FAI on you! And some sirens, too.

Can't resist a good pun, and this weekend in Italy it's "FAI" weekend...Fondo Ambiente Italiano, which means the fund for the Italian environment...but they take care of not just gardens and wetlands, but lots of important historic buildings and collections, too....More......

Every spring, FAI sponsors a weekend of Open Days (link only in Italian, I fear) for some of their own properties and properties that aren't theirs. Find something open in a city near you and just show up. If you're a member, you get to stand in the fast lane to get in. If you're not a member...become one! It costs really very little (something like E. 45 a year) to make a small, but important contribution to preserving Italy's patrimony.

And in these days of crumbling walls at Pompeii, the topic couldn't be timelier.

I took this snap of the 1782 fountain of the sirens that Piermarini's favorite sculptor, Giuseppe Franchi, installed in front of the architect's new façade for the archbishop's mansion. The piazza, right behind the Duomo, is now called "Piazza della Fontana" (Fountain Piazza). The lovely sculpture was just cleaned.

If you're in Milan for the StraMilano marathon tomorrow morning, Sunday, March 24, why not swing by to see it?

I took this snap just a few days ago for your personal non-commercial pleasure.

Enjoy!

When life hands you lemons...

...take pictures!

Friday there was a national strike of local public transportation. Of course,...More......

...I had a late evening course to follow that was supposed to finish at 10 P.M. But, not to be totally grumpy, it wasn't raining and the temps weren't bitter, so, armed with my camera, I snapped my way to work with a lovely blue and sunny winter sky and, skipping out a bit early, then home in the dark.

First stop was Piazza della Scala. Why are pictures of other people taking pictures so much fun!? (O.K., so it isn't Ansel Adams, but I'm still working my way toward black-and-white photography.)

Known today as the Armani building, this simple building, a lovely balance between modernism and a touch of traditional decoration in the form of a relief, was planned in the Novecento style as a multi-purpose building by Enrico Agostino Griffini in 1937-38, but only built right after WWII in 1947-48. The dark glass upper floor was added by Armani around 2010, and is a good example of a well-integrated addition, in my opinion.

Front and...

...back of the monument by Aldo Rossi (1990) dedicated to Milan's first post-WWII mayor and later President of the Republic, Sandro Pertini. The monument was recently cleaned, and the stone's natural tones have come out, creating a delightful and mystifying variegated surface where once there was just chalky white. With its original tones, the monument, rather large for the small piazza Croce Rossa, seems less overwhelming, and fits better into the space. ("Faces in Places" fans will appreciate the back view, in particular).

A few tourists enjoy the lovely courtyard of the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum where I work in the afternoon.

Work and the class over, it was time to walk the long road home. Though a few trams and busses did pass in both directions, nothing was helpful for me, so with the company of the camera I began my trudge by snapping this shot of the AEM (electrical company) building in Corso di Porta Vittoria, 4. It has long fascinated me, and I have searched for info on it. In your honor, I got lucky! The official website of the Region of Lombardy has information cards on a lot of the region's cultural patrimony. Here's the info (in Italian) for this building by Antonio Cassi Ramelli, 1947-1948, a post-WWII reconstruction of a 15th century building (once home to the Pio Albergo Trivulzio) severely damaged during the bombing raids. I find the recessed glass and metal cage of the door an absolutely enchanting and fascinating space.

Weird light on the Piazza della Fontana fountain designed by the famous Giuseppe Piermarini and executed in 1782 by his favorite sculptor, Giuseppe Franchi (the first responsible for the design of La Scala and the relief in the building's pediment, the second responsible also for the execution of the opera house's relief).

The apse, the oldest part of the Duomo, begun in 1386.

The façade of the Duomo, finally completed in the Neo-Gothic style by Carlo Amati in 1813 (the blue blur was a lucky break: a police car shot by as I was snapping some pics, so I was careful to get it, too.)

