19.5.5 Italy Travel—Milan

When talking about Italy, the first city that many people think of is Milan, because it is the city of football, the capital of fashion and design, the four major economic centers in Europe, the world’s opera center, and the world’s art center. capital, world historical and cultural city, etc. The next series of Italian travel notes starts from the city of Milan.

Italy, the full name of the Italian Republic, is a European country, mainly composed of the Apennine Peninsula in southern Europe and two islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. It has a land area of ??301,333 square kilometers and a population of 60.02 million. The Alpine region in the north borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. Its territory also surrounds two micro-states-San Marino and the Vatican.

Milan, known as Mediolanium in ancient Rome, is the second largest city in Italy, the capital of the province of Milan and the capital of the Lombardy region, located on the Lombardy Plain. . Milan is also one of the world's famous international metropolises, one of the eight metropolitan areas in the world, the most developed city in Italy and one of the four major economic centers in Europe (Paris, France, London, England, Berlin, Germany, and Milan, Italy), and one of the world's fashion and design centers. It is the most influential city in the metropolitan and fashion circles, a world famous historical and cultural city, a world opera mecca, and a world capital of art.

Milan is an important transportation hub in southern Europe. It has a long history and is famous for its architecture, fashion, art, painting, opera, football, and tourism. The GDP of the Milan metropolitan area accounts for 4.8% of Italy's GDP. It is the most densely populated and industrially developed region in Europe.

The first thing that catches the eye is the Alpine snow-capped mountains seen from the plane.

The first day after arriving in Milan started with an authentic Italian breakfast.

However, as the essence of Espresso, this taste is relatively strong, and not everyone can get used to it.

Espresso is known as the "soul of coffee". Because with a perfect cup of Espresso, we can use it to prepare various world-famous coffees such as Cappuccino, Mocha, and Latte.

Regarding the origin of Espresso, there is a legend that “at the beginning of the 20th century AD, there lived an engineer who loved coffee near Naples, Italy. However, at that time, coffee could only be brewed through a drip, which was very slow and required waiting. It took a long time to enjoy a small cup of coffee. The impatient engineer was very impatient, so he tried to research a method of shortening the coffee brewing time using high temperature and high pressure, and invented the world's unique Italian quick coffee preparation. In order to commemorate This engineer, an Italian, named this way of brewing coffee Espresso, which means "under pressure."

Its biggest feature is the combination of aroma and taste. The normal way to drink it is to add sugar. Finally, stir briefly and wait until the temperature reaches a drinking level before starting to drink. While enjoying the rich taste, your caffeine intake is greatly reduced.

Nowadays, "Espresso" has almost become a representative symbol of Italy.

When talking about Milan’s famous attractions, most people think of Milan Cathedral. As the center of Milan, Milan Cathedral is naturally the most important tourist gathering place. After coming out of DUOMO Station, on one side of the cathedral is the splendid La Galleria Vittorio Emanuele 2, known as the "Milan Living Room". The north side of the cloister is similar to the arcade in Guangzhou. There are many famous brand stores such as H&M, Givenchy, GUCCI, etc.

Above the promenade is a steel-framed glass roof. The two intersecting streets are in the shape of a cross, 196 meters long from north to south and 105 meters long from east to west.

In the center of the octagonal shape there is a mosaic depicting the four continents of the earth: Europe, America, Africa and Asia. It is said that the architect Giuseppe Mengoni (1829-1877) who designed this arcade was very dedicated. He would climb the very high vault every day to check the quality of the project and see whether the covering glass workmanship was perfect. Finally, one day when the project was about to be completed, he unfortunately fell down and gave his precious life to his beloved architectural art. The Galleria Emanuele has also become his final work and is admired by the world.

The floor of the entire corridor is paved with marble mosaic patterns. The pattern in the center is the national emblem of the Kingdom of Italy. The white cross on a red background comes from the Principality of Savoy.

