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A Brief History T hroughout its history, Milan has demonstrated its great ability to rebuild itself. And, following its foundation by the tribes of Gaul in the 4th century BC, the city considered to be the second most important in Italy has emerged from its ashes after being sacked by the Goths, Barbarossa and finally the Allies in World War II. The ancient Mediolanum (“in the middle of the plain”) became part of the Roman Empire in 222 BC. It quickly grew into a thriving city of trade, achieving political and administrative independence. Its growth was such that in 286 BC it became the capital of the Western Roman Empire, as well as the residence of the Emperor Maximino. Always in Rome’s shadow, it became a byword for Christianity. These were the years of San Ambrosio, the first famous name in Milan’s history. Thanks to his influence, four basilicas were built: San Simpliciano, Sant’Ambrogio, San Lorenzo and San Názaro.
The Milan Commune
Milan, art & fashion Although Rome is the Italian capital, Milan is the powerhouse behind the country’s economy, primarily in terms of industry and fashion. Although it’s not that large a city, it can hold a large population and traffic density, and allows visitors to enjoy both one of the top shop windows of today’s fashion and a vast legacy of well-preserved churches, basilicas and palaces that date from an age when the city was a leading light throughout Europe. Many of its streets reveal the avant-garde and entrepreneurial nature of the most modern Italian. A coffee on one of Milan’s terraces surrounded by the elegant Milanese, dropping into any of the fashion boutiques in the quadrilatero d’oro and visiting the third-largest church in the world (the largest Gothic church), el Duomo, and one of the icons of opera, La Scala, is an absolute must. And, if there’s time, you can always get away and discover one of the lakes that embrace the city.
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A practical guide Situated in the middle of the River Po valley, Milan is home to over 1,300,000 people (Italy’s second largest city, almost always behind Rome). It has a high population density, but in exchange it offers quick and idyllic trips to the Alpine lakes Maggiore, Como and Garda. In this guide, we will take you on a journey to the most outstanding sites of interest to visitors and we will offer a first impression of this city in Lombardy. We have selected everything you will need for an unforgettable weekend away or a long three- or four-day weekend. That’s why on the following pages we have lingered in certain parts of the city, at certain monuments and museums, leaving out other elements that require a much longer visit.
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It was after 402, when the it lost its status as capital city, that Milan entered its first age of decadence. Sacked and conquered by different tribes and empires, it was completely destroyed following a war between the Greeks, Byzantines and Goths. The Byzantine General Narses began rebuilding it in 568, although a short time later it was governed by the Lombards in Pavía. In 774, Milan fell into the hands of Frankish bishops, which meant a revival in the economy and the birth, in the eleventh century, of the Commune. Once again, northern Italy revolved around Milan. However, with the invasion by Federico I Barbarossa’s army in 1162, the city once again lay in ruins.
The age of art
The Visconti dynasty took over power in the city. Famous artists flocked there and this age saw the building of el Castello and el Duomo. After the Viscontis, 1450 brought with it peace and another dose of art from the Sforzas. El Ospedale Maggiore, Ca’ Granda and Santa Maria delle Grazie, with the stunning Last Supper by Leonardo, were created by the powerful Sforza family. With the decade of the Renaissance, Milan also lost its staying power and became part of the Empire of Charles V. Spanish rule saw the building of more walls, which are still known as the Spanish walls, as well as Baroque works and a number of reconstructions. During the War of Spanish Succession, Milan was part of the AustroHungarian Empire until 1859 with the exception of the Napoleonic period, which was when the city experienced a financial
and cultural rebirth. Architect Giuseppe Piermarini designed the Teatro alla Scala and rebuilt the Palazzo Reale, and in doing so gave the city a high quality cultural scene. Bonaparte was defeated and Milan became an icon of the Romanticism, and a by-word for the struggle for Italian independence. With the aid of Verdi’s operas, the Milanese expelled the Austro-Hungarian army, although they were reoccupied by this Central European power.
The financial capital of the country
Following Italian unification, Milan was still not the political capital of the nation. However, it did emerge as the financial and cultural capital, a quality that it does not appear to have lost even today. The industry and infrastructures created by the Austro-Hungarians bore fruit. Milan saw significant growth in its population that brought with it a number of social consequences, such as the creation of unions, the first strikes and demonstrations and a large-scale protest in 1898 which ended in a number of incidents. Futurism emerged shortly after, identifying with the artistic, cultural and even political ideas of the time. Milan resisted the arrival of the Second World War and was the last major Italian city to remain under the control of the Fascists. On 26 April 1945, the bodies of El Duce and some of his most loyal officials were put on display in Milan’s Piazzale Loreto, the same place that had been the setting only a few days earlier for a series
The final reconstruction
In 1946, with the reopening of the Teatro alla Scala (which had been bombed during the war), Milan once again rose from the ashes. During the 1960s and 1980s, Milan spearheaded the way of an important industrial development, in which Genoa and Turin also took part. It is currently experiencing some problems concerning the integration of the immigrant community and traffic, with a large volume of road traffic that very often brings the city centre to a standstill. In any case, the lights from the leading fashion labels and the recovery of some of its classical art gems have repositioned it as one of Europe’s leading cities. A place inhabited by elegant born negotiators entrusted with tradition, sophistication and ambition in equal measure, who afford the same passion to an opera at La Scala, with an eye on shares at the city’s stock exchange, or a football match at the San Siro.
of firing squads ordered by Mussolini.
