Milan (Lombardy): what to see


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What to see in Milan, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including the Duomo, Castello Sforzesco, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and Teatro alla Scala.


Tourist information

Capital of the homonymous province and the Lombardy region, Milan is a city of considerable economic and financial importance, one of the world's fashion capitals, home to most Italian publishing and one of the largest fairgrounds in Europe.

The territory where Milan stands was inhabited since the Bronze Age, but the foundation of the city is attributable to the population of the Gauls-Insubri.


The Romans who conquered it in 222 BC they called it Mediolanum and with their dominion it acquired military, political and economic importance, became a municipality, an imperial colony, and then the capital of Transpadana, capital of the Empire and imperial residence from 286 to 402 AD.

In the Greater Monastery of San Maurizio in Corso Magenta are exposed, in the section dedicated to the history of Milan from the fifth century. B.C. to the 5th century AD, numerous testimonies of the Roman era.

The monastery was built on the ruins of the Roman circus and the Maximian walls, of which today two towers remain (one of which is incorporated in the Church of San Maurizio of the Monastero Maggiore).


Below the ruins of the circus are the remains of other Roman buildings of the first century. A model in the museum shows the current city of Milan superimposed on the ancient late imperial Mediolanum, with its structures and main monuments.

In the historic center, tourist itineraries highlight the ancient city, which can be glimpsed through the few remains of the Amphitheater in via De Amicis, the Forum in Piazza San Sepolcro, the Imperial Palace in via Brisa and the Baths in largo Corsia dei Servi.

The columns of San Lorenzo, located in front of the basilica of the same name, probably moved to the spa in the 4th century to complete the nascent basilica.


In the 6th century, with the end of the Roman Empire, the city lost importance, the Lombards arrived, Milan became the capital of the kingdom, the construction and artistic activity of the Comacini masters began, the wool manufacture was encouraged, and religion was introduced Catholic as a state religion.

At the end of the eighth century, with the beginning of the Carolingian domination, the city grew in importance, was the seat of an imperial count and a bishop. Starting in the 11th century, this local power was strengthened and separated from the central government, becoming a free municipality.

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The symbol of independence acquired was the construction of the Palazzo della Ragione (1233), which is located in Piazza dei Mercanti. The municipal period ended with the taking of power by the Visconti family, who maintained the rule of the city from 1277 to 1447.

The Duchy of Milan was officially established in 1395, and it is at this historical stage that the construction of the Duomo and the Castle dates back.

After a short return of the republican government, the Visconti family followed the Sforza family (mid-fifteenth century), which became one of the most refined and sumptuous courts of the time, where brilliant artists and architects such as Donato Bramante and Leonardo lent their work. da Vinci.

In the Sforza period the structure of the Castle was enlarged and reinforced, the works of the Duomo were carried out, the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie and Santa Maria at San Satiro were built, in the ancient Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio was given the task of Bramante to design the new rectory, the Lazzaretto, the first orphanage and the first free school were built.

In this period Leonardo, in addition to dealing with projects of military apparatus, hydraulic works and architecture, painted the portrait of Cecilia Galerani, Lady with an Ermine, the first version of the Virgin of the rocks and the famous Last Supper, which is found in the refectory of the convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie.

From 1535 to 1713, after years of clashes between the French and Spanish monarchies, in order to gain control of the Duchy, the city was subject to the Spanish sovereigns.

This historical phase coincided for Milan with a period of economic decline, while culturally the city was enriched thanks to the work of the cardinals of the Borromeo family, Carlo, who became a saint, and Federico. In fact, the foundation of the Ambrosiana Library is due to Cardinal Federico Borromeo.


The eighteenth century was characterized by the rule of the Habsburgs and a new development in all sectors, from economy to culture, the Teatro alla Scala, the Royal Palace, Villa Reale were built and the Brera Academy was founded.

Milan in 1797, passed under French control, became the capital of the Cisalpine Republic, the construction of the Civic Arena dates back to this period and the beginning of a new model of urban expansion with the construction of new doors and tree-lined avenues.

After a return of the Habsburgs, following the fall of Napoleon, the city became part of the domains of the Savoy and then of the Unification of Italy. From an artistic point of view, interesting places to visit in Milan are Piazza del Duomo, the Duomo, Palazzo Reale, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, Piazza San Babila, Piazza San Fedele, Palazzo Marino, Teatro della Scala, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Palazzo della Reason, Piazza Cordusio, Palazzo di Brera, Pinacoteca di Brera, Church of San Marco, Via Manzoni, Poldi Pezzoli Museum, Via Monte Napoleone, Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, Basilica of S.Ambrogio, National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo da Vinci ", Church of S. Maria delle Grazie, in the refectory of the former Dominican convent to the left of the Church of Grace, the famous painting of the last supper by Leonardo Da Vinci, the Castello Sforzesco and Porta Garibaldi, Porta Ticinese and Porta Romana, Porta Vittoria and the Venice area.

What see

Piazza della Scala and Piazza del Duomo are connected to each other by the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan which also connects the two streets Silvio Pellico and Ugo Foscolo by means of the two short side arms.

The Gallery, where there are shops of prestigious brands, was built on a project by the architect Giuseppe Mengoni in the second half of the nineteenth century using grotesques, caryatids, lunettes and pilasters, typical architectural elements of that period.

The Teatro alla Scala, one of the most famous theaters in the world, is located in Piazza della Scala, which is one of the most elegant squares in the city.


Ballets, classical music concerts and opera performances are held at the Scala in Milan with internationally renowned artists from all over the world. The Duomo Milano, with a Latin cross plan, is internally divided into five naves with a three transept.

The presbytery is very deep and surrounded by a ambulatory with a polygonal apse, where at the intersection of the arms the lantern rises, as is normally the case in this type of construction.

All this gives the whole a strong vertical momentum balanced by the equally remarkable horizontal expansion of the space, with very little difference in the heights of the various aisles, a feature that is very frequent in the Lombard Gothic style.

The supporting structure is made up of pillars and perimeter walls with reinforcement buttresses. Buttresses, flying buttresses and pinnacles are triangular in shape and have the function of containing the lateral thrusts of the arches.

The base and the internal parts of the walls are in masonry while the pillars have an internal core in serizzo and the sails of the vaults are in brick.

The visible facing in pinkish white Candoglia marble with gray veins has a supporting structure.

The external walls are enlivened as a whole by many semi-pillars, sum of various architectural styles, with an embroidery of polylobed arches in the upper part surmounted by additional cusps.

The arched windows have little width so as not to decrease the load-bearing resistance of the perimeter walls. Marble terraces form the roof which is supported by a double crossed order of smaller vaults. In correspondence with the pillars there are a myriad of pinnacles joined together by means of flying buttresses.

LOMBARDY, ITALY: Must visit places and things to do in Lombardy (March 2024)


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