It is surrounded by the representative emblems of four important Italian cities: the bull of Turin, the she-wolf of Rome, the lily of Florence and the red cross on a white background of Milan.

Flocks of pigeons rise and fall in the square in front of the cathedral. The equestrian bronze statue of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of Italy, is facing the Milan Cathedral. This equestrian bronze statue was sculpted by Ercole Rosa in 1896 and depicts him on horseback inspiring his soldiers to charge during the Battle of San Martino. There are four groups of sculptures representing this war all around below. There is a male lion sitting and lying on the south and north sides with its head raised. Under the claws are shields and olive branches. There is a copper wreath on the east side.

Victor Emanuele II (March 14, 1820 - January 9, 1878), Italian: Vittorio Emanuele II. King of Sardinia-Piedmont from 1849 to 1861. When the Apennine Peninsula was unified, many different groups could not reach a consensus on the system that should be implemented in the unified country. One of the suggestions was that a confederation should be established under the rule of the Pope. But many major revolutionary groups wanted to establish a communist republic. In the end, King Vittorio Emanuele II and his Prime Minister Cavour took over the power to unify the monarchy and became the first king after the unification of Italy (1861-1878).

The next thing we came to was the highlight of the trip - Milan Cathedral.

As a famous Catholic church in Italy, this is also known as "Dumo Cathedral", Duomo Cathedral, Duo Mo Church, etc. It is the largest Gothic building in the world and one of the five cathedrals in the world. Its overall size ranks second in the world, second only to St. Peter's Church in the Vatican. It is also one of the most influential churches in the world.

Its construction began in 1386 AD, the vaults were completed in 1500, and the gilded statue of the Virgin Mary on the central tower was put in place in 1774. It was finally completed in 1897 and took five centuries to complete.

The Cathedral of Milan plays an extremely important role in the religious world. The famous "Edict of Milan" was promulgated from here, legalizing Christianity and becoming the state religion of the Roman Empire. Here Leonardo da Vinci Bramante drew countless design drafts for him to make the cathedral even more magnificent.

Napoleon held a coronation ceremony in Milan Cathedral in 1805. And Leonardo da Vinci invented the elevator for this building. Milan Cathedral is also the main church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Milan, the largest diocese in the world. Milan Cathedral is not just a church or a building, it is the spiritual symbol and symbol of Milan and a miracle in the history of world architecture and world civilization.

This church is entirely made of white marble. American writer Mark Twain called it "the poetry of marble." The entire building is in the shape of a Latin cross, with its length being greater than its width. The church is 158 meters long and 93 meters wide at its widest point. The total area is 11,700 square meters and can accommodate 35,000 people.

The characteristic of the church lies in its appearance. There are pointed arches, pilasters, flowered windows, and 135 spiers, piercing the sky like a dense forest of towers, and there are statues of gods on each spire. There are more than 2,000 statues on the outside of the church, which is very strange. If there are even the internal statues, there are more than 6,000 statues, making it the Gothic church with the most statues in the world. Therefore, the church building is particularly gorgeous and lively. This church has a 107-meter-high spire, which was designed by the Italian architectural giant Brunoleschi in the 15th century AD. There is a statue of the Virgin Mary on the top of the tower, which is golden and dazzling in the sun, magical and magnificent.

On the west side of the church, there are five bronze doors separated by six huge square columns (buttresses). They were completed from 1896 to 1965. Each bronze door is divided into many squares. The church's history, mythology and biblical stories are carved inside.

The first bronze door outside the church was completed in 1948. It represents an edict tolerating Christianity issued by the Roman Emperors Constantine I and Licinius in Milan, Italy, in 313 AD. Edict of Milan. This edict declared the freedom to believe in Christianity within the Roman Empire, returned confiscated church property, and recognized the legal status of Christianity.

