courage the founder of Cova must have had), via Montenapoleone, 8, at the corner of via S. Andrea, near to where via Bagutta deadends (did I forget to tell you to turn to the left onto via S. Andrea out of via Bagutta?).

After coffee, how can I resist?, why not continue a few more meters/yards on Montenapo, turn right onto via Gesù, and treat your eyes and mind to a visit of the museum where I work, the marvelous Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, one of Europe's most important and best preserved historic house museums (which is just a fancy way to say that it's a "time capsule" of the late 19th century, with the Italian Renaissance art and decorative arts collections not only intact, but--importantly--displayed as the brothers and collectors wanted them to be, so it's also a great place just to be nosy about how a newly aristocratic Milanese family lived then http://www.museobagattivalsecchi.org).

If, after seeing the museum, you want to head back down Montenapo to the San Babila stop of the red line, I'll say goodbye to you, now.

If you want to keep going down Montenapo in the direction of via Manzoni (this time, we'll get there), I have just one more thing to say: outlet big name brand shopping in a shop about two shops shy of via Manzoni. The percentages off sound pretty good...until you look at the starting price. Frankly, the prices still are ridiculously obscene for most of the stuff, whether of important fabrics and complex construction, or a simple light cotton with a bat wing sleeve (no tailoring there, just a couple of straight quick seams, and it's done). If you absolutely HAVE to have something from one of the big names, though, you'd might as well start here.

It's time for a quick pre-close reminder: I get no kickbacks, or perks, of any kind for mentioning any of these places.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday (23)

2011-06-29T18:35:00.001+02:00

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Wings to carry you through the new week: Pegasus

2011-06-27T07:50:00.012+02:00

Need some wings to carry you through the new week?

Here are some gorgeous ones in Milan...More......

...atop the Stazione Centrale, about which I've already written: http://mymilanitaly.blogspot.com/2011/05/more-lions-this-time-winged.html#0.

Two figures of Pegasus each with a monumental male figure, which remind one of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux), perch on the two upper outer corners of the station's façade. Getting a closer peek at it with my zoom makes me realize that, while the male figure obviously is Michelangelesque, the horse just might be inspired by another of Milan's wonderful sculptures: the equestrian monument of Bernabò Visconti (quite a character, quite a sculpture, both deserving of their own posts).

This is one of my favorite images in all of Milan. I snapped it with you in mind on the 23rd of May, 2011, at about 11:15 A.M.

If you'd like this image in a needlepoint/cross-stitch diagram, see my other blog: Ars acupicturae stellae - Star's Needlepoint Art: http://arsacupicturaestellae.blogspot.com/2011/06/milan-monday-34-wings-for-your-new-week.html

Enjoy!

Photoless Friday (18): What's happening in Milan?

2011-06-24T22:03:00.015+02:00

It's not creepy.

And they even call themselves an "open air museum": http://www.monumentale.net/eng/home.aspx.

The "Cimitero monumentale" ("Monumental Cemetery") in Milan was built...More...

...(then) outside of town in 1863-66 by Carlo Maciachini in a Lombard Romanesque-y Eclectic kind of style. Some of the monuments are by big name artists and architects.

Right now, poor thing, it's quite sacrificed by the construction work for the new metro stop that will be right in front of it. Don't know when that work will be over. For now, it's still easily reachable by getting off at the tram 14 stop in via Bramante almost to the piazza.

The large U-shaped structure heading the cemetery houses the "Famedio" (a place where illustrious people are buried, or remembered with plaques and statues, if they are buried elsewhere).

In the guards' office in the left wing of this "U," ask them for a map of the cemetery: (1) so you don't get lost, (2) so you'll have at least a few of the more important monuments pointed out to you. (More in-depth guides in the form of a paperback book are available for purchase, at least in bookstores...maybe there, too.)

Just inside the cemetery, there is a three-dimensional Mondrian-like sculpture designed in 1946 by the famous architectural firm BBPR (Belgioioso, Banfi, Peressuti, Rogers) in honor of one of their firm, who died in a concentration camp during WWII.

This "city of the dead" (necropolis) is laid out logically, and has three main sections: the largest central section contains the Catholic burials, on the right (facing the entrance) is the section dedicated to Jewish burials, while on the left is the section dedicated to other non-Catholic burials.

"Why, oh why is she talking about a cemetery, for Pete's sake??!?," I can hear you mumbling while performing whatever gesture your culture uses to ward off the Evil Eye.

Because in just a few days, on the 30th of June, end the tours focussing on the "Scapigliatura*" art works in the cemetery.

Guided tours are at 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. (closed Mondays).

Entrance is free. (Though I don't know if the guided tours are....)

For info, see their web site, and/or call: 02.8844.1274

I finally understood a lot about Milanese architecture and design after studying the monuments, here.

Maybe one day, I'll post a photo of my favorite monument, or two. Very touching.

*What's "Scapigliatura"? A movement-centered mostly in Milan-spanning various arts, in which the writers, poets and artists wanted to breathe a breath of fresh European air (Baudelaire, Rodin, et al.) into the Italian peninsula. Here are a few words on the British encyclopedia site, which just begin to present the subject, but the source is a trustworthy place to start: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/526627/scapigliatura.

Wordless Wednesday (22)

2011-06-22T21:59:00.004+02:00

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