Explorations of one of Italy’s largest cities that for some reason I keep going back to.Â
*Note-Photos of human bones are in this post.*
Milan is one of the most well-known cities in Italy. I am going to be brutally honest here. I’m not a huge fan of Milan. Maybe because I think Milan is a bit overrated, or because it’s Northern European expensive. It’s not because Milan is a modern city (I adore Turin). I don’t know what it is.
This was my third visit to Milan. It’s a great place to center yourself for exploring the area outside of the city. There are a ton of cool places within an hour via train from Milan. I only actually returned to the city because that’s where I was flying out of.
Even though I’m not a huge fan of the city of Milan, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have some cool stuff to see, which is why I’ve been three times. It’s a bit more spread out than in some cities, so there will be a lot of walking or public transport. I stayed in Milan for several days, but only explored the city center for two days. I saw some places I have been before and some new places during my visit.
Jana Irving Milan’s famous Duomo in the pouring rain on a Easter Sunday morning. I didn’t go inside this visit. I’m still bitter about the horrible lighting system that was installed between my first and second visit. Gothic churches are not meant to be that bright. Can’t even see the stained glass anymore.
Jana Irving Piazza Mercanti. You can still find some old buildings not far from the Duomo.
Jana Irving I was very glad that I found Santa Maria presso San Satiro open. It has a cool optical illusion on the apse.
Jana Irving From the side, you can see that the apse is actually very shallow. It was specifically painted to make it look bigger.
Jana Irving A bit of Mussolini’s Italy.
Jana Irving Milan was a very important city during Roman times. Called Mediolanum, it served as one of the late Imperial capitals. The ruins are of the 4th century Imperial Palace.
Jana Irving The fresco covered San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore. I was super surprised to find it open on a Easter Sunday morning.
Jana Irving The church was part of a Benedictine Convent, which explains this giant choir in the back of the church.
Jana Irving It does seem a bit out of place though. It’s like it was an afterthought.
Jana Irving Noah’s ark.
Jana Irving Ridiculous. But in a good way.
Jana Irving The former convent now hosts the Civic Archaeology Museum. One of the old Roman towers from the old city walls was incorporated into the convent for some reason in the 8th-9th centuries. A chapel was later installed in the base of the tower.
Jana Irving Almost deserted streets. Where is everybody?
Jana Irving At Castello Sforzesco apparently.
Jana Irving The 14th century fortification (with later renovations) is gigantic.
Jana Irving It has three courtyards, one of which is big enough to fit a couple of other castles in it.
Jana Irving Torre di Bona.
Jana Irving Arco della Pace, one of Napoleon’s marks on the city.
Jana Irving Naviglio Grande, a place to get some food.
Jana Irving Porta Ticinese, one of the gates in the old medieval city walls.
Jana Irving Colonne di San Lorenzo, Ancient Roman marble columns that were removed from a temple or baths and later put up along the road.
Jana Irving San Lorenzo Maggiore. The church was consecrated in 402. It has been renovated a few times.
Jana Irving Definitely not from the 5th century.
Jana Irving Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, another early Christian church from 379 CE.
Jana Irving The current church dates from about 1000 CE.
Jana Irving It was weirdly hazy inside this church.
Jana Irving Some weird carvings.
Jana Irving Santa Maria delle Grazie has a very famous mural in its convent. I could have gotten a ticket to see it. The allowed time is very short though so I didn’t bother pre-buying one.
Jana Irving The church is still stunning though.
Jana Irving Santa Maria dei Miracoli, a gorgeous Renaissance and Baroque church.
Jana Irving Absolutely stunning.
Jana Irving And this is where I got yelled at for taking photos. Totally missed the signs which were hiding in dark, unlit areas and on propped open doors. If the guy that yelled at me wasn’t such an asshole, I wouldn’t have even included this church in this post. Am I petty? Yes.
Jana Irving San Nazaro in Brolo, which has the weird Trivulzio Mausoleum. It’s an octagonal chapel built in the front of a church, instead of being a side chapel. The bodies of a local patrician family are no longer in the sarcophagi and have been entombed in the crypt.
Jana Irving Now for the coolest place in Milan, the Santuario di San Bernardino alle Ossa.
Jana Irving Looks like a normal small parish church that can be found anywhere in Italy.
Jana Irving Until you go into one of the side chapels. Yep, those are human remains.
Jana Irving An ossuary was built to house the remains of bodies well decomposed from an adjacent cemetery in the 12th century. The current appearance dates from 17th-18th century.
Jana Irving An interesting use of bones. It’s one of the fancier ossuaries I’ve been in.
Jana Irving The only formal Art Museum/Gallery I visited was the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. It’s a smaller gallery with some interesting paintings and drawings. Except for the Civic Museums of Milan, the art galleries tend to be a bit expensive, especially for Italy.
Jana Irving The building is kind of neat.
Jana Irving Next door is the Cripta di San Sepolcro. The stone floors are from the old Ancient Roman Forum.
Jana Irving Some medieval frescos still remain.
Milan has a lot going on regardless of how I feel about it. If there wasn’t cool stuff, I wouldn’t have been back again for a third time.
Check out my last post on this trip to Italy where I visit Bergamo!
or
Start at the beginning of this adventure.
