| Travel to Milan to discover the
‘alternative’ Italy, for the city embodies everything that is
chic and sophisticated in Italian culture, far removed from
quaint Tuscan villages or warbling gondoliers. Milan is the home
of haute couture and haute cuisine, world-class shopping,
supreme opera, sleek skyscrapers, tasteful galleries and museums,
and spacious piazzas. A holiday in Milan is a stylish experience.
Mid-summer is stifling hot and humid in the
city and most locals head for the lakes at this time of year.
The best time to holiday in Milan is in early summer, or early
autumn, when the weather is warm and sunny. Winters are very
chilly, wet and foggy.
Fashion fundis, shopaholics, opera
lovers and anyone who enjoys the finer things in life (and can
afford to pay for them) will revel in a holiday in Milan. Art
lovers are also drawn to travel to Milan to see the treasures
stored in its leading galleries, but the piece de resistance,
da Vinci’s The Last Supper fresco, is in the refectory of the
Santa Maria delle Grazie.
Sophistication reaches new levels in
Milan. The financial and commercial centre of Italy attracts
fashion fundis, opera lovers, the young, the beautiful and the
bold. Shopping, eating and clubbing is serious business here and
it is no surprise that the city boasts the world’s most
beautiful shopping mall, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.
Equally vying for admiration are the Milanese icons of La Scala
Theatre (Teatro della Scala) and the Gothic Duomo, one of the
world’s largest churches.
Milan’s frenetic pace surges ahead in
its drive towards progress, forsaking the lengthy siestas
enjoyed in other parts of the country. The city’s urban
tentacles stretch for miles, although the significant historical
attractions are contained between the two landmark sites - the
Duomo and the Sforzesco Castle. These reside within the inner
loop of the city’s concentric design, which is split into four
squares: Piazza Duomo, Piazza Cairoli, Piazza Cordusio and
Piazza san Babila. The modern civic centre lies to the northwest,
around Mussolini’s colossal train station built in 1931. The
area around here is dominated by a skyline of skyscrapers from
which the sleek Pirelli Tower emerges. The Fiera district that
stretches around Porta Genova station is the nub for trade and
fashion fairs. |
