The Duomo of Milan

The Duomo of Milan is the city’s iconic monument. Until a few years ago, the visit was free of charge, but nowadays there is a charge, except for the faithful who want to attend mass.

There are many versions of the tickets:

• from 30 euro Fast Track Pass all inclusive, including lift to terraces
• from 25 euros for Cathedral, Terraces with lift, Cathedral Museum and St Gotthard Church
• 20 euros for Cathedral, Terraces Walk, Cathedral Museum and St Gotthard Church
• from 10 euro Cathedral and museum

On Wednesdays, only the Duomo ticket can be purchased. The 20, 25 and 30 euro tickets are valid for three days.

Opening hours:

Cathedral daily from 10 a.m. to 4.10 p.m.

The Cathedral Museum Thursday to Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed on Wednesdays

At a glance: what to see

• The Gothic-style façade with spires, statues and decorations: if you buy a ticket for the Terraces, you can see some of them up close
• The interior stained glass windows, created in different periods by Lombard, Italian and international artists
• The many statues and works of art inside
• In the last bay before the altar, the work Saint Ambrose Imposing Penance and Theodosius by Federico Barocci of 1603
• Above the high altar, suspended and attached to the keystone, is the Holy Nail, which tradition says is one of the four nails used for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ
• The crypt

Piazza del Duomo

In Piazza del Duomo, the beating heart of Milan, there are many interesting buildings. On the square is the monument to Victor Emmanuel II, a bronze statue representing the first King of Italy on horseback during the Battle of San Martino. The statue was placed in the square in 1896.

Around the square we find:

• Palazzo Carminati, a pink building opposite the cathedral;
• the southern arcades, on the left, with the Torre dell’Arengario. On this side are also the Museo del Novecento and the Palazzo Reale, home to important art exhibitions;
• the northern arcades, to the right, lead to the entrance of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and, a little further on, provide access to the Rinascente, the city’s iconic shopping centre.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a covered and prestigious passage connecting Piazza Duomo with Piazza della Scala. Inside are clubs, bars, restaurants and luxury boutiques of the most important fashion labels.

The Galleria dates back to the 19th century and was created to connect Piazza Duomo to Piazza della Scala, initially only a wide and convenient road was planned, which later evolved into a tunnel.

A ‘fashionable passage’, with a glass and iron roof, inspired by the famous Galerie Vivienne in Paris and Burlington Arcade in London.

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is composed of a main arm (196.6 metres) connecting the two prestigious squares, and a short arm (105.1 metres). At their intersection is the dome, made of iron and glass, which creates a very evocative atmosphere.

The Museo del Novecento (Museum of the 20th Century)

The Museo del Novecento is located inside the Palazzo dell’Arengario (Via Marconi 1), overlooking the Piazza del Duomo.

Tickets

• Regular price 5 euro, reduced 3 euro, free for some categories and conventions. Book a an audio guide visit here

Admission is included in the Museo Abbonamenti Lombardia, both versions of the YesMilano City Pass, the Milano Museo Card and the Tourist Museum Card.

Closed Mondays. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10 am – 7.30 pm. Thursday closing at 22:30. Last admission one hour before closing.

The Museo del Novecento was opened in 2010 to present 20th century art, especially Italian art. It houses around 400 works inside the historic Palazzo dell’Arengario.

What not to miss:

• Futurism, an Italian art movement of the 20th century, with works by Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla, Carlo Carrà, Ardengo Soffici, Mario Sironi, Gino Severini and Achille Funi;
• Giorgio de Chirico’s Metaphysics, Lucio Fontana’s cuts, Giorgio Morandi’s works;
• the work The Fourth Estate by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, a symbol of the struggles of the working class;
• the works of Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Kandinsky and Amedeo Modigliani.

Piazza della Scala

If we continue along the long arm of the Galleria, we come to Piazza della Scala. It was built in 1858 to create space in front of the famous La Scala theatre, literally one of the temples of opera, music and ballet.

