After a first day dedicated to know the Porta Ticinese district, we decided to continue our tour in Milan between Via Brera, Fiori Chiari, Fiori Oscuri, Madonnina and Piazza del Carmine.
But before a jump in Piazza Duomo to see live the “novelty”: the palm trees! We failed to impress. Probably also the gray day and no sun did not help us to appreciate this new fifth, but the impact as a whole, there appeared completely out of context. This is our opinion, then “de gustibus …”: the debate is open.
Before continuing to Brera, we withdrew our passport from the Urban Center in the Vittorio Emanuele Gallery (Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, 11/12 – tel. +39 02 884 56555; from 9.00 to 18.00 opening hours from Monday to Friday – Entrance free). We enthusiastically joined this beautiful initiative, launched by the agency for tourism InLombardia for the Year of Lombard Tourism, requesting this document in which collect the visits to the region.
The first stamp there so we did put right there and then we went to the Ferrari Store (via Giovanni Berchet 2) for the second, and of course did not miss the usual photos near the fireball red.
Upon completion of these “formalities” we were directed to what is considered the Milanese Montmartre whose center is the Palazzo di Brera with the imposing façade designed by Piermarini and today headquarters of the Academy of Fine Arts, of the Art Gallery, of the Library Braidense, of Botanical Gardens and of the astronomical Observatory.
We wanted to slightly deviate from the path for another Milan corner that we like so much, the Piazza dei Mercanti that with its Lodges and the well dating back to the sixteenth century at the center, is a unique example of medieval architecture in the city. Overlooking the square is the Loggia degli Osii, built in 1316 by Matteo Visconti and consists of two loggias. In front of the Loggia degli Osii finds the ancient Palazzo della Ragione, elevated from street level through five steps leading to a full-fledged covered square from the ceiling with vaults.
Currently the building is used by the city of Milan as a space to organize exhibitions.
At this point Brera awaits us and a tour of the district can not ignore the detour to the Gallery (Via Brera 28, tel. +39 02 89421146 – www.brera.beniculturali.it), a collection of art among the largest in Italy. Hard to say what a masterpiece not to be missed. Among them undoubtedly the Dead Christ by Mantegna in front of which remains almost interdicted for his extreme realism, but also the Marriage of the Virgin, an early work by the delicate beauty of Raphael, the Supper at Emmaus, a real jewel of Caravaggio and the Pala Montefeltro by Piero della Francesca.
Continuing on Via Brera you can not help but notice the imposing Palazzo Cusani, Milan example of noble residence of the eighteenth century.
At the beginning of via Mercato is the square of Santa Maria del Carmine, on one side of which stands the work of the sculptor Igor Mitoraj that imposes itself on the background of red bricks of the fifteenth-century church.
Then you wander through the grid of streets between the buildings built between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, looking through the windows of the antique dealers, furniture stores, art galleries, small boutiques where you can still breathe the atmosphere of the neighborhood. A must is the bar Jamaica (Via Brera 32, tel. +39 02 876 723), one of the artists, opened in 1921 by the family who still manages it: you take a look around because it regularly hosts exhibitions of paintings and photography.
You want something more substantial to put under your teeth? Milan does not disappoint those looking for unusual menu. A local original a few steps from Sempione Park in a street of Via Brera, is La Filetteria Italiana (Via Legnano, tel. +39333790 0147 – edoardo.maggiori@lafiletteriaitaliana.com) of the young Edoardo Maggiori, the triumphant flesh grilled, but not the usual that one can find in all other. In fact at the table, on thin slabs of slate, not only beef and veal, as well as zebra fillets, reindeer, camel, kangaroo and buffalo, served with a set of 15 different sauces basic, most other in rotation throughout the year and side dishes like golden and crispy baked potato. We wanted to try the zebra, the delicate meat and with a third of the calories than beef, but the choice between kangaroo, bison and reindeer was not easy.
Before returning, to the cafe at the Crocetta Panini d’Autore, a ristobar from retro furniture (Via Mercato, 24 – tel. +39 02 875 923 – info@crocetta.com), we matched a side trip from Au Nome De la Rose (Via Mercato, 20 – tel. +39 02 89093350), a concept store by Parisian atmosphere entirely dedicated to roses. We don’t resist and buy our beautiful bouquet packaged in an envelope with fragrant rose petals and adorned with a fresh rose.
There is a better way to say au revoir Milan?
