And the winner is...

Risotto giallo is the quintessential dish of Milanese cuisine. It is a creamy, golden yellow risotto enriched with parmesan cheese and perfumed with saffron.
It is best enjoyed with ossobuco and gremolata, a meaty stew lightened with lemon zest and parsley, and should be matched with a nice glass of wine, possibily red.
It is the perfect meal for these cold, damp, foggy January evenings.

 

If you want to taste it at its best, you can choose between the three winners of the fifth edition of the Giallo Milano competition, which was held last December.
The champions of risotto giallo are: Il Vico della Torretta, Antica Osteria Magenes and Ristorante Ambrosiano. Only the last one is in Milano, close to piazza del Duomo, while the first and second recipients for this award are in Sesto San Giovanni and in Gaggiano, respectively: they are just a few kilometers from the centre of the city, but definitely worth the journey.
A special mention was given to the "Risotto da passeggio" ("risotto to-go") invented by Claudio Sadler in his Chic'n Quick Trattoria, on the Navigli canal.

The other side of The Last Supper

When visiting the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, few people can take their eyes off the masterpiece of Leonardo da Vinci, The Last Supper. Yet the Crucifixion displayed on the opposite wall is worth attentive observation.
Its author is Giovanni Donato da Montorfano, who worked back to back  with Leonardo in 1495. While the genius from Vinci was experimenting with colours, painting on the dry wall rather than on a wet plaster and therefore condemning his work to precocious deterioration, Montorfano diligently used the fresco technique. That is why his Crucifixion is so bright and vivid still today, while Leonardo's Last Supper started to flake only a few years after its completion.
The different resistance to time of the two techniques is dramatically evident in the portraits of Ludovico il Moro, his wife Beatrice and their sons Massimiliano and Francesco, which Leonardo painted a secco, that is working on a dry surface, on Montorfano's work. Time has reduced the four figures, who are kneeling down in the bottom corners of the Crucifixion, to ghostly witnesses to the death of Jesus.

The scene depicted by Montorfano is incredibly crowded and detailed. At the foot of the three crosses, groups of people react differently to the tragedy which is going on: dominican friars and nuns (who actually commissioned both works for the refectory of the Convent) barely daring to look; three women holding grief-stricken Maria, the only figure in the scene clad in light blue; John the Apostle watching soldiers who throw dice for Jesus' clothing.
On the background, the high walls of Jerusalem - a clear homage to Bramante, and on the foreground the crosses, tall and thin, inaccessible to human reach.
At the center of the composition, at the foot of the middle cross, Mary Magdalene is passionately clinging to the wood as if it was Jesus himself, her red hair loosely spread on her shoulders.
Her human, earthly love so evident in her desperate gesture, will strike a chord with all visitors.
A good reason to spend some of the 15 minutes allowed inside the refectory to pay homage to Montorfano's masterpiece.

Three Wise Men and a Star

The Three Wise Men, whose visit to Jesus after his birth is celebrated on the day of Epiphany, have an unexpected yet strong connection with Milano.
Saint Eustorgio, the first bishop of the city, brought their relics from the Holy Land to Milano, and ordered a church to be built to be the site of their tomb.
Such church is the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio.
In the XII century Milano was overthrown by the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, who sacked the city and brought the relics of the Magi to Cologne, in Germany, where they have been housed until the XX century.
Only in 1903, after long negotiations, fragments of the bones and garments (two brooches, one tibia, and one vertebra) were sent back to Milano, and are now kept in a bronze urn above the altar in the Chapel of the Magi, in Sant'Eustorgio.
Milano's place in the legend of the Magi is reaffirmed by the procession of the Magi, which takes place every 6th of January from the Duomo to the Basilica.
And a lasting homage to the memory of the Three Kings is the eight-pointed star, rather than the traditional cross, that surmounts the Basilica's bell tower.

Green dragons spitting out... water!

A typical feature of Milano is the drinking fountain with continuously running water. There is one almost on every square and public garden, pouring fresh, clean water without interruption, like disconsolate widows crying their lost husbands. That is why Milanese people have always called them "vedovelle", meaning "little widows".
They are also known as "green dragons", because of their dragon-like spouts and the green cast iron they are made of. One exception is in piazza della Scala (see picture), where you can find the only "green dragon" made of bronze.
Some people are baffled by the apparent waste of water, but the continuous flow preserves water freshness and quality, especially in case of "dead heads", that is dead end pipelines.

Enjoy!
Drinking fountains provide clean and safe water all through the year. Water is constantly monitored by the Metropolitan Water Company, which guarantees its compliance to hygiene and organoleptic standards. The City of Milan encourages the use of public water ("the Mayor's water", as it is commonly called) instead of environmentally damaging bottled water. So, whether it's a hot summer afternoon or a brisk February morning, enjoy a fresh sip from the "green dragon". Here you will find a map of all 418 "green dragons" in Milano.

Art patrons in via Jan

From 1927, when they got married, to the end of the Eighties, Antonio Boschi and Marieda Di Stefano spent their life collecting works of art in their elegant apartment on via Giorgio Jan 15.
They were mainly interested in modern art, and became friendly with promising young Italian artists, many of whom were living in poverty and were literally fed by Antonio and Marieda. Some of them would become the great masters of the 20th Century.

Collectors are often victims to their hobby, and the golden couple was no exception. In 1975, when Antonio donated to the city of Milano his apartment and all its content, the collection included more than two thousands works. Now a selection of over two hundred pieces is on display, yet every wall in every room in the house is literally covered with paintings.
The Boschi Di Stefano museum-home still resonates with the laughters and chats and music played in the vast living room, where visitors may sit in the comfortable sofas and lose themselves in the simphony of colours that fills the air.

Enjoy!
Back to corso Buenos Aires, walk towards piazza Loreto, then turn right in via Spontini. There you will find Pizzeria Spontini. If you like pizza soft yet crispy, covered with thick layers of mozzarella, that's the place to be. Only two options are available: normal, and big. No frills, here. All substance. Good substance.  

Here's to you, 2013

No doubt Romans were bon vivants. This exquisite, finely engraved glass cup (photograph by Giovanni Dall'Orto - WikiCommons) was created in Northern Italy in the IV century. The letters carved on its surface read Bibe vivas multis annis, meaning "Drink and you will live for many years".
So, what better way to celebrate the newly born year!
The correct name of this amazing piece of artisanal handicraft is diatretum, or cage cup. It is on display at the Archeological Museum, and it is the only example in the world which has suffered no damage.
But the Archeological Museum not only contains treasures that testimony the rich historical past of Milano: its very location is quite surprising. Right in the middle of its courtyard, the remnants of a Roman domus lie next to the only standing tower left of the late Roman walls. In the Middle Ages, the tower became part of a monastery and its inside walls were elegantly painted.
The visit may last a few minutes, just to get a glimpse at the accurate wooden model of the city of Milano in the IV century - and to the diatretum, of course - or about one hour, if you also want to explore the sections dedicated to the Early Middle Ages, and to the Etruscan and Greek art.

Enjoy!
After the visit, go back to corso Magenta. Turn left and walk for 3-4 minutes to Bar Magenta. This one century old bar is a favourite with the students of the nearby Università Cattolica. Have a Negroni Sbagliato - a popular Milanese long drink - and you will live for many years!