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!