Milan
Wednesday 19^th October 2016

Despite not turning off my alarm and waking up early and hungry, eating a yogurt and a banana, I managed to get back to sleep. The curtains did a good job at keeping the daylight out.  It was 11am by the time we began our next 30 years of marriage.

Following the now familiar route towards Piazza del Duomo, we then turned left instead of right, walking up Via Dante. It quickly became a pedestrianised street which made it a much more pleasant srtroll.

We stopped for a coffee at Caffe Spizzico.  It was slightly overcast today so we sat inside rather than out on the pavement. A little hungry we both had a pastry with our coffees. I had an apple turnover with my cappuccino which was the perfect sugary rush I needed and Julie had a croissant with her "Italian" coffee.

I'd not heard coffee called an Italian before.  Having two shots of espresso coffee watered down was what we would call an Americano but I suppose this was different in that it only had a splash of water added. I tried some and it was the perfect balance.

Moving on, we continued up Via Dente towards the red brick Castello Sforzesco. The main tower, Torre del Filarete was quite an imposing sight. Before reaching its walls we had to navigate across the peculiar roundabout of Largo Cairoli. Busy with cars on the outside and then trams on an inside track.

At its centre was a statue of Guiseppe Garibaldi the Italian general and revolutionary who not only inspired a famous biscuit but also played a major part in the Risorgimento, the unification of Italy in 1861.

Beyond Garibaldi was a fountain. It didn't have a fancy name, it literally was called the "fountain in the Castle Square".  It was no Trevi, that's for sure.

It was just a simple water feature but what it lacked in ornate embelishments it made up for with an abundance of water shooting up several metres. It generated plenty of noise as the great volume of water was constantly splashing back down.

Eventually we stood at the gates to Castello Sforzesco and looked up at the main tower. It looked in remarkable condition for a 15th century castle but that's because the Filarete Tower was a modern reconstruction, rebuilt in 1905.

Set into a niche in the centre was a statue of St. Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan. On either side were numerous coats of arms of the Duchy of Milan, almost identical with just some subtle variations, like in a game of spot the difference.

They all contained a blue snake, swallowing a child. The image, known as a biscione, was adopted by the Visconti family as early as the 13th century. In 1395 Gian Galeazzo Visconti became the first Duke of Milan. He was followed by his two sons Galeazzo Maria and Filipo Maria who both succeded him.

The Visconti lost their grip on power in 1447  when Filipo died without an heir. It encouraged a revolution and Milan briefly became a republic. They destroyed the Visconti fortress that stood here.

Three years later Francesco Sforza, the husband of Filipo's illegitimate daughter  Bianca Maria Visconti, seized control back to the Duchy and rebuilt the castle.

The coats of arms on the Filarete tower represented the Sforza dynasty from Francesco Sforza the fourth Duke of Milan, his son Galeazzo Maria Sforza and then his grandson Gian Galeazzo Sforza, who died at the age of 25, assasinated by poisoning. His uncle, Ludvico Sforza, was suspected to be involved but he became the 7th Duke of Milan regardless.

Medieval Europe was rife with such plots and assassinations. It was easy to see from where Games of Thrones got its inspiration.

We walked through the gates and entered Cortile della Armi, a large inner courtyard where kinghts of the realm trained and tournaments were held. What exists today was rebuilt by Francesco Sforza from the ruins of the Visconti fortifications destroyed by the short-lived republic.

In two of the corners there was a large round tower, Torre del Carmine and Torrione di Santo Spirito. These were original 15th century fortifications, built with walls seven metres thick and a diameter of 20 metres. They looked formidable.

Entry to this area was free of charge.

There were several museums housed inside the castle's many halls and rooms, like the Museum of Ancient Art and Armoury, Museum of Decorative Arts, the Archaelogical Museum and many more. We chose not to visit any of them because we were quite content to walk around the courtyard looking at the collection items on display out in the open.

Above the door to one of the museums was another variation on the Sforza crest. This had the biscione snake on one side and on the other, the red cross of St.George, which not only is the national flag of England but also of Milan. This combination is actually still used today by Alfa Romero, the famous Milan based car manufacturer.

One of the items displayed was a marble statue of St. John Nepomuk. He was a 14th century Bohemian priest, executed by King Wenceslas IV, and then declared a martyr. His cult grew especially following an Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683 where his spirit performed miracles, endearing him to the Hapsburgs court.

