Guided walking tours in December - Season's Greetings

Choose the perfect walking tour for your Christmas Holiday in Milano:

- Milano's Highlights - a tour of the places you can't miss: the imposing Duomo, the elegant Sforza Castle, La Scala Opera Theatre, and much more.

- Christmas Special - the ideal mix of pastry shops, ancient monuments, and typical groceries. The quintessential gourmand tour.

- Shopping Safari - be prepared for an exciting safari in the Milanese fashion jungle.

And the winner is... Miuccia Prada!

For the first time in its history, the British Fashion Awards have celebrated an international designer, awarding Miuccia Prada the honour of International Designer of the Year.
Prada, the quintessential Milanese lady herself, had already been named in Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People of the 20th Century.

The history of Prada begins in Milano, in the elegant Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, where Mario and Martino Prada opened their first leather shop in 1913. They soon reached stardom, having among their clients the Italian royal family.
This year, one century after its birth, Prada has renovated its first store and added a menswear shop right in front of it, designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi.
In the next future a restaurant will also be opened, and spaces for public events will be added upstairs, enjoying a fantastic view on the Galleria.

King Panettone is back!

Few things are more Milanese than Panettone, the typical Christmas cake with the shape of a cupola whose birthplace is in Milan.
From November 30th to December 2nd, 40 different producers of Panettone will offer their creations to the visitors of Re Panettone (King Panettone), the one and only fair dedicated to the king of all Italian Christmas cakes.

During the fair, it will be possible to discover the legendary origin of Panettone, to taste and buy the best wines and liquors that better pair with Panettone, and a new theory about its funny "mushroom" shape will be explained.
All Panettone on sale during the fair cost 20 euros per chilograms, the same price of last year edition of the fair.

But your Christmas dinner will not be complete if Panettone is not served with crema di mascarpone, a cream made of mascarpone and eggs. Here is the recipe.
Ingredients: mascarpone 250 gr, sugar 100, 4 eggs, Marsala liquor 2 tablespoons.
Separate the whites from the yolks, then mix the egg yolks with sugar until you obtain a pale, foamy cream. Add Marsala and mascarpone, and mix carefully until all ingredients are perfectly amalgamated.
In another bowl, whip the whites until they start to foam, then add them to the cream blending gently with a spoon, making movements from the bottom to the top.
Serve the cream by spreading it generously on Panettone slices.
Enjoy!

A meteor in Piazza della Scala

What's happening in Piazza della Scala? Why are hundreds of people patiently queueing in front of Palazzo Marino, Milan's city hall?
From November 28th to January 12th, Milano is hosting a masterpiece from the Musei Vaticani: the "Madonna di Foligno" by Raphael, the artist from Urbino who, together with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, forms the traditional trinity of great masters of the Renaissance.
It was painted between 1511 and 1513 as an offering in gratitude, after the house of Sigismondo de' Conti, who commissioned the painting, survived the strike of a lightning. A lightning, or maybe a meteor: if you look carefully at the landscape on the background, you may spot a ball of fire which, according to American astronomer H. A. Newton, is in fact a bolide, or a big meteor.

At the center of the scene, the Virgin is sitting on a cloud of angels, between Saint Frances, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Jerome. Kneeling on the right is Sigismondo himself, in what is considered one of the best portraits ever made by Raphael.
A rainbow overwhelming the distant village represents the happy ending of the event.

The painting is on display in the magnificent Sala Alessi, the main hall of Palazzo Marino, decorated with beautiful frescos and stuccos. Entrance to Sala Alessi is usually not permitted to the public: so there are plenty of reasons to join the patient queue of Milanese art lovers in Piazza della Scala.

Admission is free, every day from 9.30 am to 8 pm (10 pm on Thursdays).

Merry Hanukkah in Milano!

The kindling of the lights of the nine-branched Menorah in piazza Cadorna, on the first day of Jewish holiday Hanukkah, or the Festival of Lights.

On the background, the colourful sculpure Needle, Thread and Knot, by Claes Oldenburg, a homage to the Fashion Capital Milano.