In addition to the theatre, the square also contains Palazzo Marino, which is opposite, and the two buildings of the Banca Commerciale Italiana, one of which houses the Gallerie d’Italia museum in Milan.

In the centre of the Piazza is the Monument to Leonardo da Vinci, created by sculptor Pietro Magni and inaugurated in 1872. The figure of Leonardo stands out, but below him are his four Milanese pupils: Marco d’Oggiono, Gian Giacomo Caprotti, Cesare da Sesto and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio.

The arrangement of the five statues is reminiscent of a bottle of wine with four glasses around it and has been jokingly dubbed ‘on litre in quater’ by the Milanese, meaning one litre in four.

Also worth mentioning is the Monument to Giulio Ricordi, a very recent work by Luigi Secchi that was inaugurated in 2016.

Also in the square, for fans of Leonardo Da Vinci, the Museo Leonardo 3 (see below) displays reconstructions of some of the machines of the great Italian Renaissance genius.

Leonardo Museum 3

Piazza della Scala, entrance from Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Open daily, 9.30am-9pm. Full price 15 euros, reduced price over65 and students 11 euros, children between 6 and 18 years 9 euros. There is a family ticket for 2 adults and 2 children between 6 and 15 years, 38 euros. Museum included in the Abbonamento Musei Lombardia.

Book your tickets here

This museum started as a temporary exhibition, which later became permanent. It does not contain Leonardo’s paintings, but reconstructions of some of the machines he designed, such as the Mechanical Eagle, the Great Kite, the Fast Crossbow, the Time Machine, the Clavi-Viola, the Musical Cannon, the Spring-engined Screw, the Submarine and the Giant Trumpet.

One can browse digital versions of his manuscripts and view digital restorations of his most important works, including the Last Supper.

Gallerie d’Italia – Milano

Piazza della Scala, 6. Open Tuesday to Sunday 9:30 am – 7:30 pm, Thursday closing at 10:30 pm. The ticket office closes one hour before. Full price ticket 10 euro, reduced price ticket over65 8 euro, reduced price ticket under 26 and Intesa Sanpaolo Group customers 5 euro. Free for under18. Free entrance on the first Sunday of the month. Museum included in the Musei Lombardia season ticket.

The Gallerie d’Italia is an exhibition complex belonging to the Intesa Sanpaolo bank, with branches in other Italian cities as well. In Milan there are both permanent collections and temporary exhibitions.

The works on display range from the 19th to the 20th century. They include:

• plaster bas-reliefs by Canova;
• the many works on Italian Romanticism, with Francesco Hayez, Giovanni Migliara and other authors;
• patriotic works from the period of the Italian Risorgimento, including those by Gerolamo Induno and Sebastiano De Albertis;
• the opportunity to gain an insight into the tastes of the period, including Lombard landscapes, revival of the 18th century style, Flemish-inspired genre painting, and Alpine painting;
• the works of Symbolism and Futurism, in which Boccioni stands out.

For those with time on their hands, the explanatory panels in the various rooms give a very clear idea of the art and tastes of the 19th and 20th centuries.

La Rinascente

From Piazza Duomo, it may be worth making a trip to the Rinascente, a place of worship for all fashion enthusiasts, inside which the collections of the biggest Italian and international luxury brands are housed.

The history of La Rinascente began in Milan in 1865 when brothers Luigi and Ferdinando Bocconi opened the first Italian shop dedicated to ready-made clothes.

In 1917, Senator Borletti took over the shop and entrusted the poet Gabriele D’Annunzio with the search for a name. D’Annunzio chose ‘Rinascente’ as the shop’s symbol of rebirth. On Christmas night in 1918, the shop was destroyed by fire and only reopened in March 1921.

In this shop, it is possible to buy clothing for men, women and children, there are accessories, shoes, bags, beauty products, cosmetics, perfumes and even household products. Inside the Rinascente you can find various bars and restaurants ready to satisfy every need, from coffee to sushi, from meat to focaccia, for an exclusive aperitif we recommend Il Bar on the terrace overlooking the Duomo.

