Vacation in Central Italy

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Thursday, 25 May 2006 - Arrived in Milan had lunch at Pizzeria Grand'Italia then strolled to the Brera Art Gallery exploring its frescoes and Venetian school paintings. Visited the Leonardo da Vinci statue at Piazza Scala, wandered through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II admired the glass-and-steel arcade, and finished the day at the Duomo enjoying its Gothic architecture, numerous statues, and views of Milan from the rooftop.

italy2006 — Upon arrival in Milan we flipped through the guide book for a place to eat. We ate at Pizzeria Grand'Italia which was great. Then strolled to the Brera Art Gallery.

Founded in 1809 by Napoleon I, and one of Italy's largest art galleries. Its original collection was that of the Accademia di Belle Arti, though its most important works were acquired later.

italy2006 — It is especially rich in frescoes and in paintings of the Venetian school. The gallery is housed in a 17th-century palace originally built, from plans by Francesco Maria Ricchini, as a Jesuit college. The same building also houses the Accademia and the Brera library.

italy2006 — This statue of Leonardo da Vinci is located on Piazza Scala in front of the famous La Scala Opera Theatre.

In the background is the Galleria.

italy2006 — The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a covered arcade situated on the northern side of the Piazza del Duomo in Milan, connecting to the Piazza della Scala. Named after Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of united Italy, it was built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1878.

italy2006 — The street is covered over by an arching glass and steel roof, a popular design for the 19th-century shopping malls. The Milanese Galleria has inspired the use of the term galleria for many other shopping arcades and malls.

The iconography of the inlaid mosaic concourse and the painted pendentives of the 164-foot octagonal dome, raised over the crossing, represent the union of church and state which first came into being with the triumphant nationalist revolution of 1848

italy2006 — The Gothic-style Duomo was begun in 1386 and took over four hundred years to complete. It took so long to finish the job that the Milanese have coined a phrase "la fabbrica del Duomo" to refer to anything that takes forever to get done. The Duomo is built on top of layers of civilizations including a Roman bath from the first century BC, a baptistery from AD 287 and a basilica from the 4th century AD.

Fifty-two columns support the interior of the Duomo.

italy2006 — Some of the detail from outside the Duomo.

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italy2006 — Gargoyles, gargoyles everywhere.

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italy2006 — This facade is a not very fortunate mixture of the following styles: Baroque, Neogothic and Neoclassic. The bronze doors are from the 19th century. The best of them are the central gates, designed in 1906 by Lodovico Pogliaghi, in a neoclassic style, with Art Noveau influences.

italy2006 — The Cathedral is located in the Piazza del Duomo, Milan's center. This cathedral shows us the Lombards preference for the profuse decoration. The Duomo has more than 2,000 sculptures and numberless spires and capitals.

italy2006 — You can take an elevator to the top of the church and enjoy the multitude of statues up close. The view of Milan is pretty good but the statues at sunset were beautiful.

italy2006 — A beautiful building in the suburbs of Milan.

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