Organ music in Santa Maria della Passione

From October 2013 to June 2014, a series of organ concerts will be performed in the church of Santa Maria della Passione, next to Milano's Conservatory of Music.

The programme:

- Sunday October 13th - 4.30 pm - organist Stefano Molardi, music by Frescobaldi, Kuhnau, J. C. Bach

- Sunday November 10th   - 4.30 pm - organists Hank Verhoef and Matteo Imbruno, music by Gabrieli, Sweelinck, Boehm, Bach

- Sunday December 8th  -  4.30 pm - organist Anders Dahl, music by Bach, Brahms, Buxtehude

- Sunday January 12th  - 4.30 pm - organist Luc Paganon, music by Bruhns, Pachelbel, Boehm

- Sunday February 9th - 4.30 pm - organist Nicolò Sari, music by Scheidemann, Bach, Bruna

- Sunday March 9th - 4.30 pm - organist Maurizio Salerno, music by Buxtehude, Boehm, Bruhns

- Sunday April 13th - 4.30 pm - organist Yuzuru Hiranaka, music by Sweelinck, Hofhaimer, Bach

- Sunday May 11th - 4.30 pm - organist Maurizio Croci, music by Vivaldi, Bach, Buxtehude

- Sunday June 8th - 4.30 pm - organist Erwan Le Prado, music by Racquet, Roberday, de Grigny.

Admission to every concert is free.
Further information here.

Aperitivo at the museum

The Fresco Room in Museo Poldi Pezzoli

The Museo Poldi Pezzoli is an extraordinay art museum in the heart of Milano, originated in the 19th century as private collection of Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli and his mother, Rosa Trivulzio, of the family of the condottiero Gian Giacomo Trivulzio.
Every Wednesday in July, the museum will be open after the usual opening hours and offer an aperitivo to its guests. In addition, at 7.30 pm, in the Fresco Room, all guests can listen to a concert of jazz or classical music.
The aperitivo is included in the admission ticket, which costs 9 euros.
The program for the next weeks:
July 10: Classical music of the Duo Fratelli Lega (guitar and clarinet): klezmer, tango, Italian song.
July 17: Jazz music of the Elena Bozzon Quartet (vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums): electric and free jazz.
July 24: Classical music of the two winners of the Restelli award, 2013 (guitars): the Twentieth Century Guitar.
July 31: Jazz music of the Hermetico Jazz Quartet (guitar, keyboard, bass, drums): latin jazz and contemporary.

Guided walking tours in July

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Here are our guided walking tours in July.
For further information and bookings, call  +39-338-3012220 or write to info@
thebestofmilano.com.
Price per person: 10 euros (children 5 euros).

Seven Wonders of Milano
From the Duomo to the Sforza Castle, a tour of the city's landmarks and places to visit.
Every Sunday at 10 am
Time: 2 hours approximately.
Meeting point: central portal of the Cathedral.

The Last Supper(s)

Couldn’t find the tickets for Leonardo’s Cenacolo? Discover the other Last Suppers in Milano, while visiting some of the most beautiful and ancient churches in town.

Every Thursday and Friday at 2 pm. 
Time: 2 hours approximately.

Meeting point: in front of the entrance of Biblioteca Ambrosiana (piazza Pio XI – 3 minutes from piazza del Duomo).

The Great Plague of Milano

A journey back in time through the centuries, when Milano was ravaged by the plague and the Grim Reaper would be celebrating his abundant harvest. Yet the Milanese stroke back and built the most advanced (and beautiful) hospital in the Renaissance world.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 9.30 am. 
Time: 2 hours approximately.

Meeting point: piazza Fontana (2 minutes from piazza Duomo), next to the fountain.
 

Ghosts of Milano
Discover some of the haunted places in Milano, which restless souls still inhabit in their hopeless search of peace. From the Sforza Castle to noble houses, the tour that Dean and Sam Winchester, the heroes of tv series “Supernatural”, would simply love.

Every Friday at 10 am . 
Time: 2 hours approximately.

Meeting point: at the entrance of the Sforza Castle.

The most romantic spot in Milano

Take the underground (Line 1 - Red) to Palestro.

