Wireless Schizy in Milan

Well, it's been really difficult posting to this blog here in Milan. The wireless service here really varies in how well it works. While I can almost always get e-mail and look around on the Internet, anything sustained -- like trying to post on the blog (especially photos) -- gets interrupted. As a result, I'll have to wait to get back to France to put up photos. Sorry!

Meanwhile, here's the account of yesterday's adventures that I've just now been able to post:


Today (written Friday, 11/4) certainly had its ups and downs in Milan, but on the whole I really was able to see quite a lot – and walked quite a lot in the process! I have a really large-scale map of Milan (one for Paris that I’ve been using, too) which makes getting lost essentially impossible, but the good thing about all of these old European towns is that they’re circular and always have one major street or streets as a north/south axis and another major street or streets as an east/west axis – so eventually, no matter where you wind around the circle, you’ll eventually end up back on one of the major axes and you know where you’re heading!

Anyway, I headed out early today because I wanted to see Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” and my guidebooks all say there are always huge lines, even early in the morning (because they only let in 25 people at a time and then they have 15 minutes, and then the next group). The book I brought with me said it opens at 8:00 a.m., so I ran up to Centrale and took a Metro down to the area where Santa Maria della Grazie is (the church and old Dominican convent with which the da Vinci work is associated) and was the second person in line. Come 8:10 (the sign there said they open at 8:15) the doors opened – and guess what the book didn’t tell me: You’ve got to have a reservation. And they were sold out and there was no way I was going in. And this is Friday, so what do you think my chances would be for a Saturday or Sunday?

So, no “Last Supper,” but the old church itself was quite nice. Its dome was designed by another famous Italian artist, Bramante. Which makes you wonder how this little old convent church rated both da Vinci and Bramante. Well, that’s because Ludovico Sforza, the duke of Milan at the time, was planning on making that church his family mausoleum. That never came to pass, though, because, two years after da Vinci painted his “Last Supper,” Sforza ended up being beaten in battle and ended up in a French dungeon until he died eight years later...

Of course, not much else in Milan is open as early as 8:00 a.m. except churches, so I pulled out my map to find out where the next major church site was. This turned out to be the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio (St. Ambrose) – which was fantastic! I’m so glad I went that way. This old, old church in the Romanesque style (early middle ages) dates back to 387 AD (well, parts of it) and was actually consecrated as a church by St. Ambrose himself. It’s just great. The walls of its front courtyard are filled with old carved stones, pieces of columns, gravestones and all sorts of antique pieces as you walk to the entry to the basilica, and then the church itself is great. In the crypt of the church are actually the remains of St. Ambrose himself, laid to rest between two martyr saints who were actually long gone even by Ambrose’s time and whose remains Ambrose had moved into the church! The Chapel of St. Victor off to the side of the church still remains from the 4th century.

Sant’Ambrogio has two towers, one for its monks and one for its canons (non-monastic clergy attached to a cathedral). Apparently at one point about the 11th century, the monks and the canons had some sort of falling-out and there’s a little bitty church sitting right next to the basilica where apparently the canons ended up being “banished.” Too cool!

About this point, it still being early, I had a croissant and another of those great double espressos at a sidewalk café somewhere along the way.

The next stop was the church of San Lorenzo Maggiore. San Lorenzo has 16 old Roman columns out in front of it in its piazza, which certainly have a striking effect. There’s also a statue of some Roman emperor (the inscription is long gone) out in front. The church itself is another great old church also with a 4th century chapel, that of St. Aquilino. There are supposed to be old 4th century mosaics in that chapel, but they charge admission to get in there – and whoever was supposed to be selling tickets wasn’t there. So, no “Last Supper,” no 4th century mosaics. Well, I did get to see another “Last Supper” inside San Lorenzo. So, no da Vinci, no 4th century mosaics!

Right up the street from San Lorenzo was a nice little park (also closed; give me a break!) with an interesting circular berm rising up across it. It turns out that the berm is what’s high enough that it’s what would still be above the modern-day ground level if the old Roman amphitheater right there were to be excavated!

