Wandering Around Milan At The Piazza Del Duomo

After visiting the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio and the university, we headed up to Piazza del Duomo for lunch and to take in the sights.

Seeing all these things -- whether it's Venice, Padua, Verona, or Milan, is fantastic.  But just doing all the walking on the streets of northern Italy is special too.

The Duomo is, of course, stunning and special.  But the whole area is magical.  In the Piazza are the crowds of people, half of whom ask you to take their photos.  Carol was able to help one group, but apparently my photos on another group's iPhone was not to their satisfaction.  The sun was so bright and shining in my eyes that I couldn't tell whether they were all in the photos.  I just snapped away -- but as we walked away, they had beseeched someone else to take their photo.

(Editor: Ha -- and you style yourself a photographer!  Carol didn't have a problem with the sun.  Writer: Yeah, well, the sun was in my eyes!)

The giant statue of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of unified Italy, is covered in bird poop.  The carved lions aren't faring any better.  I guess they take my Foo bird joke to heart.  The next day, there were fans of one of the two Milan soccer teams singing and chanting in the Piazza.

We went into the best mall in the world, an iron and glass glory built as a four-story double arcaded shopping center finished after twelve years construction in 1877.  The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II has huge glass domes that let in the light.  It's the oldest enclosed shopping mall in Italy, and yet it feels fully open-air.  

The designer died the day before it opened (how's that for timing!), and it was the first building in Milan to have electric lighting.  I guess I'm running out of things to say, but it is stunning.

We stopped into Bar Camparino for lunch, from the 1870s.  We were able to get a seat on the patio, and the wait staff were dynamos, never stopping work to hangout.  They must make good money by turning over the tables, but we never felt rushed as we people-watched, enjoyed the good food and drink, and enjoyed views of the Duomo.

The cafe is named after the Campari family, who were the first owners.  They originated the famous Campari bitter, which has been around since the mid/late 1860s.  

After that, we wandered around the Galleria, enjoying the art, the glass domes with iron frames, and the mosaic floors.

The lower part of the King

Emmanuel II statue.  And no,

the soldiers aren't made of

a mix of white marble and other

stuff -- the white is bird poop.

Not exactly majestic.

The Duomo.  It's best in the afternoon

when the suns lights up the total

magnificence of the white marble

on this cathedral.

Our lunch place -- the

famed Bar Camparino.

A great look at part of the

central dome, the glass

and iron frames of the ceiling,

and the crowds of

shoppers and gawkers.

A floor mosaic honoring

Italy's capital since 1870s,

Rome's founders, Romulus

and Remus being suckled

by a she-wolf.  Those twins

were tough dudes.

A coat of arms important to Milan.

We came out into the Piazza della Scala, famous for its detailed statue honoring Leonardo da Vinci, including little statues of four of the greatest "Leonardeschi" -- his apprentices, as well as reliefs showing his contributions as a painter, architect, and engineer.  

Perhaps the greatest

polymath ever,

Leonardo da Vinci.

One of his acolytes.

This relief shows Leonardo

with his painter hat.

Another acolyte.  Don't ask

me which one, as I read it

and promptly forgot his name!

From Piazza della Scala we crossed the street to the La Scala Opera House.  Opened in 1778, the opera house is the most famous in the world.  My taste in opera runs pretty much to the Bugs Bunny renditions of the "Barber of Seville" and "What's Opera, Doc?"  The chance of getting me to an actual opera are less than zero.

But, it was still neat to go into -- Carol and I were shown into our own box on an upper floor, from which we could gawk at the stage and orchestra pit, the Bohemian crystal chandelier, the red velvet seats, and the white and gold trim around the boxes.  Very impressive, and the opera house would be a cool to have seen a band like The Who or The Rolling Stones back in the day.

We skipped the museum part, but did enjoy wandering around the large anteroom.

See, I'm not a complete Philistine -- I

made it to the opera!  Well, the

opera house!

The ceiling of the large anteroom, partially 

reflected in a full length mirror.

Bust of Toscanni

View of the stage and

orchestra pit from our "box."