Walk out of the tube and go down via Palestro, until you find a green kiosk.
Buy two glasses of cold Prosecco. Use plastic glasses and take them away. Don't drink yet.
Continue along via Palestro until you get to Villa Belgiojoso.
A few meters before the main entrance, you will find the access to the park.
Enter the park, regardless of the sign saying "Access to this park is reserved to children up to 12 years accompanied by adults". The custodians will not stop you, unless you linger too long in the garden. Show them your two glasses of Prosecco and take your companion by the hand. They will understand.
Inside the park, keep left; let the sound of the waterfall guide you.
Follow the path climbing behind the waterfall.

When you get to the top of the path, over the waterfall, stop, lean on the wooden fence, look and admire the elegant front of the villa, and enjoy the wine.

Welcome to Italy.

P.S. The romantic garden of Villa Belgiojoso closes at 7 pm, but the kiosk closes at 5.30 pm. You can find other bars on the nearby corso Venezia. 

On the waterfront

This is not Sirmione, on Lake Garda, nor the waterfront of Sanremo: incredible as it may seem, it is Milano's Naviglio Grande, the canal which joins the city's Porta Ticinese to the Ticino river.
From May 10th to 12th, the fourth edition of NavigaMI ("Sailing in the heart of Milano") will take to the Naviglio a huge fleet of boats (up to 12 meters long) and thousands of sailing enthusiasts. Visitors will be allowed to embark on the most beautiful boats and yachts of  Italian shipbuilding, and to sail along the canal, which played a fundamental role in the economical development of Milano.
Its project dates back to the Middle Ages, and Milano's stunning cathedral wouldn't have been built if the white marble stones coming from the north-western shores of Lake Maggiore couldn't have been carried by barges through the network of canals up to a small harbour 300 meters from piazza del Duomo. Today, of that network only the Naviglio Grande and the close-by Naviglio Pavese remain.

NavigaMI is open Friday 10th and Saturday 11th from 10 am to 11 pm, and Sunday 12th from 10 am to 8 pm.
Large areas will be dedicated to showcasing accessories, sailing schools and everything that revolves around the world of sailing. Temporary shops of nautical clothing will also be opened during the three days.
7 to 14-year-old brave sailors will be able to experience driving boats and sailing or paddling with the Rowing Club instructors.

Piano pianissimo

For three days, Milano will resonate with the sound of hundreds of pianos. The second edition of Pianocity is about to start with an amazing event: "Cut the Jam" is a concert for 21 pianos which will take place tonight at Rotonda della Besana. At 8 pm and then again at 10 pm, 21 pianists will play works by different artists from different periods of the history of music, ranging from Gioacchino Rossini to Michael Nyman.
The programme for tonight is the following: M. Nyman "1 - 100", G. Rossini "Transcriptions from operas", A.V. Lourié "Formes en l’air – à Pablo Picasso", C. Nancarrow "studio #3 c", D. Lombardi "Sinfonie 2 e 3", J. Cage "Winter music", T. Riley, "inc.".
Riley's work will be played by all 21 pianos four hands: 42 + 42 = 84 hands!
The players tonight are: Dario Bonuccelli, Angela Feola, Antonello d’Onofrio, Vittorio Rabagliati, Maria Isabella de Carli, Angelo Russo, Francesco Calcagno, Luca Marcossi, Stefano Ligoratti, Vincenzo Pasquariello, Jacopo Petrosino, Hideiko Hinohara, Andrea Napoleoni, Antonio Bonazzo, Alfonso Alberti, Ricciarda di Belgiojoso, Nicoletta Feola, Cesare Grassi, Claudio Soviero, Stefano Fiacco, Stefano Malferrari, Giuseppe Gullotta.

It is also a wonderful occasion to visit the so-called Rotonda della Besana, a baroque building complex and former cemetery, with an elegant hoctagonal portico (where the 21 pianos have been placed) enclosing a garden with the deconsacrated church of San Michele ai Sepolcri.

The following two days are full of concerts, which will take place in some of the city's cultural landmarks but also in courtyards and even in private homes; famous pianists together with budding talents will play their keyboards in museums, public libraries, underground stations, parks and squares.
Most of the concerts are free, but booking is necessary.