More walking through the streets until I all of a sudden turn a corner and there’s this gigantic piazza and the Duomo – Milan’s major cathedral. Oh, man! Even with a draping over virtually all of its façade while repair work is going on (naturally…), it’s still amazingly impressive. The Duomo is huge: it’s estimated it can hold 40,000 people. Its construction began in 1386; it wasn’t even consecrated for use as the church until 1577 – and then it wasn’t until 1897 that it was finally completed! Some people consider it the greatest example of high gothic architecture ever built – others think it’s just sort of a “gothic” conglomeration as a result of it taking so long to build and its design being modified over time.

I will say this. Mass was being said while I was visiting the Duomo. And unlike every other church I’ve been in so far where mass was being said (either here or in Paris), there were tons of people attending. Apparently today was the feast day of St. Charles Borromeo, the patron of the Duomo and whose relics are enshrined in a gorgeous crypt under the high altar, so that may have increased the turnout, but all I can say is this is at least one church in Europe that still seems to have good attendance.

Next door to the Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele, a huge cruciform building from the late 19th century which is actually one of the very first shopping malls on our planet! Very high end – to this day. Apparently there is a mall culture here just as there is in the States, and the Galleria is oftentimes referred to as “La Salotto” (the Living Room) because it’s a major meeting point, strolling point, etc.

And then, out the back side of the Galleria was none other than the renowned Teatro de la Scala, the famous opera house! There is a museum of La Scala which I went into; I may not have been able to seen an opera in La Scala, but the museum ticket gets you into one of the highest level boxes so you can look down and actually see the spectacular theater. When I was there they actually had the proscenium curtains drawn and appeared to be getting ready to set the stage for the next production. Very cool! The rest of the museum was fun with lots of paintings of composers and singers, some of the costumes from historic operas, other opera paraphernalia, libretti, etc., and an opening night poster for just about every famous opera you can think of (particularly of Verdi and Puccini). The opening night poster for Bizet’s “Carmen” still had the announcement pasted over it that the baritone scheduled to sing Escamillo was indisposed and would be replaced that night by another. Neat!

Further up the street. By now I’m back up one of the major streets. Next stop was the Museo Poldi-Pezzoli. This museum has lots and lots of Renaissance paintings, a collection of arms and armor, even a collection of very old timepieces (portable sundials before watches!), all housed in one of the old palazzi.

At this point I was starving, so I popped into what turned out to be really a cute little ristorante. Most of the little street side restaurants here have cases with lots of foods all ready to go, so I at first picked out a great croissant sandwich filled with what turned out to be wonderful cold cuts and cheese. Here as in Paris, it seems like almost everything you find staring at you is mostly meat – but I’ve got to say the one thing the Italians do better than anybody is cold cuts. Along with that I ordered a mineral water and a caffe americano (not as strong as the espresso, but still quite strong – and good). When I went upstairs to the dining area, though, I ran into the case with the pasta and the salads and… So I also ordered a great “mixed” salad – greens with mozzarella cheese, tuna, topped with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. And I’ve got to tell you, I couldn’t believe how much my body appreciated that salad. When you’ve got to have something, you’ve got to have it, and my body apparently really needed some good green veggies.

Anyway, the last stop for the day (before heading back to work some at the hotel) was the Pinacoteca di Brera, which is an absolutely incredible art museum on the top floor of the Brera, which appears to be both a school (looked like young adult level from the classes I saw in session) and a library as well. The art collection was just great. Everything from late medieval through Renaissance and all the way up to now, and every piece completely remarkable. This is definitely one of the best art museums I’ve been anywhere. They have a great website where you can look at the collections at: http://www.brera.beniculturali.it/

And that was it for today! So far I’m striking out in terms of getting ahold of my relatives here. I made numerous phone calls yesterday to one family with no answer; I’ve e-mailed the second family and had no reply there. I have one more day here (tomorrow, Saturday), so I may just try to get out that direction somehow (they’re all back by the airport) and see if I can find doors to knock on. We shall see!