At first glance, foggy Milan may seem a two-day destination at most; somewhere to do business, shop, pop into the “Last Supper” and whizz past the Duomo. But there is far more to savour in this elegant Lombardian city than meets the eye - you just have to know where to look.
The are several private museums, some of which are mentioned below. But whether state-owned or private, most museums and galleries are closed on Monday mornings.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - Piazza del Duomo - Milan
All roads in Milan may lead to the Duomo, but in reality most fancily clad feet trot straight past the cathedral to this lofty shopping arcade, just off the piazza. A feat of iron and glass, the Galleria was designed by Giuseppe Mengoni and built between 1865 and 1877 in an elaborate mix of neo-classical and neo-baroque.
The galleria may soon become a rival to the serious designer shopping streets in the Golden Rectangle. The world's oldest Prada store has been here since Miuccia' grandfather set up shop in 1913 (note the original fittings) and Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Tod's all opened here in 2004.
If shopping isn't your thing, simply take a seat at one of the cafés or bars - the best is Caffè Zucca on the corner with Piazza Duomo, filled with early 20th-century mosaics depicting colourful parrots and flowers. Gucci have also opened a small outdoor café with heater lamps in the cooler months.
Be sure to inspect the 19th-century mosaics, especially the one of the bull halfway down the mall. You may see visitors twisting their heel over the bull's testicles. This is a Milanese tradition to attract good luck.
The Last Supper
Piazza Santa Maria delle Grazie 2
20123 Milan
Tel: +39 (02) 894-21146
Open: Tues-Sun 8.15am-6.45pm
If you want to see Leonardo da Vinci's “Il Cenacolo” you will have to be determined. Since the success of Dan Brown's “The Da Vinci Code”, getting in has become only marginally less difficult than gaining an audience with the pope.
Visitors must book weeks or even months in advance; viewing time is limited to 15 minutes, and groups are kept to a maximum of 25 (to keep down the temperature). But for the prescient traveller, the fresco is unmissable.
The audio guide takes you through various curiosities. Because Leonardo painted on to dry rather than wet plaster, the fresco started to peel almost immediately, making restoration a challenge. The problems didn't stop there. In 1652 the resident monks destroyed a portion of the painting (Jesus's feet) by cutting a door in the wall, and in the 19th century, Napoleon's troops used the room as a stable (against his orders). An expensive 21-year restoration, unveiled in 1999, provoked mixed reactions (some found it overdone).
Be sure to view the work not only from up close but also from the back of the room, where Leonardo's clever use of perspective gives it a three-dimensional effect that makes it appear to be an extension of the room. Lastly, note the pictures in the hallway as you enter. One depicts the church after bombing in the second world war, with the masterpiece exposed to the elements (note the protective sand bags around it). Afterwards, don't forget to nip into the church proper to inspect the fabulous cloisters, part of which are said to have been designed by Bramante.
Museo Poldi Pezzoli
Via Manzoni 12 - 20121 Milan
Tel: +39 (02) 794889
Open: Tues-Sun 10am-6pm
It is touted as one of Milan's biggest attractions, but visitors entering this private collection (amassed by a 19th-century Milanese nobleman) may be disappointed at the dreary mix of suits of armour and lace doilies on the ground floor. The trick is to head straight upstairs, where you will find three unmissable attractions.
Two of them, Botticelli's early “Virgin and Child” and Pollaiolo's equally startling “Portrait of a woman” (pictured here), are in the Golden Room that overlooks the garden. The third highlight is the Jewellery Room, one of the last displays you'll pass through, with an exquisite collection of miniature goblets, jewellery, Limoges enamels and crucifixes. Any one of these highlights is well worth the price of admission alone; together they make for a seductive hour.
Regrettably, the museum has no café, but you can always walk from here to Via Monte Napoleone, for a pick-me-up at Caffè Cova, a Milanese institution.
History lessons - Castello Sforzesco
Piazza Castello - 20121 Milan
Tel: +39 (02) 88463703
Open: Tues-Sun 9am-5.30pm
It has been a royal palace, a fortress and a military barracks. Its main tower (the Filarete) even exploded in 1521. Yet this 15th-century Renaissance castle, built by the Viscontis and occupied by Frenchmen, Spaniards and Austrians, looks prouder than ever. The new look comes partly from the large fountain, echoing the castle's form, which now graces the main entrance.
Sant' Ambrogio
Piazza Sant'Ambrogio 15
Milan 20123
Tel: +39 (02) 8645-0895
Open: Mon-Fri 7am-noon, 2.30-7pm; Sat-Sun 7am-1pm, 3-6pm.
When older Milanese call themselves Ambrosiani, they are referring to their patron saint, Ambrogio. Sometimes known as “the reluctant bishop”, Ambrogio, governor of Milan in 374, became bishop by popular demand rather than personal inclination. But once ordained, the former lawyer threw himself into a life of poverty, during the course of which he converted St Augustine. His feast day is still celebrated on December 7th.
