The Road Goes Ever On

Milan: The Victor Emmanuel Galleria And Camparino

The Victor Emmanuel Galleria (1877) is one of Milan's architectural glories, the largest of the steel and glass shopping malls built in the later 19th century. Others have folded or languished, but this one has thrived. It threw out McDonald's some years ago to make room for a second Prada. (McDonald's is now down the street, on less hallowed ground). If your town has a "galleria" shopping center, it's knowingly or unknowingly named after this place. It is situated between two of Milan's other major cultural glories, the Duomo and La Scala. Milanos think of it as the city's living room.

Another cultural glory of Milan is Campari. Italy has cultural glories without number, and quite a few of them are potable. My favorite, currently, is Campari, the red bitter that comprises aperitifs world-wide. They also own Aperol, the sweeter, low-test orange version you see young people drinking, also world-wide. My favorite drink these days is the Negroni, invented in Florence, it is said, but its chief flavor is Campari (the red vermouth sweetens it a bit and the gin puts it right on the edge between an aperitif and a cocktail). But I digress. Camparino is the old family bar, situated right at the Duomo gateway to the Galleria, a place of honor. How could I not have a Negroni at Camparino, at the Galleria?

Galleria entrance from the Duomo steps

Assorted views in the Galleria

At the octagonal crossing

From our table at Camparino

"Hey, careful man, there's a beverage here!"

Milan: The Ambrosian Library and Gallery

The Pinoteca Ambrosiana is Milan's best known art museum. It has works by a number of masters, but probably is most famous for the Codex Atlanticus, the largest collection of Leonardo's notebooks, held by the associated Biblioteca Ambrosiana. A few pages of it are on display, carefully preserved and guarded. We had visited the Ambrosiana in 2011, but it has been, what?--days!--since we were last in a museum, so I wanted to return. This on Sunday, April 28th.

Entrance to the Ambrosiana

Nice Botticelli tondo

Ditto Ghirlandiao

And a Pinturrichio

Rene Ssance, Death of St. Kermit

Detail

From 20 paces you'd swear this was a Leonardo, and you
wouldn't be far off: it's Bernardino Luini's Sacred Family
with St. Ann and St. John; Luini was a member of
Leonardo's inner circle, and his works were often attributed
to Mr. Smoky

One of the attractions of the Ambrosiana for me is this, the cartoon of Rafael's
great School of Athens, in the former papal apartments in the Vatican; in charcoal,
and, of course, the whole wall; brilliantly displayed with a small library of books
in the room to look at and help with the comparison between the plan and its
execution

Of course the big change is the addition of Michaelangelo as Heraclitus and
Rafael himself somewhere on the far right; Plato is played by Mr. Smoky himself

Another attraction of the Ambrosiana are several Brueghels, well, Jan Brueghels,
not the biggie Brueghels

Mr. Nice Guy Expulsion

Looking down into a reading room of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana; Vicki notes
the humongous card catalogs on the right

Moving right along, this is identified as a Madonna and
Bambino by the Master of San Miniato; San Miniato is/
was a monastery overlooking Florence, just above the
Michaelangelo Belvedere (look for scores of tour buses);
San Miniato himself was one of those early Christian
martyrs who was decapitated but who picked up his head
and walked off into the sunset...

Anyhow, as I look at her, I am thinking Simonetta and that this is a lost
Botticelli; it's of exactly the right age, later 1400s; think about it

In addition to all the artwork, the Ambrosiana has some nice interiors

Never miss an Avercamp winter scene, even if it's horribly lost in Milan

Courtyard

Now in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana

With its large exhibit of pages from Leonardo's notebooks; even his engineering
drawing are smoky, chiaroscuro

And, really by Leonardo, and not Luini, his Portrait of a Musician, oil on panel,
c. 1519

Interestingly, there's not all that much to the gift shoppe

Milan: The Assorted Scenes

Some assorted scenes from 3 days walking to the various Milan sights...

Fashion capital of Italy; central piazza

Pigeons showing no respect for King Victor Emmanuel

So if Dante had come to Milan, and if he had smoked
cigars (Toscanos?), this is what he would have looked like

Spring time, many beautiful tree-lined streets

In-town scene, the station where we transferred from the suburban light-rail to
the Milan metro: the red thing there is a Ferrari; we camped, as it were, at the
New Park Milano area sosta, two stops up the line, really only 3-4 miles from
the centro

Lots of attention-getting bigger buildings

We'd read there was some art nouveau in Milano and indeed saw some

Thus

One afternoon we just rode a street car for an hour or so to see some of the
everyday bits

Back downtown

Outside La Scala, which I toured in 2011

The house Verdi built

Famous municipal statue of Mr. Smoky

In the vast and beautiful Victor Emmanuel arcade...what fashion guys are wearing
in Milan

After the Last Supper and the street-car ride, we walked over to the immense
15th century Sforza Castle

Immense but not very interesting

Helpful map...

At the Sforza, we thought we'd take in the Michaelangelo
pieta sculpture there, thus bagging both a Mr. Smoky and
a Mr. Twisty in a single day; but it was not to be: the free
viewings after 4:30 PM have been discontinued, and we
were not about to spend actual money to see a barely
worked on Mr. Twisty