Top a ractions

TOP PLACES TO SEE IN MILAN

Museums, churches and all the a ractions that you should not miss in city. Reservations are recommended in some museums, ask your ‘Les Clefs D’Or’ concierge

BASILICA OF SAN SIMPLICIANO

A basilica founded by Bishop Ambrose, the façade and its doorway remains from the Romanesque period. Beautiful to visit the two cloisters. Piazza San Simpliciano, 7 ph. +39 02 862274 sansimpliciano.it BASILICA OF SANT’AMBROGIO

Founded in the 4th century, the basilica is one of oldest churches in the city, a striking example of Romanesque architecture. Piazza Sant’Ambrogio, 15 ph. +39 02 86450895 basilicasantambrogio.it BASILICA OF SANTA MARIA DELLE GRAZIE

The basilica and convent of the parish of San Vi ore al Corpo. The architecture of the church, built between 1492 and 1493 at the behest of the Duke of Milan Ludovico il Moro as a mausoleum for his family, is one of the greatest achievements of the Renaissance in northern Italy. Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper is in the refectory of the convent. Piazza di Santa Maria delle Grazie ph. +39 02 4676111 legraziemilano.it BASILICA SANT’EUSTORGIO & PORTINARI CHAPEL

Piazza Sant’Eustorgio hides traces of medieval Milan. The

Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense church bell tower is the tallest in town (seventy-five meters high), built in 1306 and is the oldest in Europe a er Big Ben. The Portinari Chapel is a Renaissance gem. Piazza Sant’Eustorgio, 1 ph. +39 02 58101583 santeustorgio.it BIBLIOTECA NAZIONALE BRAIDENSE

The third-largest Italian library, containing some million and a half items. Of this vast heritage, major subsets include 2,367 manuscripts, 40,000 autographs and more than 23,000 newspaper headlines. Since July 2015 the library has been part of the Pinacoteca di Brera museum complex, under the direction of James M. Bradburne. Via Brera, 28 ph. +39 02 72263401 bibliotecabraidense.org Closed Sundays

Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio Basilica of San Simpliciano

Palazzo Reale

CASA DEGLI ATELLANI & LEONARDO’S VINEYARD

While Leonardo da Vinci was in Milan, Duke Ludovico il Moro gave him a vineyard in the centre of the city in appreciation for the magnificent works he was creating to embellish the ducal city. This was Leonardo’s Vineyard: reopened to the public for Expo 2015, the vineyard is located near Santa Maria delle Grazie, in the courtyard of Casa degli Atellani, the fi eenth-century residence of Ludovico il Moro and the last remaining trace of the ancient Borgo delle Grazie. Corso Magenta, 65 ph. +39 02 25061895 casadegliatellani.it

Casa degli Atellani

Basilica Sant’Eustorgio & Portinari Chapel

CASTELLO SFORZESCO

It was originally a fortress built by Gian Galeazzo Visconti in the 15th century. One hundred years later, Francesco Sforza made it his noble residence a er taking possession of Milan. Ludovico Sforza founded one of the most sophisticated courts in Europe and called the best artists of the time to embellish the castle, including Leonardo da Vinci and Filarete. The imposing building today is a unique museum complex divided into the Civic Museums, which house permanent exhibitions and a rich program of temporary art shows and events. It includes the Museum of Ancient Art, the Egyptian Museum, the Museum of Prehistory and Protohistory, the Museum of Applied Arts, the Museum of Musical Instruments, the Museum of Furniture and Wooden Sculptures, the Trivulziana Library, the Pinacoteca, and the Pietà Rondanini. Piazza Castello ph. +39 02 88463700 milanocastello.it Closed Mondays, December 25, January 1, May 1 CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA NEAR SAN SATIRO

Built in two phases, the church of Santa Maria dates to 1486. Bramante was responsible for the archi-

tecture, creating a unique trompe-l’oeil choir. Via Torino, 17/19 ph. +39 02 874683 CHURCH OF SAN MAURIZIO AL MONASTERO MAGGIORE

All the walls and ceilings inside the ex-convent San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore were painted by Bernardino Luini, who worked in the church between 1522 and 1529, depicting episodes of the Bible. This triumph of frescoes is considered to be the Milanese Sistine Chapel. Corso Magenta, 13 Closed Mondays and Tuesdays THE MONUMENTAL CEMETERY