The Edict of Milan was a turning point in the history of Christianity. It marked that the rulers of the Roman Empire changed their policy towards Christianity from a policy of repression and tolerance to a policy of protection and utilization, from a persecuted "underground religion" to a policy of protection and utilization. recognized religion. The sculptures on the bronze door reproduce the scene before the "Edict of Milan" was promulgated. The early Christians were persecuted. They were sentenced to various horrific punishments, their property was confiscated, and they were in miserable conditions.

The second bronze door is the entrance to the tour. It was made in 1950 and tells the life of San Ambrogio. The predecessor of the cathedral was the shrine of San Ambrogio, the patron saint of Milan.

The third largest bronze door is located in the center. It was completed in 1906 and weighs 37 tons. It depicts the life of the Virgin Mary.

The fourth bronze door was completed in 1950 and tells the history of Milan from the demise of German Emperor Frederick II to the Battle of Legnano.

The fifth bronze door, completed in 1965, shows the history of the cathedral from the time of San Carlo Borromeo.

The hall of Milan Cathedral has obvious Gothic-style architectural features: the hall is about 130 meters long and 59 meters wide. The distance between the pillars on both sides is not large, forming a strong dynamic movement from the entrance to the altar. potential. 62 huge and towering cylindrical marble columns are arranged in four rows to support the 14,000-ton arched roof. There are metal rods between the columns. Marble columns divide the interior of the church into five zones. The small black squares in the picture represent stone pillars.

In the center of the hall, there are dozens of rows of brown benches, arranged in four rows, for believers to sit while praying. The white marble floor is inlaid with black and red marble Baroque patterns, realizing the fantasy of the famous Italian painter Pellegrino Tibaldi.

The front after entering the cathedral is the big altar, a "little red dot" above the head of the big altar. This is a small red light. It is said that it shines on an iron nail that was nailed on Jesus. This iron nail will be removed and worshiped for three days every year. Leonardo da Vinci invented an elevator specifically for this purpose (modern elevator predecessor).

The four pillars supporting the central tower around the altar of the hall are each 40 meters high and 10 meters in diameter. They are made of large pieces of granite and covered with marble. There are 12 smaller columns. The total height of the columns and capitals is about 26 meters and the diameter is 3.5 meters. In the center is the tabernacle, flanked by silver statues of Carlo and Ambrose, patron saints of Milan.

Five meters away from the entrance gate, a Capricorn is painted on the north wall. This is Capricorn, which is called the "Pole". The corresponding ground is inlaid with brass strips (i.e. meridian lines), parallel to the gate.

There is a circular hole near the first vault on the south side of the same line. Sunlight shines into the church from the small hole on the south side, and during the winter solstice (December 21st) it shines on the "pole" of the north wall. During the summer solstice (June 21), it shines at a specific location on the meridian. Specific locations are represented by corresponding constellations on the meridian. To allow sunlight to enter the small hole, a gap is left in the carved stone railing on the south side of the church exterior.

There are many paintings hanging inside the church.

Jesus Chapel. The wooden crucifix was carried by Saint Carlo during the parade during the plague epidemic in 1576.

"Tribulzio Candelabra", five meters high, has seven branches and is exquisitely crafted. It was donated to the church by Father Giovan Battista Trivulzio in 1562. It is a work of French craftsman Nicola da Verdon at the end of the 12th century.

The remains of the Archbishop of Milan, his face is covered by a silver mask, and his body is the true body of the bishop.

On the south side is the altar of Saint Giovanni Bono, which depicts the bishop who led Christianity in Milan.

His exploits are engraved in six marble bas-reliefs on the left and right sides.

There are other altars and sculptures on the south side.

The most famous sculpture in the church is the statue of Saint Bartholomew, which depicts the martyred Saint Bartholomew. Before Christianity was recognized, this saint was skinned alive in order to preach. The muscles, blood and bones on the statue are clearly visible. He holds the Bible in his right hand and wears his own skin over his shoulders. The facial expression of the saint is not one of pain, but one of compassion for all living beings.

