Italy 2019

Italy Oct 20 - Nov 6

Anticipating a great trip, we (Us and Marie & Ed) boarded our Milano bound plane almost immediately upon exiting the sky lounge.  The trip was fortunately uneventful and we hit the ground running!

We met Antoinette and Bob at the UNI Hotel, settled in, had a great lunch (polenta and fungi) and were able to take a brief rest before meeting our guide, Valerie.  The weather was not the best, but with ponchos, and umbrellas in tow, we headed to the castle Sforza, or Castillo Sforzesco.  It was originally a fortress, and later became the magnificent ducal palace of the ruling family, Sforzas.  It is believed that Leonardo da Vinci spent much time here, having his work studio on the premises.  It has also been used as a military complex and was used as such for four centuries during foreign occupation.  It is currently the headquarters of Milan’s Civic Museums.  It houses some da Vinci’s work and is undergoing restoration of frescoes.

Continuing our walk in the rain, we ambled through the art and financial districts, ending at La Scala.  

La Scala is the second largest opera house in Italy, with a very humble facade.  The interior is all red velvet and gold and we were able to catch the ending of a ballet rehearsal.  The museum is housed within the opera house and here can be seen the piano of Giuseppe Verdi and the baby grand used by Frank Liszt. Maria Callas of more recent fame performed there.  Our own Met is as grand, however, the difference being the age.  La Scala is over 200 years old!

We then walked thru the galleria, where the walkways are marble with different depictions in the central mall.  It is said that if you spin with your heel on the testicles of the bull, you will return to Milan. Of course, Marie had to give it a whirl!!

As the sun was painstakingly peeking through the clouds, we made our way to the Duomo - the cathedral church of Milan, dedicated to the Nativity of St Mary.  The cathedral took over six centuries to complete and it is the largest church in Italy, even that of St Peter in Rome! 

The company that is responsible for building the church still maintains the restoration of it.

The interior is huge and the many marble pillars look like massive trees. A nail that used for Christ’s crucifixion, is housed here above the altar.  Valerie was pretty funny about relics and such.  The one statue that caught our eye and turns out to be one that I most famous is that of Saint Bartholomew.  Apparently he had been flayed and the statue, by Marco d’Agrate shows the saint with his skin tossed over his shoulder like a stole...gross.

The day would not be complete without an Aperol Spritz at Rinascente.  We were met by Mimo and Luisa and then went to dinner at Santa Lucia where we dined in April of 2018. We had the same waiter and he treated us as old friends!  We had a lot of fun...Luisa was much more engaged and trying her English out on us, while she helped our tripping tongues with Italian!  “Oh my God” became her catchphrase as she said this is what Americans say.  Her delivery was so funny, we have continued to say it wherever we go!

We said our goodbyes at the hotel, hoping to see them again.  Tomorrow - train to Cinque Terre!