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele with the barely visible blur of a biker in the right hand corner. This covered street connecting the piazza of the Duomo to the street towards the then new central train station planned for where Piazza della Repubblica now lies was first decided just prior to the successful revolution ousting the Austrians, and was to be called in honor of the reigning Austro-Hungarian emperor, Franz Joseph. The successful Unification of Italy beginning in 1861 (the same year as the architectural competition for the building) gave a whole new meaning to this ambitious project renamed after the new country's first king. The project chosen in 1864 was by Giuseppe Mengoni, who fell to his death in 1877, perhaps not entirely accidentally, from heights in the structure after heavy criticism. The building had been opened in 1867, but the triumphal arch of the façade seen in this picture was only completed a year after his death.

Hopefuls waiting for taxis at the far end of the Duomo's piazza.

The Broletto (Palazzo della Ragione) by night. Perpendicular to the ancient Roman cardo massimo departing from the area of the nearby church, San Sepolcro, this market (open air arches) and town hall (structure above) was constructed by the podestà, a "foreigner" (from another city-state) entrusted with broad powers for a year, Oldrado da Tresseno. The original structure went up to the cornice line, and had a peaked beam-supported roof, replaced by masonry arches under Maria Theresa of Austria in 1771-1773 when the upper floor with oval windows was added. The building continued to function as the city's town hall for a few more years, until the function was moved to an area in the nearby street still called via Broletto. (Why "Broletto"? After all, doesn't that mean, "little garden/orchard"? Yes, it does, and it comes from the habit that arose in the Carolingian epoch of the arch-bishops, in charge of civic government on behalf of the Frankish rulers, of holding civic meetings in the garden of the nearby episcopal palace, partially transformed over the centuries into the royal palace we know today.)

Still more hopefuls at the tram stop in Piazza Cordusio (looking down toward the Sforza Castle). No action, though, so I kept on trudging.

Garibaldi, himself recently restored, watches over the surprisingly quiet night from a piazza near the Sforza Castle. (Artist: Ettore Ximenes, 1895)

Claes Oldenburg's very recently restored "Needle" (1999-2000) in front of the Cadorna train station.

A cruel scene in via Monti for little famished exhausted me, but by then I was almost home.

Thank you Mr. and Ms. Tram Driver. I got almost 2 hours of more exercise than usual. (If dripping sarcasm were honey, we'd be eating baclava.)

More Milanese holiday time fun

First, tea with one very nice friend, then off for a long walk with another.

We started with roses......More......

...passed through Piazza Fontana ("Fountain Piazza")...

...past the Duomo at twilight...

...through Piazza Cordusio...

...with the sculpture dedicated to Abbot Parini (see the preceding link for info)...

...down via Dante...

...past the American Bookstore in Piazza Cairoli, where I took the metro to the...

...Cadorna train station (from which also leaves the...

...Malpensa Express for the airport of the same name), and got lucky!

Road work deviated the tram I needed for home right past the station.

Two whole hours of walking, chatting, fresh air and lovely weather with just a bit of a sit-down.

Thanks for coming along!

A day of my own...

With apologies to Virginia Wolfe--though she might have approved, since it's about temporal, rather than physical, space--I am luxuriating in the prospect of a day all to myself. No work that can't be put off comfortably (at least until tomorrow),...More......

...no Christmas phone calls or dinners (though both pleasant),...

...shopping all done, gifts unwrapped and enjoyed...

...the rain and an incipient cold may help keep me at home, the idea for a present for a friend itching me to get out the sewing machine, oodles of fun books to read that have backed up over the months, "Downton Abbey" scheduled for this evening, and--I am so grateful--a quiet warm clean house with a full fridge in which to do it all, including writing to you. Missin' ya!

The rush of preceding days over, the city seemed almost ghostly.

Santa has come and gone.

There'll still be time to enjoy the lights in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele,...

...the piazza of the Duomo...

...and the city's Christmas tree (in this year of austerity, offered freely to the city by a brand of watches).

