The commanding Piazza del Duomo, Milan's iconic main square. Photo / Getty Images
The commanding Piazza del Duomo, Milan's iconic main square. Photo / Getty Images
Head to Milan for a compelling blend of history, architecture, fashion and creativity, writes Brett Atkinson.
What to see:
Construction first began on Milan Cathedral (also known as Duomo di Milano) in 1387 and the building's final touches were completed only in 1965. For almost six centuries, the epic structure crafted in pink and white marble from northern Italy's Mergozzo quarries has elegantly anchored the centre of Italy's second-largest city.
Book ahead online for a Duomo Pass ticket – enabling priority entry and access to the cathedral's rooftop – and also include a visit to the nearby Museo del Novecento. Housed in the Arengario, a Fascist-era building from which Italian dictator Benito Mussolini used to give strident speeches, the leviathan structure is now a superb museum of 20th-century art.
Equally spectacular, but a secular temple to commerce, is Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Crafted in iron and glass, the soaring atrium houses flagship stores for the aristocrats of Italian fashion and design, including Prada's very first store, opened in 1913, and plenty of opportunities to combine people-watching with eating and drinking.
The four-storey Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in central Milan is the place to go for designer Italian fashion. Photo / Getty Images
To further explore Prada's cultural impact, visit Milan's Fondazione Prada, a sprawling multi-disciplinary exhibition space housed in a former gin distillery. Bar Luce, the foundation's onsite cafe, is a very cool spot designed by maverick US film director Wes Anderson as a homage to 1950s Italian pop culture.
Although artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci was born near Florence, he spent much of his working life in Milan. Seek out his famous painting, The Last Supper, in a refectory adjoining Milan's Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie, and explore the Museo Nazionale Scienza e Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci, a kids-friendly science museum with plenty of interactive exhibitions showcasing the hugely diverse and influential work of the Renaissance polymath.
Football is a standout passion of Milan's residents. Seating 80,000, the San Siro stadium is used on alternate weekends by the city's two Serie A teams, A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. Head along from September to May for a match or explore Italy's largest stadium on a guided tour. During European summers, the stadium's often enlivened by live music, with recent concerts including gigs from Elton John and the Rolling Stones.
Another musical passion of the city is opera, and La Scala, first opened in 1778 and arguably the world's most famous opera house, is graced by world-renowned performers from December to July. Theatre, ballet and classical music are also performed, and for visitors to the city keen to see La Scala's luxe heritage interior, heavily-discounted same-day tickets are available from the theatre's box office.
The La Scala Theatre, one of the world's most famous opera houses. Photo / Getty Images
Behind-the-scenes guided tours are available to explore the massive Ansaldo Workshops, La Scala's long-running creative department crafting stage sets and hundreds of new handmade costumes for each year's opera season. The 20,000sq m facility is in the former Ansaldo steelworks around 4km southwest of Milan Cathedral. Guided tours are also available of La Scala itself. teatroallascala.org
Where to eat:
Hearty meals – think risotto and osso buco – are the classic dishes of Milan and the surrounding Lombardy region. Try them at the very traditional Trattoria da Pino, making sure to leave room for sweetly addictive Italian pastries at Pasticceria Marchesi.
Artisan pizza and local craft beer combine at Berbere's three Milan restaurants, while Macelleria Popolare (literally, The People's Butchery) serves grilled-to-order prime cuts. Always good are the salsiccia (sausage) and the scottadito (grilled lamb chops). Wine and beer are served by the glass, and it's also a good spot for street food classics including lampradotto (tripe) and mondeghili (Milanese meatballs).
Where to drink:
Reputedly the birthplace of Italy's early evening aperitivo tradition and the Negroni Sbagliato cocktail, accidentally invented in 1972 when a bartender used prosecco instead of gin, Bar Basso is an essential destination when in Milan. It's especially popular with minor celebrities in town for Milan's four annual Fashion Weeks, but (slightly) more subdued at other times of the year. Look forward to receiving your cocktail in an almost comically-large signature glass, perfect for loading up on your social media app of choice.
For the city's best beer, head to Birrificio Lambrate, launched in 1996 as one of Italy's very first craft breweries, or to Lambiczoon for Italian beers inspired by the lambic brews made by Belgium's Trappist monasteries. Italian wines, especially high-quality sparkling wines from Lombardy, are served with local charcuterie and cheese at Vinodromo.
Four rooms, individually named after the owner's travels in Spain, Mexico, India and Portugal, combine with leafy verandas at LaFavia, a stylish B & B close to central Milan. Organic breakfasts are served in a rooftop garden.
Getting There and Around
For New Zealand travellers, Milan can be reached on direct flights with Emirates from Dubai. Travelling via Singapore, fly direct to Rome, and then continue by train (three to four hours) north to Milan.
