This is the train that took me from Firenze to Milano - 1hr, 45m door-to-door, often at 300km per hour. I love the trains here.
This is another picture of Milano's Stazione Centrale.......beautiful!
Alright, ENOUGH about the train station!
This is the Peace Arch in Parco Sempione, in Piazza Sempione. I think every city needs an elegant Peace Arch!
This is the man-made cross-country ski course that I spotted on my stroll through Parco Sempione. I thought is was a left over from the Christmas holidays...that was until I saw someone using it. Turns out you could rent skiis & boots and go for a "giro". That was all splendid, but it was sunny and 12 degrees C that day! You've got to admire the Milanese: they live about an hour from the Alps, but build a ski course in the middle of the city. No fear of the snow melting this week. The whole north of Italy is blanketed with snow, and today it's -5 in Milano. The skiers will be very happy.
This is the VERY large demonstration that happened in Piazza del Duomo on Sunday morning. It was organized by the Northern League, which has as one of its aims, the separation of the northern part of Italy (Roma on up) from the South. Seems the rich are tired of supporting their poorer brothers and sisters. Separation: echos of Quebec circa 1976.
This is something you don't see everyday - a license plate from the Principality of Monaco. Long Live Grace Kelly! The car was very nice too.
This is an example of the general signage for the current "exhibit" at the Triennale Design Museum, also in Parco Sempione. The Triennale is a WONDERFUL museo, devoted to Italian design. It's a rather new museum (2007), and every 18 months or so, the whole musuem "renews" itself. They've only had 4 "exhibits" and the current one highlights the history of Italian design, Italian "dream factories" - small to large design firms located within 100km of Milano, the design "process" (and it is a process, which was facinating to learn about) and how designers push the envelope of their work to create superb products, and flops. It was a highlight.
This rather imposing building is the Castello Sforzesco. I think every city deserves a castle.
This is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, at night. I wanted to capture the lighting (didn't do a good job there) but also the marble floor, which is as smooth as a plate of glass. I wonder how they did that!
This was a statue in Parco Sempione - I just liked the lighting.
This is a statue of Cesare Beccaria (rhymes with Zaccaria!) and well, I love statuary. I also live two minutes from Piazza Beccaria, and I often wondered who Beccaria was. Well, it turns out he's from Milano, and wrote a famous thought piece in 1764 called "On Crimes and Punishment" in which he argued (among other things) the abolition of captial punishment. The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was the first state to abolish the death penalty and we have Beccaria to thank for that.
This grand statue is the inside of the "Brera", Milano's main art gallery. It is more formally known as Pinacoteca di Brera, pinacoteca being italian for "picture gallery." Anyway, the Brera is a JEWEL. Lots of religious Renaissance art, mostly from northern Italy, some of it magnificent. In one room, there were 20 paintings and 14 of them had an image of baby Jesus. I sensed a theme happening there! There were also two gallery rooms which contained huge restoration chambers/rooms, so you could witness paintings being restored. Quite faciniating. The Brera also has some of the largest pictures/paintings I've ever seen, stemming from Venezia. Seems that all that dampness in Venice is not conducive for frescos, so the Venetians had (literally) wall-sized painting done for their palazzi. How do you get a canvass that big? Well, you sew serveral canvasses together, then create the painting. How ingenious!
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| Vivienne Westwood |
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| These lovely pink shoes were 400 euros a pair. |
