09-10 April 2024
Our guide at the Duomo noted that before the Milan Expo 2015, the city was not known as a tourist destination. Agreed. But that has changed dramatically. We mentioned this to Robert’s cousin Riccardo Marchesin, and he suggested this was common knowledge. Even during this off-season tourist month of April, the city seems mobbed.
Before 2015, we could enter the Duomo for free. Now, there is a charge to support its operation and continuous restoration with long lines for tickets. Restaurants, ice cream shops, bars, clothing and jewelry stores are everywhere. Major stores such as Tiffany’s and Rinascente face the public square dominated by the cathedral.
Il Duomo
We had not stepped into the Duomo for several decades and were awed by the immense space and the vast expanses of stained glass windows. The Duomo is the third largest historic cathedral in Europe.
The last image shows an ancient baptistry discovered when building a new metro line under the piazza.
Memoriale della Shoah di Milano
This museum is a memorial remembering in artifacts and video testimony the Jews transported in rail cars below the central railway lines to concentration camps during WWII. The actual rail cars are chilling. The Wall of Indifference is a reminder of how people can turn their backs to truth during atrocities.
Robert went there hoping to discover whether the Sabbatini family includes Jewish ancestry—something he has wondered about because Sabbatini means “little Sabbath.” We have pursued this question in Bologna and Padua, and a woman in Padua referred us to Milan. The librarian here gave Robert the name of a genealogist, but unfortunately that was a dead end. If there is family ancestry, it probably dates to Jews expelled from Spain in the 1200s.
Porta Nuova
The large new development area north of the city center contains extensive office and residential space, including the Bosco Verticale, the iconic building with trees. Unlike City Life, Porta Nuova holds together urbanistically while including a number of unique buildings, perhaps because of the completion of the development area. We enjoyed wandering through as pedestrians. Hines, Pelli, Kohn Peterson Fox, Boeri.
Strolling, Drinking, and Eating
A Museum and the Fashion District
We started the next day at the Palazzo Reale museum, which hosts a number of temporary exhibitions. We headed for the work of Brassai, the French photographer (1920s-1960s). The exhibit was extensive and gave us a glimpse of Parisian night life in the 1930s. Excellent. No photography allowed.
On one crowded Metro ride, Robert was warned by a passenger facing us of a potential pickpocket behind him. We saw two young women, eyes scanning the crowd at hip level. Bonnie has seen this distinctive eye movement before, on a train near Naples. Robert secured his backpack while Bonnie stared down the women and the helpful passenger kept an eye on them. Sure enough, as we exited at the next stop, the two simply changed cars.
Next stop, the fashion district. This used to be simply Via Monte Napoleone. Now it has expanded to Quadrilatero della Moda—a quadrangle of streets lined with fashion stores. Think Ferragamo, Gucci, Chanel, Armani, Prada, and more. After a productive stop for Robert at the flagship Alessi store, we strolled through the many streets lined with window displays, many like Prada and Chanel emphasizing spring flowers. Bonnie was slightly disappointed that there were lots of purses visible but not so much clothing. The light drizzle throughout the day was not enough to deter us. We replenished with tea and beer at the very understated Armani Cafe.