Piazza dei Mercanti and surroundings

A stone’s throw from the cathedral, it is a historical medieval square where trade used to take place. It is surrounded by some interesting buildings, such as the Palazzo della Ragione and the Loggia degli Osii. Not historical, but still indicative of the city’s evolution over time, is the secondary entrance to a McDonald’s.

Via Dante is a historic connecting street, full of shops and interesting buildings.

Piazza Cordusio, near the Duomo, is surrounded by imposing historical buildings, headquarters of large financial companies. A Starbucks Brewery has opened in a former Italian Post Office building, where the American coffee giant pays homage to the Italian espresso tradition with a shop that is also an experiential journey into the world of coffee. Very touristy, but well worth a visit, especially if you fancy a frappuccino.

Piazza Affari

Also nearby is the headquarters of the Italian stock exchange, Palazzo Mezzanotte, with the famous L.O.V.E. sculpture by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. The address to set in your navigator is Piazza degli Affari.

Velasca Tower

A few steps from the Duomo, the Torre Velasca (Piazza Velasca 3/5) is a 26-storey skyscraper built in the 1950s, whose architecture has been the subject of debate for decades: symbol of the city or element of ugliness?

Designed between 1950 and 1955 and built between 1956 and 1958 (in 292 days, 8 less than the planned time), it has a ‘mushroom’ shape with the upper part larger than the lower part, which we can consider the base.

It was built in a style defined as ‘neo-liberty’, which on the one hand looked back to the past and the palaces of the 19th century, and on the other aimed at economic momentum, the future and innovations. The much derided structure was a true masterpiece for its time, a complex project that was not easy to realise.

The Torre Velasca is featured in the film ‘Il Vedovo’ by Dino Risi with Alberto Sordi and Franca Valeri, and has been dubbed by the Milanese ‘the skyscraper with braces’ or ‘the skyscraper of braces’. In 2012, ‘The Daily Telegraph’ listed the Torre Velasca as one of the ugliest buildings in the world. The Torre Velasca is currently used for commercial and residential purposes: the first eighteen floors house shops and offices, from the 19th to the 26th there are flats (there are 800 in total). Unless you know someone who lives there, the tower cannot be visited.

The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana

Piazza Pio XI, 2. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm. Closed Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and Easter. Admission 15 euro, reduced ticket 10 euro for under18, over65. Included in the Abbonamento Musei Lombardia

Book your tickets here

The Pinacoteca Ambrosiana holds 1,500 works on wood, canvas and copper and some 248 drawings by masters of the calibre of Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio and Titian.

Founded in 1607 by Cardinal Federico Borromeo as the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, the same Cardinal in 1618 donated his personal collection of paintings, statues, prints, drawings and engravings and established the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.

It contains over 1,500 works in 24 rooms. These are the ones we think are unmissable:

• the Musician of Leonardo da Vinci
• Caravaggio’s Basket of Fruit
• the preparatory cartoon for Raphael’s School of Athens
• Titian’s Adoration of the Magi
• Botticelli’s Madonna of the Pavilion
• the Flower Vases of Jan Brueghel
• Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus.

There are also a few curiosities, including the gloves Napoleon wore at Waterloo and a display case containing a lock of Lucrezia Borgia’s hair, a source of inspiration for great poets such as Gabriele D’Annunzio and Lord Byron.

Walk from the Duomo to San Babila

From Piazza del Duomo, it is possible to continue on foot, behind the cathedral, along Corso Vittorio Emanuele II (always him) to Piazza San Babila, the historic meeting place of paninari in the 1980s.

Here in the square is the Basilica di San Babila, a historic Milanese church that may be worth a visit: see the detailed tour sheet.

Turning left into Piazza San Babila, you can walk along Corso Venezia to the Corso Buenos Aires area, enjoying the parade of historic buildings. See the section North East Milan: what to see.