Past and present "starchitects"

The 52nd edition of Milano Design Week has just closed, but some events of the FuoriSalone 2013 continue. One of the most spectacular is Hybrid Architecture & Design, an exhibition held inside the courtyards and halls of the State University, the so-called Ca' Granda ("Big House").
Hybrid, which will close on April 21st, involves internationally acclaimed architects and designers, who have created site-specific works.
While visiting the exhibition, don't forget to look at the "container" sorrounding the installations. The ancient building, which today hosts the State University, is in fact the largest community hospital of the Renaissance. It was commissioned by the duke Francesco Sforza and designed by the "starchitect" of the time, Antonio Filarete (whose name is also connected with the Sforza Castle).
If you want to know all the secrets of the Ca' Granda, join our guided tour "The plague", every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thurday at 9.30 am. No booking is required: just be at the meeting point in piazza Fontana, next to the fountain.
The building, which was heavily damaged during the Second World War, has been rebuilt so as to maintain its primitive structure, which reflects the innovations of Filarete. Centuries before "hygiene" became standard practice, the Florentine architect enriched his projects with amazing details that will surprise you.

Organ concerts... and more!

Duomo

Some of the finest churches in Milano will host a new series of organ concerts in April.
Admission is free to all venues.

Sunday 14th - 16:30 - S. Maria della Passione, via Conservatorio 16
organist: Maurizio Salerno; music by Bach, Buxtehude

Saturday 20th - 11:30 - Sant'Ambrogio, piazza Sant'Ambrogio
organist Maria Massimini; music by Faurè, Cantique de Jean Racine for choir and organ, op. 48; choir: Canticum '96

Sunday 21st - 17:00 - S. Simpliciano, piazza S. Simpliciano
organist: Gianluca Capuano; Victimae paschali laudes

Saturday 27th - 15:45 - Duomo
celebration of The Netherlands National Day and birthday of future king Willem Alexander

Sunday 28th - 17:00 - S. Maria Annunciata in Chiesa Rossa, via Montegani
organist: Lorenzo Ghielmi; music by Frescobaldi, Pasquini, Sammartini

On Saturday 20th, at 16:00, the Sala della Balla of the Sforza Castle , where the 12 magnificent Trivulzio tapestries are on display, will host a concert of Baroque musique. Admission is included in the ticket to the museum, which costs just 3 euros.

Free admission to the municipal museums

Ludovico il Moro (Piero della Francesca)

From April 7th to 14th, during the week of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile (Design Week), admission to all the municipal museums in Milan will be free.

The range of choices is wide, so here are our tips for your visit:
- spend some time in the Ansperto tower inside the Museo Archeologico, decorated with misterious XIV century frescoes.
- meet the first dinosaur found in Italy, nicknamed Ciro, at the Museo di Storia Naturale: one of the most important findings in the history of paleontology, since it still has traces of its liver and intestine.
- in the Sforza Castle, visit the rooms where Ludovico il Moro spent 15 days mourning his beloved wife, the beautiful Beatrice d'Este.
- discover Palazzo Morando and its collection of historical dress.
- enjoy the recently restored Acquario civico, housed in an elegant Art Nouveau building.
- admire the masterpieces of Galleria d’Arte Moderna and the magnificent rooms where they are on dispay. Don't forget to go for a stroll in the English landscape gardens of the museum.
- discover the history of Italy's struggle to conquer independence at the Museo del Risorgimento.

See you at La Scala!

Getting tickets for La Scala theatre is often a frustrating quest, both for the Milanese and tourists. Yet today, Easter Friday, may be your lucky day, and this evening you may be sitting in your box seat of one of the most famous theatres in the world.
Strange as it may seem, there are some tickets still available for the charity concert of tonight: the Symphonic Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi (nicknamed "la Verdi") will perform J.S. Bach's St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) conducted by Ruben Jais.
The soloists are Makoto Sakurada (Evangelist), Karina Gauvin (soprano), Stefanie Iranyi (mezzo-soprano), Cyrill Auvity (tenor), Christian Senn (baritone), Klaus Kuttler (baritone), Daniele Caputo (baritone), Cristiano Contadin (bass-viol).
Symphonic Choir "G. Verdi" (choir master Erina Gambarini) and Children's Choir "La Verdi" (choir master Maria Teresa Tramontin).

