Friday 16th June 2023

Piazza Del Duomo: Duomo Di Milano: Piazza Mercanti: Duomo Museum:

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele ΙΙ:Mille Miglia Parade

Following Google maps, we soon found ourselves close to the Piazza Del Duomo. Turning a corner we spotted some of the towering gothic steeples of the Duomo Di Milano, Milan’s most famous cathedral. As is often the case with historic buildings, it is an ongoing battle to preserve it and scaffolding clung to some of its walls.

This incredible building took 600 years to construct, it was completed in 1965.

After purchasing combined tickets to enable us to visit the Duomo’s interior, rooftops, museum and Church of San Gottardo, we followed the signs to take us to the roof.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was fascinating to see the gothic spires up close, the stone curls of the supports and the many stone staircases. Numerous statues and gargoyles stand on pinnacles and protrude from the walls of the Duomo.

From the rooftops, you can see the city of Milan. In complete contrast to this gothic masterpiece, the view is of ultra modern shaped buildings, high rise apartments and luxury hotels with rooftop gardens.

A stone staircase led us from the rooftops down into the cathedral’s interior with its multicoloured stained glass windows and imposing stone pillars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sipping take away coffees, we sat on some steps at the base of the statue of King Victor Emanuel ΙΙ  and gazed at the magnificent facade of the Duomo.

Its huge doors have carvings depicting various biblical scenes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were a few sports cars and classic cars in the Piazza Del Duomo along with a couple of trading stands and large billboards.  They were advertising MIMO, the ‘Milan Monza Motor Show’.

Apparently this evening many classic cars will arrive and parade around the square. The motor show will continue tomorrow at Monza, Italy’s Grand Prix Circuit, there will be an opportunity for members of the public to test drive new cars on the famous circuit.

Searching for the San Gottardo Church, we eventually learnt that its entrance was through the museum.  As the museum had a long queue we decided to visit San Maurizio Al Monastero Maggiore.

The walk to the monastery took us past some interesting and ornate buildings and through some impressive squares.  However, when we arrived, a sign on the door informed us that it was closed due to a public transport strike.  Public transport appeared to be running so I did wonder how long the notice had been there…

The Piazza Mercanti has the best example of preserved medieval architecture in the city.

A row of stone carved coats of arms decorate one of the buildings.

 

 

 

The queue for the museum had disappeared and we could now walk straight in.  We rarely visit museums but we were quite impressed with this one.

The Duomo museum holds the original statues and stained glass panels from between the 14th and 16th centuries.

All the museums exhibits have been replicated and these are in place in the Duomo.

However, the church of San Gottardo was not at all what we expected.  But if we hadn’t gone in search of it, we would not have seen the original Duomo sculptures etc.

Back into the huge Duomo Square, we walked through the imposing archway of the ‘Galleria Vittorio Emanuele ΙΙ’. This shopping arcade, built in the 1800’s is Italy’s oldest shopping arcade.

For some shoppers it would be a dream come true with names like Chanel, Prada and Versace above the doors. However, for us, we were there to admire the architecture.  Its grand glass and iron vaulted roof is very impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We enjoyed a rather late lunch of pizza and salad at a restaurant that boasted to be run by one of Milan’s oldest pizza making families.

Back in the famous square around 5pm, there were the first arrivals of the cars in the Mille Miglia Car Rally.  This annual car rally takes place in Northern Italy and covers 1000 Roman miles.

Super new and modern sports cars compete with sixty-year-old plus Bugattis, Alfa Romeos, Fiats and many others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was fascinating watching the cars parading around the square and arriving on the podium, a few of which had to be pushed up the steep ramp. The drivers handed their card to a marshal who stamped it and their arrival was then announced on a loudspeaker.

The rally is a gruelling 4 day drive and the classic car enthusiasts pay over 15,000 Euro to enter the prestigious rally. Over 400 cars entered this year. Many of the cars had flags on the doors, showing the teams nationality; some also had their names and sponsors.

There were all male teams, all female teams and couples competing. Goggles and helmets had been discarded for the parade around the square, many of which were attached somehow to the car bonnets.

Many of the crews appeared to be quite exhausted; no doubt they were looking forward to a cold beer and dinner followed by a good night’s sleep.  Much of the driving would have been quite demanding with no power steering and no synchromesh of gears, in addition to this many of the vehicles were tiny and long legs would have been cramped.

Deciding it was time for dinner we set off back in the direction of our accommodation. There was a lovely atmosphere, buskers were playing music along one of the long streets, a duo played electric pianos.

We ate at a small traditional trattoria with red and white checked table cloths. The paper placemats showed a map of Italy, with names of, not places but wines and their geographical origins.

After a delicious meal, we returned to our accommodation.

 

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