Milan / Florence

Day One

Took a morning train at about 5.30 am from Neuchâtel to Milan and arrived at about 9.30 am. Met up my colleague at Milano Centrale railway station who took an overnight train from Vienna. After depositing our luggage at the railway station, we then took Metro to Duomo station.

Milan

Milan or Milano in Italian, is a city in Northern Italy, capital of Lombardy and second most populous city in Italy after Rome. The city has been recognized as one of the world's four fashion capitals, thanks to several international events such as Milan Fashion Week.

Santa Maria delle Grazie

Santa Maria delle Grazie or "Holy Mary of Grace" (photos below), is a church and Dominican convent in Milan, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The church contains the famous mural The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.

We didn't get to see The Last Supper mural due to unavailability of slots. Could only visit the church to admire the impressive Gothic nave (left photo below) and interior (right photo below).

Cenacolo Vinciano Museum

Cenacolo Vinciano Museum or Museo Del Cenacolo Vinciano in Italian (photos below) is located besides Santa Maria delle Grazie and manages visitors to the mural of The Last Supper.

Leonardo's Last Supper is located in its original place, on the wall of the dining room of the former Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, exactly in the refectory of the convent. The painting is one of the most celebrated and well-known artworks in the world. The Last Supper is huge measuring 4.6-meters high and 8.8-meters wide painted with tempera and oil.

Cenacolo Vinciano Museum is located within short distance from Duomo Square in the historic centre of Milan city.

Simple Lunch

Saw a bakery (left photo below) while walking back to Duomo, and thus got myself a large pizza at EUR 4 (right photo below). Taste was simple.

Sforza Castle

Sforza Castle or Castello Sforzesco in Italian (photos below), was originally a fortress in 14th century. At the end of 19th century, the Castle was restored as the headquarters of Milan's Civic Museums.

The castle now houses several museums within its complex:

▪ The Museum of Ancient Art
▪ The Pinacoteca del Castello Sforzesco
▪ The Museum of Musical Instruments
▪ The Egyptian Museum
▪ The Archaeological Museum of Milan
▪ The Applied Arts Collection
▪ The Antique Furniture and Wooden Sculpture Museum

Detail of the coat of arms of the noble family of the Visconti with a snake that swallows a human Biscione (left photo below) could be seen on the façade of the round tower. Statue of John of Nepomuk (right photo below) could also be sighted at the courtyard of the castle.

The castle has a quadrangular plan on a site across the city's walls. The central tower is known as Torre del Filarete (left photo below) which has a Candoglia marble bas-relief above the gate portraying Umberto I on horseback (right photo below).

We only visited the castle's central courtyard which is open to public and no admission needed. Its opening hours is daily from 0700 to 1800 hours (winter period) or 0700 to 1900 hours (summer period).

Milan Cathedral

Milan Cathedral or Duomo di Milano in Italian (left photo below), is the largest church in Italy and fourth largest in the world. It took nearly six centuries to complete, from 1386 till 1965. Directly opposite the cathedral stood the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II (right photo below) at the Piazza del Duomo.

The Duomo's main façade went under renovation from 2003 to early 2009 where it has been completely uncovered again showing the colours of the Candoglia marble (left photo below) and the exquisite decoration of the Cathedral door (right photo below).

The Cathedral consists of a nave with four side-aisles and the height of the nave is about 45-meters (left photo below). There are 52 pillars inside the Cathedral representing one week of the year. Large pictures hanged among these columns depicting different religious scenes (right photo below).

Among the most striking elements in this Cathedral are its beautiful stained-glass windows (left photo below) and the statue of the Apostle Bartholomew (right photo below).

Also, its beautifully decorated altars are not to be missed: altar to Madonna dell'albero (left photo below) and altar to St. Giovanni Buono (right photo below).

Cathedral Rooftops and Terraces

As recommended in most travel guides, we decided to take a visit to the Cathedral Rooftops. There are two ways to access: by flight of stairs which cost EUR 8 or using elevator which cost EUR 20 (recommended for elderly or disabled). Entrance to the rooftops was rather narrow (left photo below) and each visitor would need to time-stamp the ticket (right photo below) before entering.

Views of historic centre of Milan City could be seen (photos below).

The crowning jewel of the terrace is the Madonnina, a 14-foot-high golden statue of Mary which also happens to be the tallest point of the building (left photo below), nestled among the buttresses and pillars (right photo below).

Catholic saints could be spotted standing atop the 135 marble spires that dot the perimeter (photos below).

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (left photo below) is Italy's oldest active shopping mall, housed within a four-storey double arcade. The mall is named after Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of the Kingdom of Italy. It contains many luxury retailers (right photo below) as well as restaurants.

We didn't visit this galleria due to our tight schedule to catch a train to Florence.


Florence

Florence or Firenze in Italian, is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region.

Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance and UNESCO declared the historic centre of Florence as a World Heritage Site in 1982.

Santa Maria Novella

The train reached Firenze S.M.N railway station at about 3 pm. Santa Maria Novella Basilica was the first sight we saw after coming out of the railway station.

Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence located opposite Florence S.M.N railway station. It took over a century from 1246 till 1360 to build this magnificent complex comprising the church, bell-tower, cloisters and graveyard. The façade of church is decorated in style and covered with white and dark green striped marble (left photo below) while its side looked rather unattractive (right photo below).