Brera

The Brera District lies just west of the Duomo and is roughly bounded by Via Pontaccio, Via Fatebenefratelli, Via dei Giardini, Via Monte di Pietà, Via Ponte Vetero and Via Mercato.

The Castello Sforzesco

The Castello Sforzesco is one of the most important sights in Milan. It was built by Francesco Sforza in the 15th century and is a work of art by Antonio Averlino (known as Il Filarete) brought in especially from Florence.

It is just a few minutes’ walk from the Duomo and is immersed in the 47-hectare Sempione Park.

Visits to the courtyards of the Castello Sforzesco are free of charge. An entrance ticket for the Castle Museums must be purchased instead.

The Parco Sempione

Walking through the inner courtyards of the Castle, one arrives at Parco Sempione, Milan’s green lung. A large park in which to stroll and relax, open from early morning to evening.

The park was created at the end of the 19th century, in the area previously occupied by the Piazza d’Armi of the Castello Sforzesco, to which it therefore remains ideally linked. The project was entrusted to architect Emilio Alemagna, who created an English-style park covering an area of 386,000 square metres.

Since its construction, Sempione Park has been the site of important events such as the International Exhibition of 1906: an Art Nouveau pavilion, restored in 2006, remains. It is located in the northern part of the Park and houses the Civic Aquarium: architecture enthusiasts can appreciate it from the outside. A visit inside, however, is recommended if you are interested in freshwater fish.

Since 1973, Sempione Park has been embellished with a number of works of art that can be encountered while strolling through it: ‘History of the Earth’ by A. Paradiso, ‘Musical Accumulation’ by Arman and the ‘Mysterious Baths’ by Giorgio De Chirico.

Inside Sempione Park you can also visit or see:

• the Palazzo dell’Arte, home of the Triennale, which we will explore shortly;
• the Torre del Parco or Torre Littoria, designed by Giò Ponti in 1932;
• the Park Library, originally a Pavilion for the 10th Triennial Exhibition in 1954;
• sculptures such as the equestrian monument of Napoleon III;
• the Sirenette Bridge by Francesco Tettamanzi, also indicated on Google Maps.

The Trienniale Design Museum

Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6. Every day from Tuesday to Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed on Mondays. The ticket office closes one hour before. The €25 single ticket allows you to visit all the scheduled exhibitions. Otherwise, you can buy the ticket for each exhibition on the website, the price is variable. Online you can find many reductions and discounts. A season ticket for all exhibitions, which also includes five shows, is available from 100 euro per year.

The programme of current exhibitions can be found at https://triennale.org/

This exhibition space is dedicated to contemporary art and design. The building was constructed in 1933 to a design by Giovanni Muzio.

In 2007, the Triennale Design Museum was inaugurated, a constantly evolving museum that tells the story of design in all its aspects. In 2011, the Teatro dell’Arte was also created, a place dedicated to important cultural projects, especially those dedicated to the performing arts.

The Arco della Pace

Walking through the park you will arrive at the Arco della Pace, another landmark of Milan, especially of its western area. It is located in Piazza Sempione and is surrounded by venues for lunch, aperitifs and evening entertainment.

Its story deserves to be told briefly.

The Peace Arch, officially, is a monument dedicated to the peace between European nations that was achieved in 1815 at the Congress of Vienna. It was inaugurated on 10 September 1838 in a ceremony presided over by Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria.

It stands where an initial, temporary, wooden arch was erected by Marquis Cagnola to celebrate the arrival in Milan of the newlyweds Eugene de Beauharnais, viceroy of Italy, and Augusta of Bavaria.

However, the citizens liked the wooden arch very much and it was therefore decided to build one in granite from Baveno and marble from Crevola d’Ossola, to celebrate the French victory at the Battle of Jena. As history lovers will have noticed, we are in the middle of the Napoleonic period, while the Arch was inaugurated by the Austrians.

Let’s see what happened in between. In 1807 work began to build the Arch. The project was overseen by Cagnola and promoted by the City of Milan and Napoleon himself: when the Italic Kingdom and the French fell, however, the work was abandoned and the building site left half-finished. An ugly symbol of decline.

