The best part about Milan was the Cathedral. Duomo di Milano (1386) is hands down the most beautiful cathedral I've seen so far, outside and in.
This beautiful door depicts scenes from the life of Christ.
Parts of it have been touched/rubbed so much it shines. Curious to see which parts people touch
Mark Twain said of the Milan cathedral, "What a wonder it is! So grand, so solemn, so vast! And yet so delicate, so airy, so graceful! A very world of solid weight, and yet it seems ...a delusion of frostwork that might vanish with a breath!...They say that the Cathedral of Milan is second only to St. Peter's at Rome. I cannot understand how it can be second to anything made by human hands."
And yet when Oscar Wilde visited the cathedral he said, "The Cathedral is an awful failure. Outside the design is monstrous and inartistic. The over-elaborated details stuck high up where no one can see them; everything is vile in it; it is, however, imposing and gigantic as a failure, through its great size and elaborate execution."
Oh Oscar, I'm going to go with Mark on this one.
The colors in the stained glass were so vibrant.
The colors from the windows were reflected on this pillar, and it was stunning.
Probably the most famous statue in the cathedral is the Saint Bartholomew Flayed (1562), by Marco d'Agrate. Bartholomew was said to have been skinned alive, and the statue shows him holding a knife, with his own skin draped around him like a stole. Kind of gruesome, but the sculpture is fascinating and incredibly detailed.
Beneath the cathedral are the ruins of an early Christian baptistery dating from the 4th century. You can go down and see the excavations. It is thought to be where St. Ambrose, the Bishop of Milan, baptized St. Augustine.
What I can't show pictures of was how COLD it was in that cathedral!!! Holy Cow. It was cold outside, but it was freezing inside. Good thing it was so pretty :) I also didn't get a picture of a red light that's up in the ceiling, supposedly where they keep one of the nails used in the crucifixion of Jesus. They bring it out once a year or something. Below is out on the plaza in front of the cathedral.
Monument to King Victor Emmanuel II
There was a couple selling these cool bubble things. It was fun to watch.
Also there, Pap Smurf. Because, why not? Strut your stuff, Papa.
One of the other beautiful buildings in the same plaza is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is one of the world's oldest shopping malls (1865). If you're rich and you want to go shopping, this is where you come - Prada, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Armani, Swarovski, Mercedes-Benz, to name a few.
I was really interested to read this on Wikipedia. "In 2012, a McDonald's restaurant was prevented from renewing its tenancy, after 20 years of occupancy. The restaurant contended that it was the only tenant to be denied the right of first refusal on its new lease, and that the public tender to replace it was "unfair".McDonald's sued the landlord—the city of Milan—for €24 million in damages, alleging that the loss of the lease will deprive McDonald's of €6 million per year in sales. During its last few hours of operation, the restaurant offered free food and drink to over 5000 customers. The McDonald's restaurant was replaced with the gallery's second Prada store.McDonald's renounced its suit against the City of Milan after receiving the opportunity to open a new restaurant in a nearby area." TWO Prada stores? Snooty much? But the McDonald's is literally RIGHT outside of the Galleria, so they're definitely not losing any money ;) Also in the plaza is the Grande Museo del Duomo di Milano, or the Museum of the Cathedral. It has about 200 pieces, including statues, tapestries, paintings, stained glass windows, and other original artifacts from the cathedral.
They actually had art of God the Father, rather than Jesus Christ, which we thought was very interesting (2 below).
Adam and Eve
Beautiful stained glass
Wooden model of the cathedral
There was one room that was just photographs of the cathedral, and they were AMAZING! But my picture died, so I didn't get any pictures of the pictures ;) Okay, so the only thing I have left to talk about my trip to Milan is food!
The hot chocolate surprised us because it was SO THICK!!! It was like we were just drinking a melted bar of chocolate. It coated your whole mouth, and all the way down your throat. It was darkly delicious, but I just couldn't finish it all.
This was the last place we ate at, and our favorite!
I didn't get a picture of our appetizer, but it was a dish of the BEST mussels I've ever had! My main course, being prepared below, was also amazing! Can you tell, it's on fire?
And just like that, it was over :( What a great trip, and Adreann was the perfect traveling partner. So much fun. I'd do it again in a heartbeat....even though that might kill Joe ;)
