10 places to visit in Milan
10 places to visit in Milan
Milan all to visit
The Duomo
The Cathedral of Santa Maria Nascente represents the heart of the city of Milan and boasts more than 4 million visitors a year. It stands in the central square of the same name, a hub for most of Milan's tourist attractions and generally assumed to be the starting point for sightseeing. The Duomo represents a precious testimony of Lombard-Gothic style even though the construction of the cathedral spanned more than 5 centuries.
The Castello Sforzesco
The Castello Sforzesco present since the 14th century in Milan, was founded as a defensive military fortress and later became the home of illustrious figures. Today it is an important cultural and museum center of the city, in fact it houses the Museum of Ancient Art, with the section dedicated to Michelangelo's Pietà Rondanini, the Museum of Musical Instruments, the Prehistoric Museum and the Egyptian Museum. It is also a major tourist attraction in Milan for those seeking a moment of relaxation, by virtue of the presence behind it of the beautiful Sempione Park.
The Brera Art Gallery
Napoleon Bonaparte, whose bronze statue dominates the palace courtyard before the entrance, used this former Jesuit college as a repository for the many works of art confiscated around northern Italy. It was a form of state collecting that brought together some of the greatest masterpieces of Renaissance art, such as Giovanni Bellini's Pietà, Andrea Mantegna's Dead Christ, Raphael's The Marriage of the Virgin, and Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus, to name a few.
The collection, with hundreds of paintings from the Middle Ages to modernity, also hosts significant contributions from Flemish art, not to mention some of the best interpreters of Italian painting at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Pinacoteca is located in the large Brera Palace together with the Braidense National Library, the Brera Observatory, the Botanical Garden, the Lombard Institute of Science and Letters, and the Academy of Fine Arts.
Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery
Designed in 1865 by architect Giuseppe Mengoni, it is a veritable "shopping mall" housing the most famous fashion houses, alongside historic cafes and modern fast food chains. The Galleria connects Piazza del Duomo with Piazza della Scala and features a neoclassical design with a large glass and iron dome in the center that allows natural light to filter into the gallery, creating a bright and welcoming atmosphere for visitors.
In addition, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is an important cultural landmark in Milan, with events and exhibitions regularly hosted inside.
The Navigli
Established in ancient times to form an irrigation system connecting the lakes of Lombardy to the capital city, today they have become an important tourist attraction, a symbol of Milan's nightlife: one of the most characteristic spots not to be missed. The Naviglio Grande, passes through villages such as Gaggiano and Trezzano and approaches the Darsena, passing Milanese symbols such as the church of San Cristoforo sul Naviglio. Reaching the movida area, among antique stores, restaurants in and the latest fashionable bars, one can also glimpse the famous alley of the washerwomen: a piece of Milanese history that is still immortalized in photos of all kinds.
The Naviglio Pavese, on the other hand, passes through less typical but still valuable villages that conceal very old houses. The waterway passes through the Conca del Naviglio, the oldest lock in Milan and perhaps in Europe. The Navigli can be visited on boats that follow the route once taken by the barges that supplied old Milan with all goods.
The Museum of the Twentieth Century
For fans of 20th-century art, Palazzo dell'Arengario is a must-see stop on a visit to Milan. The building is a stone's throw from the Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and houses one of the most important collections of Italian art of the last century with great emphasis on works by Marinetti, Boccioni and Balla along with other exponents of Futurism.
The exhibition also brings together other national and international artists, including Picasso, Klee, Kandinsky, De Chirico, Modigliani, Fontana, and Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo. In addition to works of art from the 20th century, the museum hosts many contemporary exhibitions, tours, and interactive workshops.