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milano.guru
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48 hours:
1-Piazza del Duomo
2-Duomo
3-Castello Sforzesco
4-Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio
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1-Piazza del Duomo (Not Complete)
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ENG OFFICIAL
Piazza del Duomo, designed by Giuseppe Mengoni and opened in 1865 after protracted difficulties, is the ideal starting point for a visit to Milan’s historic centre. The area is packed with visitors fascinated by the “great machine of the Duomo”, as Alessandro Manzoni describes the cathedral in The Betrothed. There are numerous spots where the Milanese like to meet for an aperitif on Sunday morning. Young people prefer to go to Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, which has most of the cinemas as well as many shops and department stores.
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2-Duomo (Not Complete)
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ENG OFFICIAL
Eyewitness Milan and Lakes
The construction of the Duomo began in 1386, with the city’s bishop, Antonio da Saluzzo, as its patron. Duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti invited Lombard, German and French architects to supervise the works and insisted they use Candoglia marble, which was transported along the Navigli canals. The official seal AUF (ad usum fabricae), stamped on the slabs, exempted them from customs duty. The cathedral was consecrated in 1418, yet remained unfinished until the 19th century, when Napoleon, who was crowned King of Italy here, had the façade completed.
Lonely Plante Italy:
A vision in pink Candoglia marble, Milan’s extravagant Goth- ic cathedral, 600 years in the making, aptly reflects the city’s creativity and ambition. Its pearly white facade, adorned with 135 spires and 3400 statues rises like the filigree of a fairy-tale tiara, wowing the crowds with its extravagant detail. The interior is no less im- pressive, punctuated by the largest stained- glass windows in Christendom, while in the crypt saintly Carlo Borromeo is interred in a rock-crystal casket. Begun by Giangaleazzo Visconti in 1386, the cathedral’s design was originally con- sidered unfeasible. Canals had to be dug to transport the vast quantities of marble to the centre of the city and new technol- ogies were invented to cater for the never- before-attempted scale.
There was also that small matter of style. The Gothic lines went out of fashion and were considered ‘too French’, so it took on several looks as the years, then centuries, dragged on. Its slow construction became the byword for an im- possible task (‘fabrica del Dom’, in the Mil- anese dialect). Indeed, much of its ornament is 19th-century neo-Gothic, with the final touches only applied in the 1960s. Crowning it all is a gilded copper statue of the Madon- nina (Little Madonna), the city’s traditional protector.
The most spectacular view is through the innumerable marble spires and pinnacles that adorn the rooftop. On a clear day you can see the Alps.
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3-Castello Sforzesco (Not Complete)
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4-Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio (Not Complete)
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ENG OFFICIAL
Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio
www.basilicasantambrogio.it
Phone: 0286450895
Visit
Piazza Sant’Ambrogio 15 (near Università Cattolica)
Piazza Sant’Ambrogio 25 (at the left of the Basilica)
Opening hours (Suggested for visits)
From Monday to Saturday 10.00-12.00 and 14.30-18.00
Sunday 15.00-17.00
Opening hours
From Monday to Saturday 08.00-12.00 and 14.30/15.00-19.00
On Sunday please check liturgies
Getting there
-Subway MM2 (green line) stop S. Ambrogio.
-Bus ATM 50 – 58 – 94
The Basilica was built by bishop Ambrogio (Ambrose) between 379 CE and 386 CE, and houses the bones of Milan’s favourite bishop, Sant'Ambrogio (St Ambrose).
The area, before the Basilica, was an early Christian burial ground and was selected to be part of a programme to reorganize the Christian face of Milan (drawing a sinbolic cross within the roman Milan):
-Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio (basilica martyrum);
-Basilica di San Nazaro in Brolo (basilica apostolorum);
-Basilica di San Simpliciano (basilica virginum);
-Basilica di San Dionigi (basilica prophetarum).
The church was dedicated to Ambrogio (after his burial here), which was a defender of Christianity against Arianism. The Benedictines began to enlarge it in the 8th century, then in the following century Archbishop Anspert built the atrium, which was rebuilt in the 12th century. In the 11th century, reconstruction of the entire church began. The dome collapsed in 1196 CE, and the vaults and pulpit were rebuilt. In 1492 the Sforza family asked Bramante to restructure the rectory and the Benedictine monastery. The Basilica was badly damaged by war bombs in 1943.
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