"The Milan Duomo: What a wonder it is! So grand, so solemn, so vast!
And yet so delicate, so airy, so graceful!
A very world of solid weight, and yet it seems ...
a delusion of frostwork that might vanish with a breath!"
Mark Twain, 1867
I slept the latest I have the entire trip ... until 9:30 am! The Foldesi Group was ready to continue our exploration of the beautiful city of Milan and so was I! Jerry had researched how and where we could buy tickets and hop on the historic Tram #1 for a ride into the historic center of the city. Against the backdrop of Milan's 19th c. stone architecture, a fleet of nearly 90-year-old trams contribute to the feel of another era ... and remind me of the trolley cars in Boston.
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| La Scala |
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| Jim photographing the Concordia |
Our quick ride on the old wooden benches of the tram brought us within a block of the famed La Scala Opera House. Walking there we had a chuckle when we passed a digital sidewalk billboard advertising the historic (1926) lake ferry "Concordia" which had rescued us a week ago on Lake Como!
We split up for a while to do a little window shopping at the beautiful Galleria Victor Emmanuele ... Palmer & I each enjoyed an espresso macchiato at the famed Campariani al Galleria, gazing up at its lovely mosaic-decorated walls as we stood at the bar and sipped our coffees. Then we met up with the others for tasty salads and gelato at a little sidewalk bar near the Martini Building.
After lunch ... on to explore the roof-top terraces of Milan's spire-laden Duomo, a truly amazing experience that I've been hearing about from other travelers for years. The Duomo's thousands of spires and statues are a fabulous sight from below, and even more so up close! From the roof, we could just barely make out the outline of the Alps in the far northern distance. We'd purchased "Skip the Line" passes which included elevator rides up/down to/from the roof top, the inside of the Duomo and the archaeological excavations of a pre-Christian basilica located under the Piazza del Duomo.
Back down on ground level, we visited the inside of the Duomo and starred in awe at its massive columns, magnificent stained glass windows, enormous paintings which seem to float in the air above the altars, the replica of the gilded bronze Madonna statue which sits atop the Duomo's highest spire, The Flayed San Bartolomeo by Marco d'Agrate (1562), and the entrance to the crypt of Saint Charles Borromeo (patron saint of my neighborhood parish church when I was growing up in Syracuse, NY).
The Foldesi Group headed back to the apartment after our terrific tour of Milan's Duomo, but I still had a little energy left so told them I'd be back to join them in time for dinner. I headed to the "Football Shop" behind the Duomo to pick up some t-shirts for Thomas ... and then to the Leonard da Vinci Museum at the Galleria, which Federica had recommended highly. The "World of Leonardo Exhibition" was very well done and very interesting, devoting several rooms to Leonardo the artist and inventor, with working models of his machines and digitized restoration of his paintings, including The Last Supper, Mona Lisa, Vetruvian Man ... and also many displays of his handwritten "codex" (notebooks).
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| The Leonardo Museum, Milan |
Walked back to the apartment, feeling very comfortable and familiar with this beautiful city ... so glad we decided to add a visit here on to the end of our trip. Time for a glass of wine on the terrace, overlooking that beautiful castle one more time ... then off for our last dinner on Via Dante!
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| Checked in with airlines, have my passport, ready to head for home! Tomorrow: BIG travel day home! |
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| The Foldesi Group waving to me from our beautiful Milanese stone balcony! |
1 comment:
You have stayed in some lovely apartments! The views have been spectacular and the locations were so convenient. What a memorable trip!
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