When the Sfroza dynasty came to an end in the mid 16th century it was the Hapsburgs who took over control of Milan. They brought with them their prefered saints and the statue of St. John Nepomuk eventually settled here at the castle.

We left the parade ground, walking out through the gates to the Parco Sempione, a large park that had an imposing truimphal arch in the distance. The arch was comissioned by Napolean to celebrate a decisive victory at the Battle of Jena.

However in 1815 it all came crashing down for Napolean after the Battle of Waterloo and he never got to see the arch finished. It was completed by the Hapsburgs and renamed Arco della Pace , the Arch of Peace.

We stood for a while looking out over Parco Sempione before turning around and heading back inside the castle.

Inside on our right the walls of the fortress looked impregnable with the Torre di Bona rising up like a battleship in the middle of it all.

Then looking to our left we saw La Corte Ducale a narrow courtyard which had a slight arabic feel to it with a long pool down the middle towards the colonade at the end.

Back to our right again, we popped our heads inside the beautiful Cortile della Roccetta, a small courtyard with arcades wrapping around three sides. The vaulted ceiling had these red and gold blazing sun motifs emitting wavy rays of sunshine.

We left Castello Sforzesco, crossing the road towards the grand townhouses with their ornate balconies overlooking the castle. 

With our trusted Google maps in hand we were on our way to find Palazzo Brera, a former Jesuit college and now is home to two arts and science academies, a library and a public gallery. It was a good ten minute walk from the castle.

We couldn't miss it. The palazzo itself was enormous.

The first thing we saw when we walked through its huge portico entrance was a bronze statue of Napolean as Mars the Peacemaker.  

The original was a marble statue carved by Antonio Canova at the request of Napolean. It turned out he didn't like it, complaining it was too athletic. After the Battle of Waterloo the British Government bought the statue from the Luovre in Paris and then gifted it to the Duke of Wellington. 

This bronze copy was cast only five years after the original was completed and has stood in the centre of Palazzo Brera for over 150 year!

We walked around looking into the rooms where students were busy in class. In one room they were busy working on a marble statue, not with a chisel but a hand-held grinder.

I then headed up the stairs to the balcony for a good view. Julie was content to join many others sitting down on a short step around the edge of the courtyard. She sat at the foot of a large statue of Count Pietro Verri an 18th century economist, amongst other things.

From the balcony I could really appreciate the double pillars (or coupled columns) holding up the arches. I kept on telling myself it was a "much better view" to justify all my effort of walking up the staircase but it was just a different view, that's all.

I soon returned back down and joined Julie at the foot of Count Verri where we watched people come and go until it was time for us to go to. 

Back out on Via Brera we followed the street towards the centre reaching the Scala theatre within no time. I had checked on-line yesterday what performance was on and they listed a ballet called "Giselle".

We didn't fancy that. But when we checked the poster outside tonight they were performing the opera La Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) by Mozart. If only we had known in advance. That would have been an incredible experience.

It was now 1pm and time for some lunch. We had heard about Luini, a restaurant selling panzerotti, a small deep-fried folded calzone pizza for want of a better description. They are traditionally from the Apulia region and we remember eating some in Altamura last year.

We joined the back of a long queue, that's how much I wanted to try these delicious snacks. It also gave us time to check-out their menu. They did sweet variations but we were here for the more common savoury (or the salt as they described it). Out of the six choices four did not have meat. I was spoilt for choice, for a change.

I really like the sound of the wholemeal panzerotto filled with courgettes and mozzarella. They even had a vegan option of onion, olives and tomato but I decided to go more traditional with either the tomato and mozzarella or spinach and ricotta filling.

They also had a daily special which was again tomato and mozzrella with the addition of pesto. 

The nearer we got to the counter the more excited we became. I was literally drooling at the sight and smell of all the panzerotti.  Looking at the size of the little fried pizza I was going to order two panzerotti but I still hadn't decided which filling.

When it was my turn to order I went tomato and mozzarella and the daily special with pesto. Julie opted out when she saw the potato and onion topped foccacia. 

Since 2012 the cathedral has been running an "adopt a spire" promotion to raise funds for the constant maintenance of the cathedral.