In 1826, Francis I of Austria intervened and the project of the Arch, dedicated to peace, was set in motion again. At its top is the Sestiga della Pace, a six-horse bronze chariot by Abbondio Sangiorgio; in the corners are the four Victories on horseback by Giovanni Putti.

On the front are depictions of the four Lombardy-Veneto rivers: the Po, Ticino, Adda and Tagliamento; above the arch are engraved the names of the fallen of the Second World War, on the side the fallen of the First World War. In the centre is a slab engraved with a dedication to Victor Emmanuel II and next to it are bas-reliefs depicting two soldiers.

The change from French to Austrian control also affects another curiosity about the Arch of Peace, namely the position of the horses. In the original design they were supposed to look outwards, i.e. towards Paris. The Austrians rotated them 180° so as to turn their… backsides to France!

An anecdote relates to Ernest Hemingway’s novel ‘Festa Mobile’, in which we read that the Arch of Peace in Milan is aligned with the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Arc de Triomphe de l’Etoile in Paris. This is not actually the case, but many like to think that there is this suggestive connection.

Piazzale Cadorna

Close to the Castello Sforzesco is Piazzale Cadorna. This modern, busy square is home to the railway station of the same name (the Malpensa Express, a train connecting Milan and Milan Malpensa Airport, departs from here) and a stop on the Linea 2 metro line.

At the end of the 20th century, the square was completely redesigned by Gae Aulenti: coloured canopies, pink granite pavements, red columns, green panels, glass roofs and fountains were added.

In the centre of the square is an imposing installation, the sculpture ‘Ago e Filo’ (Needle and Thread) depicting a giant needle with a thread and a knot: it symbolises Milanese industriousness and was conceived and designed by architects Coosje van Bruggen and Claes Oldenburg.

Leonardo’s Last Supper (Santa Maria delle Grazie)

San Maurizio at the Monastero Maggiore

Corso Magenta, 15. Free entrance. Tuesday to Sunday, 9.30 am to 7.30 pm.

Another gem within walking distance of Piazzale Cadorna is the Church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore. It is a stupendous frescoed church, very evocative, recently restored. If you find it open, it is worth a visit, even a quick one. Admission is free and you will find the volunteers of the FAI – Fondo Ambiente Italiano – on site, always ready to give you useful information.

The Church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore was the most important Benedictine women’s monastery in Milan for about a thousand years, from the 8th-9th century until 1798. Founded in the late Lombard age, it was enlarged and modified several times until it reached its current structure, a project by Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono, assisted by Battaggio and Amadeo and completed some fifteen years later by Cristoforo Solari.

The church is divided into two halves. You enter the ‘public’ part and notice a partition, beyond which is the Nuns’ Choir, formerly reserved for cloistered nuns.

The interior of the church is spectacular. It contains a monumental cycle of frescoes that synthesises 16th century Lombard painting. With works by Bernardino Luini, and his sons Aurelio, Evangelista and Giovan Pietro; by Boltraffio and Simone Peterzano.

After visiting the first half, one can pass through the partition and enter the Nuns’ Choir. Here we point out many wooden church furnishings and a large fresco of Noah’s Ark. Curiosity: two unicorns are also painted.

The Archaeological Museum

Corso Magenta 15. Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 5.30 pm. Last admission one hour before. Full 5 euros, reduced 3 euros (university students, under25s, over65s), free for minors. This museum is included in the Abbonamento Musei Lombardia, the Milano Museum Card and the TouristMuseum Card.

Adjacent to the Church of San Maurizio is the Milan Archaeological Museum. It contains no sensational exhibits, but provides an overview of both ancient Milan, from the earliest civilisations to the Romans, and of more distant peoples, such as the Greeks, Etruscans and even India.