When you come out of the church and look outside, there are dozens of large reliefs and hundreds of figures carved on the square stone pillars on the front.

The entire church has 6 stone staircases and two elevators leading to the roof. There are 33 stone bridges crisscrossing the top, connecting various parts of the church roof. You can get a bird's eye view of the city on a clear day. Here, you can also see the scenery of the Alps stretching to the Matterhorn in the distance.

There are 135 Gothic marble spiers on the top of the church, each with a statue on top, 150 waterways, and 410 marble brackets, all decorated with reliefs. The forest of spiers is upright and straight, giving people a feeling of soaring and sublimating, transcending the world. The British novelist Lawrence said that "the central tower of the cathedral is the tallest among them. It is 108 meters high and is also the highest point of the church. It was built in the 15th century by the Italian architectural giant Brunoleschi.

Central Tower The statue of the Virgin Mary (Lady of Assumption) was only built in 1774. It is 4.2 meters high and is a gold-plated bronze statue. The Virgin is wrapped in more than 3,900 gold leaves and weighs more than 700 kilograms. The entire statue of the Virgin is dazzling in the sun. It represents love and is the unique symbol of all Milanese people, just like a hedgehog.”

Since it is close to Christmas, there is also a Christmas market outside the church. Quite a festive atmosphere.

There are also performances by performance artists on the roadside.

Walking along the road, the building facing you is the Cathedral of Santo Stefano, also known as the "Milan Ossuary". This church is famous for its internal ossuary.

There are many ossuaries in Europe, but Santo Stefano Church is one of the originators. The Czech ossuary, Polish ossuary, Portuguese ossuary and Austrian ossuary were built longer than others. It's all too late. Tracing its history, in 1127 locals built a hospital in front of the Cathedral of Santo Stefano to treat lepers and a cemetery to bury the dead. Later, due to the sudden increase in the number of deaths and the lack of more burial sites, a small house was built next to the church in 1210 to store the remains. Later, in 1269, in order to appease the souls of the dead, a small church was built next to this hut, which was the earliest bone church.

In the 15th century, this church was expropriated by the Catholic Church, which also became the origin of the name of the church. The church underwent its first renovation in 1647, led by the architect Carlo Bucci, who participated in the construction of Milan Cathedral. He decorated the walls with the bones of those who died during the plague and famine years. In the more than 500 years since the church was built, it has been damaged by wars and fires, rebuilt and expanded many times. The current appearance was rebuilt about 250 years ago.

This octagonal church has a Baroque-style altar and two transepts. Enter through the small door on the right side of the altar and walk through a dark passage to reach the Bone Chapel. Although it is eerie and scary inside, there is a beautiful saying that many people have their wishes come true after making a wish here. Those who came back to express gratitude posted many wishes and loving memorials in the passage.

In the small human bone chapel, everywhere you look are densely packed human bone remains. These bones are packed in iron nets and piled from the ground to the dome. The dome of the church is painted with colors. The bright murals, in which angels surround joyful souls, seem to mean that belief in God can lead to the paradise of heaven after death. The bright colors of the paintings on the vault contrast sharply with the eerie bones below.

Some people speculate that these bones come from the earlier time of St. Ambrose in the 4th century. Others say that these bones mainly come from plague patients who died in the hospital in the Middle Ages and the clergy who managed the hospital. No. Few were moved from nearby cemeteries, as well as death row inmates from prisons. There is also a strange legend circulating, which states that on the memorial day on November 2 every year, the soul of a little girl’s bones on the altar will wake up and lead all the skeletons to dance the skeleton dance. Thinking about that scene makes you feel... It's both wonderful and terrifying, and I really admire the unique imagination of Westerners.

There is an unknown church next to the Bone Church, so I walked in and took a look.

After coming out of the church, we continued walking in the rain in Milan to Piazza Scala.

In the middle of the square, surrounded by flowers, are the statues of Leonardo da Vinci and his four disciples.