Tickets are available at Ricordi Media Store, in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. Prices range from 40 to 60 euros. Unsold tickets (if there will be any) will be on sale from 6.30 pm at La Scala ticket office, in via Filodrammatici.
Have a wonderful evening!

Mozart in Milano: the church of Sant'Antonio Abate

photograph by Giovanni Dall'Orto - WikiCommons

The name of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has an unexpected yet strong link with the city of Milano. The genius of Saltzburg visited Italy three times during his life, but it is here in Milano that he wrote and performed the first of his works to be still widely performed today, the solo motet Exsultate, Jubilate (K. 165). Here it is performed by Cecilia Bartoli, one of the finest voices in the world, and Claudio Abbado, the great Milanese conductor.

Exsultate, Jubilate was written for the castrato Venanzio Rauzzini - who, according to Leopold Mozart, Wolfgang's father, "sang like an angel" - and premiered on Sunday, January 17 1773 (Mozart was just 16), in the church of Saint Anthony the Abbott.

The link with Mozart is just one of many reasons to visit this beautiful church, in via Sant'Antonio 5 (five minutes from piazza del Duomo), a hidden treasure little known both to the tourists and to Milanese themselves. 
In the XVIII century, when Mozart was in Milano, the church was still associated with the order of the Theatines, a religious congregation which worships the Virgin and the Holy Cross. The latter is the subject of an important cycle of frescoes on the vaults of Sant'Antonio, representing the Stories of the Holy Cross which - according to the legend - was found in Jerusalem by Saint Helena, emperor Constantine's mother, in the IV century.
The interior of the church is a sort of "museum" of Mannerism style, elegant and sophisticated, with some exquisite works by Giovan Battista Crespi (nicknamed "Cerano"), Procaccini and Carracci.
Next to the altar is a statue of saint Anthony the Abbott, with a little pig at his feet. Why Saint Anthony is universally recognized as the patron of hogs is actually unknown, but one reason may be his being credited in assisting in miraculous healings from shingles, also known as "St. Anthony's Fire". From the end of the XIII century to the beginning of the XVI, the friars of Saint Anthony managed a small hospital where people suffering from St. Anthony Fire were cured, mainly with soothing preparations derived from pig's fat.

Tours cancelled on Sunday 24th and 31st

The Sunday tours on March 24th and 31st are cancelled.
On March 24th, Milano will be invaded by the runners of "Stramilano", a half marathon which starts from the Sforza Castle and affects the itinerary of the "Ghosts" tour.
March 31st is Easter Sunday, and some of the sites included in the tour are closed.

We are sorry for the inconvenience, but we hope to meet you on our other tours!

Concerts in the Sforza Castle

The Sala della Balla is one of the most famous halls in the Castello Sforzesco. It houses the magnificent Trivulzio tapestries and some rare pieces of the Museum of Musical Instruments.
In March the huge hall will also host two concerts of Baroque music, on Friday 15th and Saturday 23rd, at 4 pm. Admission to the concerts is included in the ticket to the museum, which costs a mere 3 euros.
It is a perfect chance to enjoy the beauty and athmosphere of the inner rooms of the castle, and the surprising richness of the museums that transformed what once was a military citadel in a center of culture and history.
Inside the Sforza fortress you will find, among the others:
- the Pinacoteca, with works by Mantegna, Antonello da Messina, Foppa,
- the Museum of Decorative Arts and Musical Instruments, with a rich collection of ceramics, antique furniture and ivories,
- the Museum of Ancient Art, which is home to the last masterpiece of Michelangelo, the dramatic Pietà Rondanini.

And, if the wheather is fine, don't forget to have a walk in the park and look for the Ponte delle Sirenette (Mermaids' Bridge), which once crossed one of the city canals: it is Milano lovers' bridge par excellence.

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!