The gentle drama of Milan

By John Hendry (Published by Reuters in Spring, 2001)

Few people visit the Milan as casual sightseers; Italy has too many civic stars that shine brighter. If you're not there on business, then your main motivation is likely to be to visit La Scala or the Brera, or to attend a football match. Whatever the reason, Milan, like all cities, is best approached on its own terms. It has history, but you won’t be in awe of its amphitheatre; it has great renaissance art, but you’ll only find pockets of renaissance architecture in the fabric of the city.

There's only one place to start, and that's the cathedral – the Duomo. It's undeniably the centre of the city. Once you have checked in at your hotel, there will almost certainly be a tram or metro that will take you there within five or ten minutes – unless, of course, you’ve taken the trouble to find accommodation within walking distance.

The cathedral's façade is unique. Because it covers the flying buttresses at the side, it presents an almost triangular front. Like all gothic cathedrals, Milan cathedral has a tall main spire, but unlike others, this is largely obscured by the force of the façade and the profusion of smaller spires that bristle up all round the roof.

There is plenty of space in the piazza in front, so unlike, say, Florence or Siena, you can take in the full glory of the building without shoehorning yourself into the doorway of a café or gelateria in the corner of the piazza.

The interior of the building is impressive enough. Huge carved columns soar up into the roofspace. If you allow your eyes to stay fixed upwards to the top of one as you walk by, you can get some feeling of their power. It’s like standing at the base of a rocket awaiting launch.

But if you want to be really impressed, go up on to the top of the roof, where you can walk through the tracery, the spires and the statuary. When you are inside, the south doorway tells you that the lift (ascensore) is just outside, to the left. What this in fact means is that you have to walk all the way round the back of the building to the other side – so don’t walk a few paces and then shrug. The easiest way to find the lift or the stairs (which are perfectly manageable – it’s a rectangular rather than a circular stairwell) is to approach from La Rinascente department store on the north side of the piazza.

Up on the roof, it's not the view out over the city that is the attraction. Milan's climate is notoriously hazy, and that was certainly the case on the day that we visited. What's more fascinating is the structure of the cathedral itself. The whole roof area bristles with hundreds of spires, each of which is home to a selection of carved bishops, saints, martyrs and other Christian worthies.

Streets radiate out from the square in front of the Piazza del Duomo in different directions, but before considering any of these, you need to visit the famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. This is a nineteenth-century shopping arcade, effectively a pair of crossing streets that have been glazed over. But that doesn’t begin to do the place justice.

The entrance to the Galleria is an enormous triumphal arch. Once inside, you are shielded from the elements by a curved glass canopy high above. At the central crossroads, this becomes a dome. The buildings themselves have a nineteenth-century grandeur that is rare on this side of the Alps, more reminiscent of Vienna than Venice.

The Galleria's main street is lined with cafes where you can sit inside or out. Outdoor heaters are used in winter to ensure that ladies remain comfortable after they have removed their fur coats. These places are expensive, of course, but if you want a seat, a coffee and a chance to watch the crowds go by in this wonderful atmosphere, it’s churlish to refuse yourself.

At weekends, the whole place seethes with tourists and shoppers, so the best time to visit is during the week. Then, you will not only have more time and space, but you will also find the atmosphere more naturally Italian as expensively dressed ladies stroll along and elaborately courteous gentlemen gesture their greetings.

From the Piazza del Duomo, there are two pedestrian streets for easy walking and shopping. Via Mercanti, running north-west, has the same 19th-century feel as the Galleria. The pedestrian area continues the other side of the Piazza Cordusio (where you will need to negotiate a fair few traffic intersections and tramlines) along the Via Dante. East of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele is distinctly 20th-century and more prosaic, but has plenty of shops both small and large.

As a general rule, the further away from the centre you go, the less well kept the city looks. Walk down the Via Torino, for example. This is a narrow, busy shopping street. It's well maintained at first, but gradually gets grimier and more graffiti-strewn as you go along. Taking an early morning walk through this area before the shops open, the city shows its overnight scars. The stonework is dirty and grey; paint is often peeling. All the shop windows and doors are heavily shuttered. Every single one is smeared with spray-paint.

And yet as you walk back and the shops are opening, the colour returns. Warm aromas emerge from the bakeries and the same streets have suddenly become inviting again.

