Located in Lombardy in Northern Italy, Milan is the country’s financial and fashion capital. It’s a sophisticated metropolis, a city with a forward-looking attitude that never forgets its past glories. Home to designers like Prada, Armani and Versace, Milan’s impressive shopping centers attract nearly as many visitors as the city’s centuries-old cultural institutions. With attractions in Milan like the Duomo Cathedral, La Scala and Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper it’s no wonder that Milan is Italy’s third most visited city after Rome and Venice.
10Piazza Mercanti
wikipedia/Stefano Stabile
The administrative center of the city during the Middle Ages, the Piazza Mercanti offers visitors a glimpse of Medieval life in Milan. The square is smaller now – the 13th-century Broletto Nuovo that once stood at the center of the piazza now marks the square’s northeast boundary – but the buildings look much as they did centuries ago. On the southeastern side is the Loggia degli Osii where the city’s authorities once addressed the populace from the structure’s balconies. During the winter holidays, the square is turned into a lively Christmas market.
9Pinacoteca di Brera
flickr/franzconde
Thanks to Napoleon, who confiscated much of Italy’s best pieces of art during the 18th century and deposited them in Milan, the Pinacoteca di Brera is a world-class museum with an astonishing assortment of fine paintings. Housed in more than 40 rooms, the collection is located upstairs from the Accademia di Belle Arti, a still-operating art school founded in 1776 by Maria Theresa of Austria. Works by Italian painters like Raphael, Tintoretto, Veronese and Caravaggio are featured in the collection. European masters like Rembrandt, van Dyck and Goya are well represented as well.
8Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio
flickr/randihausken
Second only to the Duomo di Milano in importance, the Basilica di Sant’ Ambrogio is named after its founder, the 4th-century bishop of Milan and the city’s patron saint. Ambrose’s remains are still housed in the church. While there’s little left of the original structure, the current church dates back to the 11th century. Treasures of the basilica include a gold altar added by Charlemagne, a 10th century marble pulpit and an atrium lined with columns made to look like tree trunks. A small chapel off the right aisle of the nave known as the Sacello di San Vittore in Ciel d’Oro features 5th century mosaics.
flickr/sun sand & sea
Milan’s Navigli, or canals, date back as far as the 12th century when they were constructed to facilitate irrigation. In the 1300s, the canal system was expanded for the transportation of goods, a use that continued well into the 19th century. Today, visitors to Milan can enjoy a 55-minute cruise along the remaining Navigli Lombardi. Tour boats depart from the point where Darsena, the city’s historic port, and the Naviglio Grande, Milan’s most important canal, meet. Strolling along the narrow towpaths is a popular way to explore the Navigli neighborhood too.
6La Scala
flickr/John Picken
One of the best known tourist attractions in Milan, La Scala has enjoyed a reputation as a premier opera house since its first performance of “L’Europa Riconosciuta,” by Antonio Salieri, in 1778. Designed in the Neoclassical style by architect Giuseppe Piermarini, the red-and-gold theater is famous for its superb acoustics, which reveal the true abilities of a singer so accurately that a performance at La Scale is viewed as a trial by fire.
5Sforzesco Castle
wikipedia/Mauriziozanoni
The Sforzesco Castle exemplifies the fierce rivalries between families in Renaissance Italy. Built as fortress during the 14th century, the structure became a showcase of power and prestige. Among the castle’s most famous inhabitants were Ludovico il Moro and Beatrice d’Este, a couple who filled the Sforzesco with fine art and furnishings. Today, the castle is home to the Museo d’Arte Antica, which features the Pietà Rondanini, Michelangelo’s final masterpiece. An extensive display of Egyptian art is on display in the castle’s former ducal apartments.
4Quadrilatero d'Oro
flickr/angelocesare
Also known as the Quadrilatero della moda, the Quadrilatero d’Oro is not only Milan’s most exclusive shopping district but one of the world’s most important centers for fashion as well. The “Golden Quadrilateral” encompasses several city blocks, most of which are ornamented with Neoclassical architecture. Via Sant’Andrea features some of the brightest luminaries of the fashion world, including Hermès, Armani, Chanel and Michael Kors. The fashionable Via Manzoni boasts architectural gems worth visiting too, including the elegant Grand Hotel et de Milan where Giuseppe Verdi died in 1901.
3Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
flickr/Roberto Taddeo
Built during the late 1800s, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is one of the oldest enclosed shopping malls in the world. With its blue glass vaulted ceilings, mosaic flooring and towering central dome, the mall’s architecture is as stunning as the high-end couture offered in its shops, which include Louis Vuitton, Borsalino and Prada. The shopping center’s popularity as meeting place as earned the Galleria the nickname “il salotto di Milano,” or Milan’s drawing room. Tradition has it that turning on one’s heel over the mosaic bull under the central dome brings good luck.
2Santa Maria delle Grazie
Designed and built in the late 1400s by renowned Renaissance architect Donato Bramate, the Church of Santa Maria della Grazie is best known for its most famous artifact: The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Despite a 21-year-long restoration process completed in 1999, the painting gives only hints of its original glory, yet its artistry is so great that viewing it is still a powerful and moving experience for many visitors. Only 25 visitors are allowed to view the masterpiece at a time, making reservations mandatory for the must-see masterpiece.
1Milan Cathedral
flickr/giovanni_novara
One of the most elaborate Gothic cathedrals in Europe is the Milan Cathedral, also known as the Duomo di Milano. Dedicated to Saint Mary Nascent, this cathedral is the largest cathedral in Italy, and the fifth largest in the world. Construction of the cathedral began in 1386 and it was consecrated in 1418. However, it was not until 1965 that the finishing touches were applied to the building. This long construction period led to the use of various building styles, resulting in a masterpiece of architecture and art.
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