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452.4.15-1519.5.2), one of the three masters of the Italian Renaissance, is also the most perfect representative of the entire European Renaissance. He is a profound, knowledgeable and versatile painter, fabler, sculptor, inventor, philosopher, musician, medical scientist, biologist, geographer, construction engineer and military engineer. He is a genius. On the one hand, he is enthusiastic about artistic creation and theoretical research, and studies how to use lines and three-dimensional shapes to express various problems of the body. On the other hand, he also studies natural science. In order to create real and touching artistic images, he has done extensive research. Study optics, mathematics, geology, biology and other subjects related to painting. The world will never see another encyclopedic Leonardo.

The next stop is the famous Santa Maria Monastery.

The Santa Maria Monastery and Church were built in 1463 by the Milanese architects, the Solari brothers. Later, Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, wanted to place the tombs of himself and his wife in the church in preparation for the expansion of the monastery. Leonardo da Vinci was attracted by this plan, and Bramante, another Renaissance master and architect, arrived in Milan at the same time. They joined forces to make Milan, a city full of medieval traditional atmosphere, a model of the Renaissance. They removed the semi-dome at the back of the church and converted it into a tall altar. There is also a restaurant, sacristy and square cloister. Leonardo da Vinci painted the oil painting "The Last Supper" on the north wall of the hall between 1495 and 1497. Leonardo da Vinci spent at least 20 years drafting it, and it only took 3 years to actually start painting and finish it. It has become the best of the entire architectural group. The picture is 8.85 meters long and 4.97 meters high. There are three semicircular skylights above. The largest skylight in the middle is decorated with the royal emblem of Ludovico, because this painting was commissioned by Leonardo da Vinci. .

During the Christmas period, churches are decorated with special decorations. What should be told here is the story of the birth of Jesus in the stable.

The courtyard with spring flowers should be very nice.

On August 15, 1943, the church and the monastery were bombed by British and American aircraft. Most of the monastery cafeteria was destroyed, but the wall on which "The Last Supper" was located survived. The monastery currently limits the number of visitors per day to protect the murals, so visits need to be booked in advance.

Regarding the history of painting, Leonardo da Vinci was 42 years old when he was very poor. In order to make ends meet, he agreed to the Duke to create a religious-themed mural on the north wall of the monastery restaurant.

According to the true situation in the Bible, Jesus is sitting in the center of the painting, with his hands spread out, sadly telling the 12 disciples on his left and right: "One of you will betray me." In an instant, everyone There was an uproar, and the expressions of each disciple were realistically depicted, including surprise, panic, sadness, anger and fear.

But "The Last Supper" was not so lucky to stay peacefully in the monastery.

In 1652, monks dug out a piece of the foot of the central figure in the painting in order to enlarge the door opening.

In 1796, Napoleon I's army invaded Milan. The monastery's refectory was used as a stable, and the soldiers used the heads of the figures in the murals as the targets of stone-throwing competitions.

In 1942, Milan was bombed by the British army in broad daylight, and the monastery was completely changed beyond recognition. Fortunately, the mural survived thanks to the Italians who completely covered the wall with layers of sandbags, front and back, and top and bottom. But it also caused some damage to the painting.

So the cultural relics conservators began to restore the painting. On May 28, 1999, this troubled "Last Supper" finally faced the audience again.

After leaving the monastery, the next destination is the Sforzesco Castle where Leonardo da Vinci worked for 18 years.