Serious shoppers head north-east of the cathedral to the grid of quiet medieval streets east of the Via Manzoni. This too is only a short walk from the cathedral, or a single stop to Montenapoleone on the Metro Line 3. To emerge from the underground station up to street level on the Via Manzoni at night is to enter a different world. The new Armani ship radiates an antiseptic white light; it looks translucent. On the other side of the road, the older buildings are more discreetly lit. From here, you can dive into any number of boutique art galleries, antique shops and jewellers, all embedded deeply into the solid stone of the dignified buildings.

But most importantly, there is a dense concentration of designer clothing and shoe shops. Every designer of world renown has a shop here along streets like the Via Montenapoleone and the Via Santo Spirito. Prices, though high, are significantly less than in England. If you visit during the sales between January and February, you’ll be seduced by that rare beast that is both quality and value. For a contrast to the city streets, take a walk in the Parco Sempione. To get there from the centre, simply walk up the Via Mercanti, then straight on through the bustling Piazza Cordusio until you reach the dark stone of the Castello Sforzesca, which is fronted by an arrangement of fountains. You can walk around the castle onward to the park at the back, and then return through the castle grounds, where there is usually street entertainment for children.

Do this on a Sunday and you'll have half of Milan for company, but that's no bad thing. This is the city relaxing, so the crowds are part of the fun. Families stroll through the park, the adults moving slowly, the children whirling round about them; it’s a gentle, large-scale drama.

Traveller's tips

Tourist information

To find the tourist office, stand in the Piazza del Duomo facing the front of the cathedral. The office is now on your right, near to the cathedral and its museum.

ATM tickets

ATM is Milan’s public transport system, which covers trams, buses and the three Metro lines. You can buy tickets in advance at any newsagent that shows a black T sign. Stamp these on entering a tram or bus, and you’ve then got an hour and a quarter of travel. You’ll need a second ticket if you want to change lines on the Metro.

The three Metro lines are colour-coded for convenience: Line 1 is red, Line 2 is yellow and Line 3 is green. This did not stop me careering up and down stairs underneath the Piazza del Duomo for fifteen minutes before I finally found the platform I needed.

Airports

There are two main airports: Malpensa and Linate.

Malpensa is a long way from the centre. If you take one of the regular airport buses, don't be fooled by the title ‘shuttle’ or ‘express’; it will take you well over an hour to get to the stop at Milan’s Stazione Centrale or the Piazza Cadorna – from where you’ll almost certainly need to take a taxi to your hotel. It’s worth taking time to find the railway station at the airport, which will take you to the Stazione Centrale more quickly.

Taking a taxi is more convenient. If you're with your family, it's well worth the extra money to go from door to door without worrying where your bags and children have got to.

Linate is much nearer the centre. You have a choice of buses (including a standard ATM bus) which will take you right to the centre. Or, you might as well take a taxi direct to your hotel.

Cathedral Roof

9000 lire by lift, 6000 lire by stairs.

The Last Supper

Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper is housed in a building beside the church of Santa Maria della Grazie on the Corso Magenta (the nearest metro is Cadorna on Line 1). Unless you have the luck of a serial lottery-jackpot-winner, you won’t be able to see the fresco if you just turn up and say please. You can’t get in without a reservation – a prenotazione. .

For reservations, ring during office hours: 0039 (0)2 8942 1146.

It's not an accident that I give you the full international dialling code. If you're serious about seeing this masterpiece, telephone before you go to Milan.

Viewing is between 9am and 7pm daily (6.30 on Sunday).

It is closed on Mondays.

La Scala

The Opera season in Milan kicks off in December. In general, it's worth asking your travel agent to sort something out in advance if you want to go to La Scala. Tickets are very scarce.

At the time of writing, La Scala is being renovated, and the season is being held at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi, which La Scala’s website describes as ‘a modern, functional space seating more than 2,400, with state-of-the-art technology and optimum levels of spectator reception and comfort.’ This move has gone down like a lead gondola with the more socially conscious patrons of the theatre, and a number of Milanese are none too impressed at having to drag themselves out to some humdrum theatre on the edge of town. If John Adams is looking for a subject for a comic opera, this could be it. Any kind of renovation in Italy is an automatic prelude to a high-profile melodramatic slanging match.

If you prefer your music to remain free of singers, sets and plots, don't despair. La Scala’s programme includes symphonic concerts played by La Scala’s own orchestra and guests of the highest standards. La Scala’s acoustics are said to be superior to any modern concert hall.

http://www.teatroallascala.org/

Smoking

Almost everyone smokes in every bar and every restaurant. California this isn't.