On
the traces of Roman and early Christian Milan, you
can discover the treasures of the glorious past of a
town that was a capital of the Roman Empire.
We
leave from the Archaeological Museum with its
interesting finds exhibited in the rooms and in the
courtyard, then we walk along a piece of the ancient
walls as far as St. Lorenzo’s Basilica and admire
the ruins of the so-called Baths of Via Brisa and
the ones of the Circus.
St.
Lorenzo’s Basilica is an imposing church with
central plan. Perhaps it was a palatine basilica,
nearly a fortress, closed among four church towers.
Inside, it expresses the solemn spirituality of
the first centuries of Christianism. It has
some rare early Christian mosaics.
From
the Cinquecento to the 18th century: the
palaces and the life of
the Milanese nobles.
The private building from
Mannerism
to Neo
Classicism.
A
route among the streets and the squares of the city-
centre, to discover
Milan
and its history, to know the famous figures of the
past and the way of life
of the
nobles, to admire monuments, historical places and
fashionable cafés, to meet the traces of the past
following the old guidebooks of Milan.
The
Modernism and the Modernity: from Art Nouveau and
Art Deco to the ‘Città
che sale’.
Art
Nouveau has its charm and it arouses great interest
and admiration , We like the line of the houses, the
decorations inspired by nature and made of cement,
stucco and wrought iron. We like the colours of an
architecture covered with majolica tiles. Its
windows are often mounted in lead by expert
craftsmen . We can discovered their artistic works
walking through Porta Venezia, Corso Magenta and
around the Fiera, along famous and little known
streets, where the city developped between the 19th
and the 20th centuries.
Art
Deco is a taste , which in the twenties, drawing
inspiration from Art Nouveau, used graphic and
geometric decorations: ‘Ca’ Bruta’ is an
example of it.
A
famous painting by the futuristic painter Boccioni
‘La città
che sale’ represents
the spirit of the Modernity at the beginning of the
20th century, the building heat and the
feverish rhythms of the city.
Milan
has further changed. We can discover it among its
skyscrapers, new quarters and office
districts.
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The
Castello Sforzesco is the monument symbol of the
seigneurial period and power in Milan that lasted
two centuries :the 14th and 15th
centuries .Galeazzo II Visconti built it as a
fortress to defend
The
town and later it was changed into a rich residence
for the Court. The Sforzas used it as their house,
taking care of the furniture and of the decorations
and strengthening its defences. Engineers, soldiers
and architects worked there, such as Bartolomeo
Gadio, Benedetto Ferrini, Pietro Averlino known as
the Filarete, Bramante….. ,artists as the Bembos
and their studio and at last ,Leonardo da Vinci.
Unfortunately, most of the treasures of the
Castle got lost even if you can see its powerful
walls and some rooms that have still some
decorations.
Another
building that reminds us of the Sforzas is the Ca’
Granda, a hospital built by Francesco Sforza and
planned by the Filarete. Its name underlines its
proportions, huge compared to the town of that
period. For a lot of centuries, it was the most
modern hospital, now, it’s the seat of the
Università Statale.
A
trip through the 19th century to Villa
Reale
Guided
tour of two hours to Villa Reale and its garden
Villa
Reale in Via Palestro is a unique example of a villa
in the town; it’s not a palace but a residence
surrounded by vegetation where it was possible to
live between ‘otium’
and entertainments. The villa is a beautiful Neo
Classical building. It has a wonderful and romantic
English garden with a pond, a small temple to Love,
a false Medieval ruin. It’s an oasis of
peace in the centre of a city full of traffic
and with a quick rhythm.
Near
Villa Reale there are the Boschettis ,which was a
fashionable walk in the 19th century, and
the Public Gardens, a lung for Milan.
In
Villa Reale, in its frescoed and decorated rooms,
there is the collection of Modern Art to deepen the
knowledge of the 19th century painting.
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