Milan

Travelled:0km with Bluey, but 40km by train (return) and who knows on foot!
Visited:Milan
Stay: Salonno as per last night

Having got the low down from a French couple staying at the aire, we decided to take the train into Milan from here. It was only a 35min journey from Saronno Sud to Cadorna, and cost €5.60 return. 

Started the day with a coffee and met a guy who travels with his pinnochio and takes photos of it.

As we got out of the station we walked over to Sforza Castle. It has been a defensive structure and a ducal redidence and has been partially demolished and rebuilt several times. It was not until the late 1800's it was transformed into a museum centre. We came back later in the day to visit the extensive displays. 

Firstly we wanted to have a look at the very impressive Duomo. It took almost 430 years to complete. It is the 2nd largest cathedral in the world. There are about 3400 statues,135 spires and 96 gargoyles. It is free to visit inside but if you want to take photos it is a €2 fee. There is also a fee for an audioguide. 

There are 52 columns.

The marble interior and exterior was amazing. Floor to roof!

Some of the treasures inside include a statue of a skinless St Bartholomew 

and a red light on a crucifix in the ceiling marks a nail from Christ's Cross. 

Amazing lead light windows too.

The golden Madonna on the very top is 108m above the ground. 

We purchased a ticket to take the steps up to the roof terrace for €7 each (extra for the lift). What a great view of Milan but also it is great to get a closer look at the architectual features of the cathedral. 

A beautiful bronze doors

After some lunch we went to see the other reason Milan is famous - the fashion! We went to the beautiful Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and browsed at all the big name labels. 

Another interesting feature is the mosaic tiled floor depicting four prominent northern Italian cities. Turin is represented by a bull but is missing his private parts and there is a hole there instead. For some reason it has become a tradition to spin on the bull's balls for good luck...so while in Milan, do as the Milanese do! 

We then visited the War Memorial on our way to have a look at Saint Ambrogio church, which was closed. 

From here we made our way to Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery where Leonardo da Vinci's 'The Last Supper' is painted on a wall. We had read that it is very difficult to get tickets and they are required to be purchased in advance. Even though there was a sign on the counter saying 'sold out', Mark asked if there were any tickets available and suprisingly there were for a 6pm visit and if we bought them now they would be discounted from €8 to €6.50!? Amazing. This gave us just enough time to go back to Sforza Castle to visit the many exhibits at the museums. 

Adam by Stodo Lorenzi

Pieta- unfinished work by Michelangelo before his death.

Portable sundials

Some of the timber iinlaid work

Ebony with inlaid work  of ivory and stone

A bird cage.

Made out of Ivory.

Some interesting musical imtruments.

Before we headed back to Santa Maria we had a beer and as it was happy hour, it included a free aperitivo buffet, the Italians version of tapas!  

We quickly visited the church before having our 15mins with the world famous frescoe. 

No photos allowed but here is a copy!

Well... we had a full day and it was time to catch the train back to Bluey.