Have you ever tried Campari, a traditional Milanese aperitif? It's a bit sweet and bitter, and better yet with a slice of fresh orange.

Maybe we could ring in the New Year over a glass in the historic cafè where the drink was invented.

Enjoy!

(All snaps are mine and are recent, shot for sharing Milan's holiday spirit with you for your personal non-commercial pleasure...Merry Christmas!)

More Christmas concerts in Milan's beautiful Duomo: December 16

I do love classical music, don't you? (I'm even more partial to opera, but that's beside the point.)

If you do, too, here's another Christmas-time opportunity in Milan's beautiful Duomo...More......

At 7 P.M., right after the church service, there will be a concert.

The info, available on the Duomo's page in English (yeah!) even contains the music program!

Entrance is free, but--here's one of my soapboxes, again!--if you're visiting the church like a concert hall or a museum, and not to pray, please find and donate generously to the box labelled "restauri"...it's for the church's restoration and maintenance, and the poor Duomo does need a great deal of help in that area.

As long as I'm mentioning it, on the same official website there is information about how to buy contemporary art to favor the Duomo's restoration and how to donate for the restoration of a specific pinnacle.

Enjoy!

December 12, Rotary International concert in Milan's Duomo

...

Like concert-style music? Like Milan's beautiful Duomo? Like Christmas? Why, my dear, you're in luck!More...

The evening of December 12 at 8:30 P.M. there will be a Christmas concert in Milan's beautiful Duomo.

Nothing more is said, even on the (Italian only) official Rotary website, but I imagine that there will be an offering plate passed around to help some charity, maybe even the Duomo, itself, yeah!

That reminds me...when you go into a Catholic church in Italy...if you go to look at it as an architectural and artistic wonder, you're entering just like a tourist in a museum, so--aside from being respectful of the place (that's the mother in me talking)--look for and donate generously to the box labeled "restauri"...it's for the restoration and maintenance of the church and its holdings.

Enjoy!

Blue snails for the Duomo's Madonna

From the 8th to the 13th of October, it will be possible to see the blue plastic snails (about knee-high, it seems) placed around on the top of the Duomo. After that date, these pieces of contemporary art will be sold in order to fund, at least partially, urgent restoration work on the Duomo's characteristic and much beloved Madonna sculpture on the tallest spire.

Want more info? Here's the official page on the Duomo's site...in English! (Yeah!)

Enjoy!

Glorious Milan...and a hint for your Sunday

Milan is soooo gorgeous right now! With crisp sunny days and clear blue skies, this early fall weather is my absolute favorite. The sun is still warm enough, unlike feeble early spring, yet the cool air makes everything frizzy.

So, while you're planning your marvelous weekend in Milan...More......(I just checked the CNN weather pages for you, Milan should be just like this all weekend, yeah!), here's a hint: plan to use public transportation on Sunday.

There will be a traffic block from 10 A.M. to 6 P.M.

Instead of complaining about it, as so many Milanese do, why not see it as an opportunity to relax, and enjoy the city, family and friends?!

After all, as Marcus Aurelius would say, "It's only what you make of it!"

Enjoy!

(I snapped this photo for your personal non-commercial enjoyment while in the Piazza of the Duomo on the 8th of April around 3 P.M., but the weather is just the same these days, and in the flurry of back-to-work after vacation, I haven't had much walking time with my camera, yet....here's hopin'!)

Oh gosh, Dome it! Charity events for the restoration of Milan's Duomo

Yikes! The centuries-old pinnacles and central tower of Milan's Duomo are at risk of collapse!

While the pinnacles of this particular church, unlike those usually seen on a medieval church, are not particularly helpful for the stability of the church, the central tower over the crossing of the nave and the transept is...and it is becoming unstable. Help!...More......

The Duomo, begun at the end of the 14th century, is very sensitive to shifts in the underlying earth, and everyday maintenance, let alone extraordinary restoration and repairs, cost an enormous humongous cosmically-sized bundle o' cash, so there are charity events planned to raise these emergency funds.