Founded in 1866 as a burial place open to all citizens of Milan, this identity has shi ed over time, and the cemetery has become a genuine anthem to Milan-ness, not only a resting place for the departed but an important part

Citylife of the city’s history. The largest area is the Famedio, from the Latin famae aedes, temple of fame. Here lie Alessandro Manzoni, Carlo Ca aneo, Luca Beltrami, Leo Valiani, Bruno Munari, Carlo Forlanini and Salvatore Quasimodo. Piazzale Cimitero Monumentale ph. +39 02 88465600 comune.milano.it Closed Mondays CITYLIFE

This area was a residential neighbourhood, dominated by the imposing Fiera Campionaria warehouses, but with the advent of the new, daring Fiera in Rho the vacant place was the perfect opportunity for a complex architectural project, with beautiful houses, two towers designed by Zaha Hadid and Daniel Libeskind, a third skyscraper by Arata Isozaki known as “il Dri o,” a beautiful park and a lively shopping mall open every day. MILAN CATHEDRAL

Located in the square that shares its name, the Duomo is dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente and is Italy’s largest church. Symbol and protector of the Milanese people, the Madonnina is made in beaten and gilded copper plates, today supported by a framework of stainless

The Monumental Cemetery

Church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore

steel. The Madonnina has stood on the main spire of the cathedral since 1774. The building has 135 pinnacles and contains some 3,400 statues and over 700 figures carved in marble relief. Piazza del Duomo ph. +39 02 72023375 duomomilano.it GALLERIA VITTORIO EMANUELE II

Designed by Giuseppe Mengoni, this shopping center’s foundation stone was laid in

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

1865 by Vi orio Emanuele II, hence its name. From its inception, the Galleria was a meeting place for the Milanese bourgeois, earning it the nickname Milan’s living room. It has a cross plan with an octagonal iron and glass roof, 47 metres high. The visitor’s gaze is drawn toward the floor mosaics, which represent the coats of arms of Rome, Florence, Turin and Milan. Alongside some of the city’s historic cafes, inside the gallery you’ll find boutiques of the world’s great fashion houses. Piazza del Duomo LAST SUPPER CENACOLO VINCIANO

Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, frescoed from 1495-97 on the commission of Ludovico Sforza in the refectory of the Dominican monastery of the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie, was immediately hailed by Leonardo’s contemporaries as the cornerstone of Renaissance art. Piazza di Santa Maria delle Grazie ph. +39 02 4676111 legraziemilano.it PALAZZO REALE

It was the city’s center of power beginning in the 13th century, and today it’s the top spot for cultural offerings, with a packed calendar of exhibitions. Piazza Duomo, 12 ph. +39 02 88465230 palazzorealemilano.it Closed Mondays PARCO SEMPIONE

Thirty-eight hectares of English-style lawns, paths, copses, lakes and areas dedicated to sports. Enjoy the clean morning air and discover corners of the park that usually go unnoticed: admire the original Aquarium built in 1906, the Torre Branca by Gio Ponti (1933), the metaphysical Teatro by Alberto Burri (1973), recently given a new life, and De Chirico’s newly-restored Mysterious Baths fountain (1973).

Last Supper Cenacolo Vinciano

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

RONDANINI PIETÀ CASTELLO SFORZESCO

The final, unfinished work of Michelangelo Buonarroti, the Rondanini Pietà - on display at the new Castello Sforzesco Museum - is the artist’s testament and meditation on death and salvation. In this work the sculptor renounces bodily perfection and heroic beauty, depicting the dead Christ as a symbol of suffering. Piazza Castello ph. +39 02 88463700 milanocastello.it Closed Mondays, 25 December, 1 January and 1 May PINACOTECA AMBROSIANA

Established in 1618 a er Cardinal Borromeo’s bequeathal of statues and paintings. Among the awe-inspiring works are Leonardo’s Portrait of a Musician and Caravaggio’s Basket of Fruit. Piazza Pio XI, 2 ph. +39 02 806921 ambrosiana.it Closed Mondays PINACOTECA DI BRERA

The painting and sculpture gallery (Pinacoteca) flanked the Accademia di Belle Arti for educational purposes. When Milan became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy (1805), bequests and