As the landmark castle of Milan, it is a symbol of the vicissitudes of the city's history. Sforza Castle was a fortification built by the Visconti family, lords of Milan, in 1368. In 1450, Francesco Sforza I, the Duke of Milan and the ruler of Milan at the time, began to rebuild the castle and it became Sforza Castle. The Renaissance-style mansion of the Forza family gradually took shape today. Later, the garden decoration began to be prosperous and beautified to meet the requirements of a home; during the expansion process, many artists participated in the design and planning, including Leonardo da Vinci who planned the water conservancy project for the functionality of the castle, as well as the mechanical structure in the theater, etc. Fellini, who was born in Tuscany, was responsible for the interior decoration. The castle's exquisite layout allows you to appreciate the vicissitudes of the Principality of Milan before and after the Renaissance. The Sforza family funded almost all the heavyweight artists of the Renaissance, including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

The castle is currently used as a museum and is divided into several areas. There are several museums such as the Museum of Ancient Art, the Museum of Furniture, and the Museum of Musical Instruments and Applied Arts.

Walking into the castle, there is an Islamic atrium, from the window to the typical shallow pool. I think coming here must be inextricably linked to the Moors. There are low rose bushes in the atrium. The Sforzesco Castle has a well-preserved exterior with a cylindrical fortress and ramparts surrounded by high walls. The entire castle is square in plan, with a huge palace garden behind it. The castle is surrounded by a moat, with a cylindrical angular tower observation deck on each side of the front. The Roqueda Tower on the right can be used as an emergency evacuation site, and its interior is divided into three areas. There is a small river in the park behind the castle, with ducks swimming on the river. There is a small iron bridge on the river, with a bronze sculpture of a mermaid holding an oar at the head of the bridge, and these concentric locks are tied to the bridge railings.

In the museum in the castle, you can see a wide variety and quantity of exhibits such as ancient sculptures, ornaments, vessels, weapons, armor, and sarcophagi.

Among all the exhibits, the most eye-catching is the sculpture "Rendanini's Pietà". It is said that this sculpture was carved only four days before Michelangelo's death, when he had already Eighty-nine years old. The statue vividly depicts the scene of the Virgin Mary holding the dying Jesus with her hands in grief. Although the work has not been carefully polished and is a bit rough, it is the swansong of this Renaissance art giant.

?In addition, there are four "Sighing Virgins" created by Michelangelo.

The Theftuzio manuscript originally contained 62 sheets, but only 55 have survived. It records Leonardo's long list of learned words, as well as his recorded sources of vocabulary and grammar. In addition to showing Leonardo da Vinci's efforts to improve his literary level, the manuscript also contains his research on military and religious architecture. After all, he came to Milan to work for the royal family as a military engineer and architect. .

The Sala delle Asse is decorated with a fresco of a tree painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1498, the rest of which has been restored during restoration work. Some scenes in the painting were covered with 17 layers of paint.

The latest news is that on May 2, 2019, the Tianzhu Hall has been reopened to the public as one of the important places to commemorate Leonardo da Vinci.

After viewing the exhibition room, continue to look at other places in the castle.

The last attraction to visit in Milan is La Scala Opera House.

The theater was built on the old site of Santa Maria della Scala in 1778, but was destroyed by an air raid in 1943. The beautiful neoclassical building you see now is what it looked like after it was rebuilt in 1946. After renovation from 2002 to 2004, the appearance is still simple.

The interior of the theater is very luxurious. Not only the acoustics are world-class, but it also has 6 floors of boxes that can accommodate more than 2,000 people. When it was rebuilt and opened again, it was led by Toscanini, who had just returned from New York. Conductor, launched a series of outstanding performances. Masters such as Rossini, Verdi, and Puccini successively displayed their musical talents on this stage. La Scala attracts many music masters with its unique charm. In the history of world opera, many famous operas were premiered at La Scala, such as "Otello", "Madame Butterfly", and "Turandot" wait. Scala is also the first choice for opera performances in Italy from many countries. In short, high-level composers, performers, singers, conductors and outstanding operas, repertoire, music performances and the opera house together constitute the entire connotation of this art palace, which continues to be inherited in the time and space corridor of music, art and culture. .

After coming out of the theater, we went to visit a tourist souvenir shop.

There are many handsome Italian guys playing violin on the roadside.

I saw a lot of interesting pieces of paper on the big Christmas tree in the train station.