Europe Country 6 Itally IV

20 Sept 2010

Milan

This is the last stop we had in Itally. Milan is a city in Italy and the capital of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The urban areas is the fifth largest in the European Union with an estimated population of 4,300,000.

The calleria Vittorio Emanule II

It is a covered double arcade form of two glass-vaulted arcades at night angles intersecting in an octagon.

The street ios covered over by an arching glass and cast iron roof, a popular design for nineteenth-century arcades, such as the Burlington Arcades, London, which was the prototype for larger glazed shopping arcades.

The central octagonal space is topped with a glass dome. The Milanese Galleria was larger in scale than its predecessors and was an important step in the eveolution of the modern glazed and enclosed shopping mall.

pic: The domed crossing of the ninieteenth-century Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Cathedral

Commissioned by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the Cathedral started being built in 1386. It is the third largest church in the world after St. Peter’s in Rome and after the Cathedral of Seville. It is overall made of marble, with immense statues, arches, pillars, pinnacles. The statues are about 3500, including the 96 gargoyles. The highest pinnacle is at the height of 108.5 metres, and it has on its top the statue of the Virgin Mary, best known as the “Madonnina”, covered of gold. Inside the church there are many interesting works of art: the tomb of Gian Giacomo Medici di Marignano, known as “Il Medeghino”; the crypt and St. Carlo Borromeo’s statue; the wooden choir-stails; the Tivulziano candelabrum; the Egyptian porphyry basin. There also old stained-glass windows of the XV century.Visiting the Cathedral, it is possible to go on the roof where you have a overview of the city. It is also possible to visit the ruins of the Baptistery of San Giovanni alle Fonti (Baptistery of Sant’Ambrogio).

Ferrari Roadshow

Since Ferrari is a sport car manufacturer based in Itally, it is not rare or surprising to see ferrari easily in the city. There was a ferrari roadshow on that day too, next to the Milan Cathedral. But you will be surprised to see the drivers. They are just normal citizen but not hired professional racer. I was so "amazed" to see an old uncle driving a car that is also a dream car for almost every man in Malaysia.

pic: vairous mask