Trips

Sun., 5/7 - Milan

Today's excursion was to Milan, a city older than Rome and of Celtic origin. The streets are arranged in a circle around the center instead of along one horizontal and one vertical major street as Roman cities are. Milan is an economic center (fashion and culture) and is attempting to be a “green” city. It has a very high cost of living.

Our bus arrived in Milan an hour early for our tour of Leonardo's Vineyard. This tour was a substitute to seeing the Last Supper in the refectory of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, just across the street. Today was Sunday and a free admission day so tickets were “sold out” three months ago. At least that is the reason told to us by OAT. We were so glad we saw the painting on a previous trip. Others in our group were not happy with the substitution or the explanation.

Church of St. Mary of Mercy (Santa Maria delle Grazie)	Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie - rear view
Medallions on the outside wall of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie	Medallions on the outside wall of the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie
Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie - interior	Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie - ceiling
Leonardo da Vinci painted the Last Supper between 1495 and 1498. In 1498, Ludovico il Moro (Sforza), the Duke of Milan, rewarded him with a small vineyard located in the backyard of the Casa degli Atellani, across the street from Santa Maria delle Grazie. The house and its decorations are fascinating. The entryway has statuary representing the Roman gods. There are horoscope symbols, a map of Italy, and two pictures of astrolabes. Some were paintings by students of Leonardo. Two rooms were set with furniture of the 1900s.
Outside the Casa degli Atellani (a second link)	Outside the Casa degli Atellani
Wall frescos outside the Casa degli Atellani	Wall frescos outside the Casa degli Atellani
	Tiled entry to the Casa degli Atellani
Tile floor - Casa degli Atellani	Trompe l'oeil fresco of an astrolabe
Ceiling in the Casa degli Atellani	Ceiling in the Casa degli Atellani
Ceiling in the study	Chest in the Casa degli Atellani
Unknown, but interesting       The rose garden and small vineyard behind the Casa were a place of respite from the bustling city. The garden was completely destroyed in 1943 when Milan was bombed. Fortunately 23 burned out roots from the vines were found and their DNA was analyzed and scientists were able to reproduce Leonardo’s grapes. New roots were planted in 2007 and by 2015 grapes were appearing. Last year 100 bottles of wine resulted from the harvest. The bottles were auctioned for 1,000 to 3,000 Euros each and the profits donated to the research on childhood genetic diseases - a nice connection.	Bottle of wine from the grapes in the vineyard
Leonardo's Vineyard	Leonardo's Vineyard
A short bus tour of Milan took us past the sculpture: Needle, Thread, Knot - symbols of the Milan fashion industry, a statue of Garibaldi on a horse in front of a tower of the Sforza castle, and past several of the old gates (porta) around the inner circle road of old Milan. Our brief walking tour began in front of the Teatro alla La Scala and moved on to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the oldest active shopping gallery (mall) in Italy. The exit at the other end of the Galleria is in front of the very Gothic, very ornate, Duomo - the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Nativity. Free time. The lines for tickets and entry to the Duomo and La Scala were too long to even try to go see, so we walked some side streets to find pizza for lunch and then to the “public but clean” bathroom suggested by our local guide. Surprise - the handicap stall was free. Italy does not believe tourists need restrooms. We are advised to go into a cafe or restaurant, buy a coffee or water or leave one or two euros on the counter and use their bathroom. This is a real handicap sometimes.
Needle, Thread, and Knot sculpture by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen in Piazzale Cadorna	Garibaldi
Arco Della Pace - Triumphal arch	Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Lion of St. Mark in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II	Milan Cathedral or Duomo St. Mary of the Nativity
Milan Cathedral or Duomo St. Mary of the Nativity	Milan Cathedral or Duomo St. Mary of the Nativity
Milan Cathedral or Duomo St. Mary of the Nativity	Teatro alla La Scala, arguably the most famous opera house in the world. The opera house experienced a direct hit from a WWII bomb in 1943 and was the first community building rebuilt after the war. The square across the street has a nice statue of Leonardo Da Vinci with statues of four of his students at the corners and bas reliefs of four of his major projects.
La Scala	Upper façade of La Scala
Monument to Leonardo Da Vinci in the plaza across from La Scala	Monument to Leonardo Da Vinci in the plaza across from La Scala
Monument to Leonardo Da Vinci in the plaza across from La Scala	Milan has some wonderful modern buildings - Generali Tower (left), Libeskind or PwC Tower (center), and Alllianz Tower (right)
UniCredit Tower	Palazzo Lombardia
Bosco Verticale - Plant and tree covered tower	A more typical Italian building

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