Serafino Gelato Artigianale

Saw this gelato shop (left photo below) near our hotel, thus decided to give it a try. Bought hazelnut and banana gelato for EUR 2 (right photo below). It was definitely creamier, denser, and richer-tasting than typical ice-cream.

There were several delicious flavours to choose at Serafino (photos below).

San Lorenzo Market

The San Lorenzo market comprised of two separate markets; an indoor known as Mercato Centrale, and an outdoor section that lines the surrounding streets of the large Mercato Centrale building (photos below) where vendors selling pottery, clothing, notebooks, souvenirs and various leather goods. The outdoor market is open from Tuesday through Saturday.

Basilica of Saint Lawrence

Known better as Basilica di San Lorenzo in Italian (photos below), is one of the largest churches in Florence. Both Brunelleschi and Michelangelo helped to renovate the old church of San Lorenzo. The Old Sacristy was designed by Brunelleschi and contains sculptures by Donatello making it a gem of the Early Renaissance. While the New Sacristy is the treasure trove of Michelangelo's works known throughout the world as the Medici Chapels.

Gallery of the Academy

Gallery of the Academy or Galleria dell'Accademia in Italian, is most famous for its collections on the original sculptures by the great Renaissance artist, Michelangelo.

Without a doubt, the masterpiece of Michelangelo's work is the white marble sculpture of 'David' (photo below). This astonishing Renaissance sculpture was created between 1501 and 1504. It is a 5.17-meters sculpture depicting the biblical hero David who is represented as a standing male in nude. The original sculpture was previously placed in front of Palazzo della Signoria, until in 1873 when it was moved into the Gallery of the Academy to protect it from damage and further weathering.

We booked the entrance tickets online where it cost EUR 6.50 per person and a booking fee of EUR 8, so each of us paid EUR 10.50. Glad that we booked online as we just walked into the gallery through a separate entrance after showing our printed online tickets and got a printed ticket (left photo below). This indeed saved a lot of precious time compared to the long queue waiting outside the gallery during our visit (right photo below).

Florence Cathedral

Florence Cathedral or Duomo di Firenze in Italian, is a cathedral completed in 1436 in Gothic style. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink, bordered by white (photos below).

The façade of the cathedral was designed by several artists (left photo below). The three huge bronze doors could date from 1899 to 1903, and they are adorned with scenes from the life of the Madonna (right photo below).

The mosaics in the lunettes above the three doors represented, from left to right:

▪ Charity among the founders of Florentine philanthropic institutions
▪ Christ enthroned with Mary and John the Baptist (left photo below)
▪ Florentine artisans, merchants and humanists

On top of the façade is a series of niches with the twelve Apostles with, in the middle, the Madonna with Child (right photo below).

Nutella Waffles

The toasty smell of waffles attracted us while walking back to Piazza Santa Maria Novella. Decided to have the Nutella Waffle at EUR 4 per piece (photos below). Perhaps it was psychology effect that Nutella did taste better from its country of origin.

Michelangelo Square

Michelangelo Square or Piazza Michelangelo in Italian, is a square with panoramic view of Florence city located in the Oltrarno district of the city. The square can be reached via Florence bus service number 12 or 13 at Piazza Santa Maria Novella (left photo below). Tickets at EUR 1.20 (right photo below) can be bought at any tobacco stores or Florence S.M.N railway station.

The best view of Florence city is from Michelangelo Square and if combined with sunset it will be fantastic. Many tourists listed it as one of the highlights in Florence.

Following are the beautiful photos of Florence city taken during the sunset.

Michelangelo Square was named due to its bronze cast replica of David (left photo below) which was transported up the hill in 1873. Gate of Saint Nicholas (right photo below) could also be spotted at the foot of the hill. It was once part of a 14th century gate in the former defensive walls of Florence.

We decided to walk down from Michelangelo Square towards to city centre, along Arno River. The picturesque Ponte Vecchio was spotted along the route.

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio (left photo below) is a medieval stone segmental arch bridge over the Arno River built in 1345. Shops were built along the bridge where the old tenants had been replaced by jewellers, art dealers, and souvenir sellers. Perhaps it already passed 7.45 pm when we walked pass the bridge, all the shops were already closed for the day (right photo below).

Ristorante Buca Poldo

As it was already late at night, we decided to have our dinner at Ristorante Buca Poldo (left photo below) near Piazza della Signoria. The restaurant seemed quiet at that hour (right photo below).

Ordered 'Tomato Bruschetta' (left photo below) to share, 'Pasta in tomato sauce' for myself (right photo below) and 'Spaghetti with mussels' for my colleague. Total cost was EUR 12 per person after dividing the bill. That was the authentic taste of Italian food!

Piazza della Signoria

Piazza della Signoria is an L-shaped square, flanked by Palazzo Vecchio (left photo below) and Loggia dei Lanzi (right photo below).

Palazzo Vecchio is an impressive town hall with a 52-meters high chamber. The Loggia dei Lanzi is a building besides Palazzo Vecchio consists of wide arches. Many Renaissance sculptures are housed under this open-air sculpture gallery.

Various imposing statues in the square include:

"The Rape of Polyxena" (left photo below) and "Menelaus supporting body of Patroclus" (right photo below).

"Heracles and Nessus" (left photo below) and "Medici lion" (right photo below).

Replica of "David" (left photo below) and "Fountain of Neptune" (right photo below).

After visiting Piazza della Signoria, we then walked back to the hotel and had an early rest.