Golden

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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)

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Black-and-White Milan

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.)

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

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

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!

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

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!

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