One looks particularly intriguing to me.

On Monday, the 2nd of July, at 8:45 P.M. they are holding Ildebrando Pizzetti's opera, "Assassination in the Dome" (Assassinio nel Duomo, in Italian) inside the Duomo!

Ticket prices are very reasonable, and range from E. 10 to E. 50 for this extraordinary event.

If opera isn't up your alley, and you'd like to enjoy the twinkling gems of Milan's lights at night from the open-air terrace on the roof of the Duomo, there will be a prose version a few nights later at 9:30 P.M. on the 5th of July.

For more info and tickets, see their web site (in English, yeah!): http://www.duomomilano.it/?lang=en.

This is as good a place as any, as people start filtering into Milan for vacation, to remind you that, when you go into a church as a tourist, PLEASE scour the inside of the place until you find their donation box marked "Per il restauro della chiesa" ("For the restoration of the church"). These funds are used for restoration and even everyday maintenance. You're there enjoying the cleanly swept floors and general electric lighting, after all. Be a sport. Contribute.

I took this photo on the 19th of June, 2006, at about 2:45 P.M.

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

;>

Cezanne's first time in Milan

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!

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

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!

A lovely Sunday in Milan: here my are!

What gorgeous (rapidly) hot and clear weather we had, today. Not a cloud in the BLUE sky. My desk is full of work and my calendar is full of deadlines, but I couldn't resist. Work and bad weather have been keeping me trapped inside for donkey's years, so, camera in hand, off I went right after lunch, and got back at almost 8 P.M., with plenty of light still reigning. Too hard to pick just a couple of photos, so I thought I'd take you along with me on my walk...More......



After finishing something long and enriching, I remembered that there is an odd thought-provoking sculpture in front of the provincial government building, so I decided to try my luck with the lighting. Got off the public transportation near the Duomo (couldn't resist the shot, though I have gazillions of them), and headed off back behind it.



The "promo" sculpture for the Paladino show at the Palazzo Reale (unfortunately) is still in situ.












Passed by the 16th century police headquarters, today the seat for the "Vigili" (street police). I've got an idea about how to talk about this in the future, so I won't spill my beans, here. I actually had wanted to check out the lighting on the sculpture of Cesare Beccaria in the piazza just out of sight to the left, but it already was covered in shade, so I didn't bother. I STILL don't have a decent photo of that sculpture. sigh. This author wrote his famous and influential "Of Crimes and Punishment" in the mid-eighteenth century, already against capital punishment. Amazing foresight.



"What's so special about this?," you ask. Apart from being a good back-side shot of the "curtain" of rather blecky (in my opinion) post-WWII architecture...perhaps by Caccia Dominioni, perhaps by Magistretti...on Corso Europa (the front side's no better), look more carefully at the bottom left...there's a fragment of the ancient Roman baths that used to be in this very spot. Out of sight just to the right is a little ancient church. Bits and pieces of antiquity peeking up like grass through modern tarmac. I love it.






Now we're already in Piazza San Babila (where rivers used to go under the ancient Roman walls) looking at Ponti's post-WWII building.















Still in Piazza San Babila looking at...San Babila. An Early Christian church, redone over and over and over again throughout the centuries till there's not much left of the real McCoy (the façade is late 19th century and the bell tower is from the 1930s!).






On Corso Monforte at the corner of via Conservatorio, an explosion of revived Art Nouveau mixed with Lombard Baroque by Alfredo Campanini...my handy dandy "Touring" guide to Milan gives the date of 1911, but the building bears the date of 1923, and it would be a bit odd to put the date on the building twelve years after it was constructed...maybe it was DESIGNED in 1911, but FINISHED in 1923. Oh man, another conundrum to follow up on...




...Conundrum, or not, its putti were too adorable to resist. Are you tired, yet? Courage! We're almost to the originally planned destination!