The highlights of the museum, in our opinion, are:

• Roman artefacts from the Milan area, on the ground floor immediately after the entrance;
• the Diatreta Trivulzio couple;
• the Patera of Parabiago, a Roman silver ritual dish from around the 3rd-4th century, on the ground floor
• the Treasure of Lovere, a large set of silver vessels dating back to the 3rd century AD, including the beautiful Fisherman’s Cup;
• an altar painted with the goddess Tellus, or perhaps the goddess Ceres, found in Milan, near the present-day Via Circo;
• the remains of ancient Caesarea Marittima;
• the Polygonal Tower from the 3rd century AD, which can be visited;
• the Gandhara Art Gallery, India, in the basement.

Basilica Sant’Ambrogio

Piazza Sant’Ambrogio, 15. Free admission Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 2.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. On public holidays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. No sightseeing is possible during religious services.

The Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, dedicated to the city’s patron saint, dates back to the 4th century AD. The first Basilica was built between 379 and 386 on the extramural necropolis of Porta Vercellina, where Christians martyred during the Roman persecutions had been buried.

In the 11th century, the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio was rebuilt in the Lombard Romanesque style, and although it was severely damaged by Allied bombing during World War II, even with the renovation it has retained its original appearance.

It retained its original appearance even after renovation, which was necessary to repair the damage

It is an excellent example of the Romanesque style, with some characteristics specific to Lombardy.

The church is preceded by a quadriporticus, a huge atrium containing some archaeological remains. Behind it, two brick towers of different heights stand out.

The façade has some typical Lombard Romanesque elements. The ‘gabled’ form, made up of two overlapping loggias; the use of a poor material such as red bricks; the presence of hanging arches and pilasters.

The main entrance portal has a rich and detailed relief decoration.

Inside, we point out:

• the altar of St Ambrose, created in the 9th century by Vuolvino, with an altar frontal in relief with set stones;
• the ciborium, with four red porphyry columns and stucco high reliefs;
• the apse basin, with an 11th-century mosaic;
• the early Christian sacellum of San Vittore, a chapel that predates the church, which was located in the necropolis, and which has been preserved: it is a tribute to the Milanese martyr San Vittore;
• the Sarcophagus of Stilicho from the 14th century, with religious scenes in relief;
• in the crypt, the tombs of St Ambrose, St Gervasius and St Protasius, while under the pulpit is the Sarcophagus of Stilicho.

Promenade along Via Torino

From Piazza del Duomo, you can take Via Torino to head towards the Navigli area. This is a purely commercial street, but with some interesting buildings.

At number 17/19 we find the Church of San Satiro: it is worth going inside. It is open Monday to Saturday, from 7.30 am to 6 pm, and Sunday afternoon from 2 to 5.30 pm. Admission is free, but remember that it is a place of worship and prayer.

This church, dating from the late 1400s, is famous because the artist Donato Bramante inserted a perspective play, which creates the impression of a fake presbytery behind the altar. A stratagem to compensate for the lack of space.

The peculiarity of this church is precisely the fact that there is no space at the back of the altar, but upon entering, one has the opposite impression: Donato Bramante created a fake presbytery with a stuccoed barrel vault above the high altar, which simulates a non-existent depth and thus deceives the eye by giving the idea of a space that in reality does not exist.

The decorations of the coffered dome are beautiful frescoes by Bramantino and Bergognone. Inside the church we find the painting ‘Madonna and Child’ on the high altar and depictions of Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza with his wife Bona of Savoy.

In the altar of the Pieta chapel, the main one, we find the work ‘Lamentation of the Dead Christ’, which consists of a group of 14 life-size coloured terracotta figures, a work dating back to the 15th century and created by Agostino de’ Fondutis.

The neo-Renaissance façade of the church was designed by architect Giuseppe Vandoni in 1872. Unfortunately, the original façade, designed by Amadeo following Bramante’s instructions, was never realised.

The Temple of San Sebastiano (Via Torino 28) is another church worth a quick visit, especially for the particularity of its architecture. The stained glass windows date back to the 1930s and are the work of Pietro Marussig.