Pinacoteca di Brera acquisitions from Veneto, Emilia Romagna and Marche arrived at the gallery. Major works include Mantegna’s Dead Christ, Raphael’s Marriage of the Virgin, Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus and others by Carpaccio, Piero della Francesca, Titian, Tintore o and Veronese. Via Brera, 28 ph. +39 02 72263230 pinacotecabrera.org Closed Mondays

Pinacoteca Ambrosiana

PIRELLI HANGARBICOCCA

An exhibition space for modern and contemporary art in the Bicocca quarter of the city. Since it opened it has hosted shows by Marina Abramović, Carsten Höller, Alfredo Jaar, Philippe Parreno, Laure Prouvost and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. It’s also the site of a permanent installation by Anselm Kiefer. Via Chiese, 2

Pietà Rondanini

The Fashion Quadrilateral The ph. +39 02 66111573 pirellihangarbicocca.org Closed Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays PLANETARIO ULRICO HOEPLI

The Planetarium vaunts paintings of the constellations on its facade. Inside, look up at the sky from the 300 moving armchairs across a large dome. Corso Venezia, 57 ph. +39 02 88463340 lofficina.eu PORTA NUOVA

Milan’s skyline was redrawn thanks to the Porta Nuova area, the city’s most contemporary neighbourhood and home to the Torre Unicredit, designed by Cesar Pelli, who was also behind the adjacent piazza Gae Aulenti, an open-air shopping mall. In October 2018, the Biblioteca degli Alberi Park was inaugurated, designed by the Dutch landscaper Petra

Planetario Ulrico Hoepli

Triennale Milano Blaisse. Not too far away, Stefano Boeri’s award-winning residential buildings are attention-grabbing: the two innovative towers, known as the Vertical Forest, are standing side-by-side almost entirely covered in vegetation. Piazzale Principessa Clotilde, 37 THE FASHION QUADRILATERAL

The area of Milan renowned all over the world as a luxury shopping district, packed with jewellers, boutiques and showrooms for the most exclusive, acclaimed and expensive names in clothing, design and interiors. So called because it is bordered by four famous streets: Via Monte Napoleone, Via Manzoni, Via della Spiga and Corso Venezia. THE DUOMO TERRACES

U erly unique in Italy. Like ancient stone stalagmites reach-

ing skywards, the pinnacles tower above the shining marble cathedral. Every structural or ornamental detail of their architecture and decoration carries the legacy of the sculpture tradition handed down from the master stonemasons who bring their wisdom and expertise to everything they create. Piazza Duomo, 14/A ph. +39 02 72023375 duomomilano.it SORMANI LIBRARY

The 16th-century Palazzo Sormani is today the city library, boasting the largest collection of books, periodicals and multimedia in Milan. A reading garden at the back of the building is open from April to October. Corso di Porta Vi oria, 6 ph. +39 800 880066 milano.biblioteche.it/library/ sormani Closed Sunday TEATRO ALLA SCALA

The most famous opera house in the world, with an audience as critical as it is appreciative, the

Duomo Terraces

theatre made its name in Milan’s history through Giuseppe Verdi, Arturo Toscanini and Maria Callas, who was discovered here in 1955. Inaugurated in 1778 and renowned since then for its acoustics. The La Scala season officially opens each year with an opera on December 7, the feast day of St. Ambrose, patron saint of the city. Via Filodrammatici, 2 teatroallascala.org TORRE BRANCA

Originally called Torre Li oria, this steel structure was built in 1933 to a design by architect Giò Ponti, and stands in Milan’s Sempione Park. At 108.6 metres, it is the tenth tallest accessible building in the city. Viale Luigi Camoens, 2 ph. +39 02 3314120 museobranca.it Closed Mondays TRIENNALE MILANO

Situated in Parco Sempione, Palazzo dell’Arte has housed La Triennale (p. 154) since 1933, founded to promote design and applied arts through international shows. Today it’s home to the Triennale Design Museum, with exhibitions that retrace the history of iconic objects cra ed in Italy, tackling issues linked to design and production. Viale Emilio Alemagna, 6 ph. +39 02 724341 triennale.org

Teatro Alla Scala

Torre Branca