If you are feeling respectful, the saint's ghoulish remains are on display, next to those of the Christian martyrs Gervasius and Protasius, in the crypt of Sant'Ambrogio. Otherwise, simply enjoy what is unquestionably Milan's most beautiful church, with mosaics from the 4th-9th centuries and a beautifully carved golden altar.
Striking a very different note, placards just outside the medieval walls describe the different kinds of torture that took place in a sunken pit here and in nearby Piazza della Vetra. Torture by suspension, the gallows and “breaking with the wheel” drew crowds of gleeful onlookers from the Middle Ages right up to the start of the 18th century.
The Duomo
Piazza del Duomo
Milan
Tel: +39 (02) 86463456
Open: Mon-Sun 7am-7pm
It may be Milan's biggest visitor attraction (and the world's largest Gothic cathedral), but the Duomo remains primarily a place of prayer. Enter the magnificently gloomy interior, and you will spot pilgrims lighting the candles flickering in front of various Christian icons, and whispering secrets in the confessional boxes, lined up between the relics of assorted archbishops along the right-hand wall.
For something different, you can travel to the rooftop and scramble around on the uneven surface (take the lift, unless you're super-fit). If you are here on the Saturday closest to September 14th, visit the Duomo for one its holiest days, when the nail from Christ's cross is brought out of its home in the crucifix on a ceiling vault behind the altar.
Although the Duomo's glorious facade is hidden behind 7,000 square metres of scaffolding while restoration work takes place, you can still visit the interior and roof. The massive clean-up and renovation is due to finish in 2006.
Museo Bagatti Valsecchi
Via Santo Spirito 10
Milan 20121
Tel: +39 02 760 06132
Open: Tues-Sun 1-5pm
Though it is right opposite the Four Seasons Hotel, most people walk straight past this hidden museum. The one-time home of Fausto and Giuseppe Bagatti Valsecchi, two eccentric 19th-century brothers, the house is decorated in Renaissance style, with 15th- and 16th-century paintings and furniture gathered from villas in Lombardy and beyond. Today, things are pretty much as Giuseppe left them at his death, aged almost 90, in 1934.
Don't be put off by the dark wooden furnishings, gloomy lighting and suits of armour that greet you. The point of this place is to enter the minds of the two rather morbid brothers whose personalities still haunt the rooms. Fausto slept beneath a carved, 16th-century bedhead showing Christ's painful ascent to Calvary, while his beside table contained a skull-shaped clock and oil lamp - still on view.
But the brothers weren't all gloom and doom. Part of the fun is spotting how they used Renaissance artefacts to disguise 19th-century mod cons. A shell-shaped, marble niche in the bathroom hides a shower, while a 15th-century style sideboard in the Valtellinese Stove Room is actually an anachronistic piano. Explanations in English on transportable cards help identify the many treasures, including Bellini's “Santa Giustina de' Borromei”, that are scattered throughout the house.
Even if you don't have time for a visit, pop into the entrance for the most imaginative museum shop in Milan. Here you will find Valentino umbrellas, Etro scarves and DaDriade vases.
Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
Piazza Pio XI 2
Milan 20123
Tel: +39 (02) 806921
Open: Tues-Sun 10am-5.30pm
If you only have limited time in Milan, avoid the tourist throngs outside the Duomo and go instead to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, perhaps the city's most underrated museum. In a yellow-stained, 19th-century building, with views over a statue-studded cloistered courtyard, its 23 rooms contain some of Lombardy's finest works of art.
Few museums get off to a better start. Almost immediately upon entering, you will see Leonardo da Vinci's mysterious “Musician” (Room II), a soulful youth clutching a musical manuscript, the precise nature of which remains unknown. Next, pop into the library, where scholars shuffle papers next to shelves of leather-bound books. Leonardo's “Codex Atlanticus”, filled with the artist's spidery writing and sketches, is kept here.
In rooms VI and VII, look for Caravaggio's still-life of a basket of just-decaying fruit and Jan Brueghel's stunning “Vase of Flowers” (pictured here), filled with more than 100 types of flowers. In Room VIII, a lock of Lucrezia Borgia's strawberry-blonde hair paves the way for two gruesome, 17th-century Lombard paintings in room XV, depicting women committing brutal crimes. Afterwards, nip up to Pasticceria Marchesi for a quick cup of coffee.
San Satiro
Via Torino 9
Milan 20123
Ethereal San Satiro appears at odds with its surroundings. The church is squeezed incongruously between the trendy fashion shops on Via Falcone and Via Torino. But duck into the sombre courtyard, enter the portal and you wll find yourself basking in the golden hues of an extraordinary interior. San Satiro is the masterpiece of Donato Bramante, the 15th-century architect renowned for his illusionistic touches
