Milan citywalk with Marco the Sergeant

On our first day we had decided to start by getting an overview of Milan, with one of those "free" walking tours, similar to the one we enjoyed in Lisbon last year. I found a specific one that had great reviews, so we signed up.

We joined the Tour Guide Marco - or Sergeant as he preferred to be called - for a 2,5h walk around the center of Milan. I must say he had amazing group management, and he involved everyone, even though there was over 30 of us joining this tour.

He was also very good at his job, a real storyteller and great ambassador for Milan. We started by getting introduced to the Biscione, the historic symbol of the city, used by a multitude of companies based here in the city.

He also made a stop at the Piazza Mercani, the historic square that has been a hub of commerce since the Middle Ages, and surrounded by beautiful buildings. Legend says that this is where the word 'bankrupt' comes from, originating from the Italian banca rotta, which means "broken bench".

In Italy, money dealers would work from benches or tables. If a money dealer ran out of money, his bench or table would get broken in half, and he was out of business. 

We stopped at the famous opera house Teatro alla Scala, regarded as being one of the leading opera venues in the world.

And of course, we were told the long story of the iconic symbol of Milano, the Duomo di Milano. The following day we would do a tour inside and to the roof of the duomo, so I am saving its story for that post.

Amongst many other stories, Marco told us about this sculpture located on the central balcony at the front of the cathedral (on the left in the photo), called La Legge Nuova. It is very similar to the Statue of Liberty, and is believed to have been an inspiration for it, created by Pacetti in 1810. (Bartholdi created the Statue of Liberty in 1886). The similarities are several, both sculptures hold a torch and wear a crown, and are dressed in tunics.

This is San Bernadino alle Ossa, a 13th century church with a striking ossuary chapel.

This chamber was built in 1210 to house bones from the overcrowded cemetary. When the church was renovated in the 17th century, the ossuary was redesigned and the bones were arranged in patterns, directly into the walls. They are now entirely covered in skulls and bones.

This is Ca' Granda, or Ospedale Maggiore, today housing the humanities faculties of the University of Milan. 
The building was originally ordered by Francesco Sforza in the 15th century, to bring all the different hospitals in Milan to the same place. It was for the following almost 500 years considered a model for Italian, and even European healthcare and attracted patients from all over Europe. It was the first hospital where water canalisation was used to supply and maintain high hygiene standards.

We also passed the Basilica of San Nazaro in Brolo, on of the oldest churches in Milan originally founded in the 4th century and rebuilt in the Romanesque style in the 11th century, this is the building we can still see today.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Italy's oldest active shopping arcade, full of luxury brands. It's named after the first king of the Kingdom of Italy.

After all the historical sites, Marco chose to end the tour with the contemporary artwork L.O.V.E (an acronym for Libertà, Odio, Vendetta, Eternità which means Freedom, Hatred, Revenge, Eternity) created by Maurizio Cattelan in 2010.

 

I saw a version of this last summer at Moderna Museet in Stockholm, so it was very cool to see this 11m tall original. It is located in front of the Italian Stock Exchange. Cattelan likes his work to be in dialogue with its surroundings, and his choice of location is typically intentional. But Cattelan has never fully disclosed the meaning of this work, so as with all great art, we may never really know.

What we do know, is that we thoroughly enjoyed this walking tour as well. Much thanks to the amazing Marco, who certainly was the right person in the right job!