Tah dah!...Today's goal: the 2008 sculpture called "L'Uomo della luce" ("The man of light") by Bernardi Roig in honor of all victims of terrorism (of which Milan saw quite a bit in the years following the university student and left-leaning uprisings in 1968). This life-sized sculpture is located in the little piazza in front of the Via Vivaio entrance added by Giovanni Muzio (1940 ca.) to the provincial government offices in the adjacent historic structure (worth its own later post) on Corso Monforte. The first time I saw this sculpture, we passed it at night, and it scared me because I thought it was a real and crazy person with lights doing some kind of insane tight rope act, or thievery.



Not particularly "pretty" (though contemporary art doesn't really try, anymore, does it...another sigh...), and certainly getting pretty dirty, but maybe that was part of the artist's plan to emphasize the tough burden of trying to bring light to a hopelessly dark situation, soon doomed to failure (why? note that the beam on which the figure is walking ends abruptly). At first I thought it was a temporary installation, but it's been there for a few years, so I guess it's there to stay. Activates the piazza in a thought-provoking way. Just a few steps further down, something else thought-provoking caught my eye.


Had kept on going down via Vivaio, passed two panels of low relief art on this part of the province's seat that had just been completed and inaugurated prior to the worst of the WWII bombing raids in 1943 by US and UK planes smashing bits of this very building (and at least 25% of the city of Milan) into smithereens (what rotten luck, but if you play with fire...). Snapped a few shots, and keen looking from the other side of the fence rewarded me with the name of the artist faintly chiseled into the lower right of this one: Ivo Soli. Was just about to move on when, "Wait a minute.... Is that...? Could it be...? Yes, it is!"





Not just "damnatio memoriae," but literally rewriting history. Now reading "Italian laws entrust to the provincial government the task of the care of motherhood and childhood," if you look closely enough, the word "Italian" is an inserted bit of stone. The rest of the plaque is still whole. I'll bet you a cappuccino that it originally said "Fascist" (both ending here with the plural feminine "e"). There are instances of this all over town. Sometimes it takes the right light to see it because all that's left are the faintest of scratches, or darkenings, where the Fascist symbols and dating system used to be. Maybe I'll go into that another day, as that's a whole other can o' worms.




Still in via Vivaio, I passed the Istituto dei Ciechi (Institute for the Blind), where there is the possibility to immerse oneself, even if only temporarily, in a simulation of what it must be like to be blind: cocktails, dinner, business meetings and special events in the pitch black. I've heard it's an amazing experience, though it sounds a bit scary for me, but you might want to try it. Groups (in Italian, I imagine) are available: 02.7639.4478, http://www.dialogonelbuio.org.







At the end of via Vivaio, on the corner of via Cappuccino, there is the fascinating Berri-Merigalli building by Arata (1911-1914). It's...
















...fascinatingly ghoulish and Neo-Romanesque.















On to viale Piave and what could be a remaining nibble of the Spanish Walls (begun in the mid-16th century, they encircled Milan until they were torn down as useless in the period of peace under the Austrian Hapsburgs at the end of the 18th century...the city was less defensible, but it was also less able to defend itself against the Hapsburgs without its walls...they were some smart cookies). A few steps ahead, and...



...here we are at Porta Venezia (because the street led to Venice). The gate and the taxman offices in the old Spanish walls HAD been, but were no more because the walls had been torn down, remember? Piermarini had started to build (but never finished) symbolic gates for the tax men, so the crumbling half-built pair of structures was torn down and replaced in 1827-38 by Vantini (this is the one on the left, with your back to the center of town). From here, it was quite a hike under the hot sun past the public gardens commissioned by the Hapsburgs from Piermarini for the city in areas confiscated from monasteries.



Finally having arrived in Piazza Republica, at the end where the train station USED to be (until it was moved farther down a bit, and is now the Stazione Centrale), here's a snap of some of the post-WWII buildings that went up in the area. I shot this just before I collapsed on the bus for home.



Are you as tired as I am? It was a lovely day, though, so I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.