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The Fashion quarter
baround Handy tips Modern Milan is in the same time zone as all of Western Europe, GMT + 1 hour. The climate is relatively good, with low temperatures in winter (an average of 1º C in January) and normal in summer (with temperatures a little lower than other Italian, Spanish or French cities, with an average 28ºC in July). In any case, there are no extreme temperatures in any month of the year. The best time of year we recommend for a visit to the Lombard capital is spring, when the breeze clears the polluted air and the city acquires different colours. Prices rise slightly in summer, when more tourists visit the city. Milan has many pedestrian areas for when you want to get around the city, but it’s also true that the city has a lot of traffic and motorbikes, which sometimes ignore zebra crossings and park on the pavement, so if you’re travelling with children we recommend that you take care on some of its streets. So it’s not a good idea to hire a car to get around the city. There are bicycle and motorbike hire companies, although this option is also rather risky. The city is set at the heart of a canal system, which once provided irrigation for the plains of Lombardy while linking the north with the south and which began to lose importance as the industrial sector grew, until many of these canals were covered over. There are still canals in the Navigli quarter with its lively nightlife and close to Bocconi University. Visitors wanting to enjoy a walk through
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the city should try the quietest areas such as Brera, the old city or the Navigli quarter. The fashion quarter (il quadrilatero d’oro) also invites visitors to take a stroll and stop and look at some of the many shop windows. The present city centre lies to the northeast, around the central Mussolini railway station, and is dominated by the Pirelli skyscraper, which dates from 1956. Public transport offers visitors a choice, which includes trams, the metro, trolleybuses and buses, as well as the passante ferroviario, a half-train, half-metro service. Any form of public transport will save you time and avoid parking problems. The Azienda Transporti Municipali (http://www. atm-mi.it/ATM/) has orange trams and buses that call every ten minutes at each stop. Timetables change depending on whether it’s winter (inverno) or summer (estate). The doors have signals showing where passengers should get on (ingreso) and get off (uscita). Tickets should be purchased before boarding and validated in a machine (convalidare) at the front of the vehicle. Three metro routes (red, green and yellow) are a perfect complement to the trams and buses. The stations have escalators and are usually located close to tram and bus stops. We should finally mention the passante ferroviario, which links the northeast of the city (Bovisa) to the metro and the city centre (Porta Venezia), with stops on the Piazza della Repubblica and Garibaldi, and
the Radiobus, a night bus service that you have to call to reserve a pick-up from the stop. All public transport tickets can be used on all types of transport and routes and are valid for 75 minutes. They cannot be bought on the vehicle, so you will need to buy them from automatic ticket machines at stops, and also tobacconists and kiosks. A single ticket currently costs one euro and 24-hour (3 euros), 48-hour (5.50 euros) and one-week (6.70 euros) travel passes are available. Milan’s public transport system operates from 6 am to 12.30 am, although there are buses and trams that run until 1.30 am. Official taxis (white, although also yellow) are used a lot for business journeys. They are all fitted with telephones and there are numerous taxi ranks scattered throughout the city. Fares start at 3 euros. Milan is a relatively safe city, although visitors should always avoid the outlying areas, mostly at night. It is not recommended that women walk through the city alone. Pickpockets also take advantage of tourists’ moments of distraction when visiting famous and crowded monuments and on the busiest transport routes. Businesses and offices open at 8.30 am and 4 pm, while fashion boutiques, department stores and bookshops open at 9.30 am and do not close until 9 pm or 10 pm.
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The elegant and genteel Via Montenapoleone, Via Manzoni, Via Sant’Andrea and Via della Spiga form the famous quadrilatero d’oro in the northeast of the city with the highest concentration of haute couture labels, including Valentino, Armani, Versace, Gucci, Dolce & Gabanna, Prada, Moschino, Chanel, Gianfranco Ferrè and Hermès. Very few cities in the world have the number of designers that Milan does. Not content with just having a famous fashion house, some of these designers have also opened restaurants, bars, cafés, modern art centres and even theatres, to which the elegant Milanese flock for an aperitif or the opening night of an exhibition. As well as the boutiques, there are the vast neoclassical aristocratic residences, such as the Palazzo Melzi di Cusano or other palaces with porticoed courtyards. Equally worth a visit are the Poldi Pezzoli and Bagatti Valsecchi museums, as well as the neighbouring Archi di Porta Nuova, the gateway that was once part of the Roman walls (one of the two remaining ones), or losing yourself in the interior gardens of the sumptuous Via Manzoni. The quadrilatero is the shopping area par excellence, although there are many other more affordable places for visitors, which even so have not lost any of their charm, such as Avenida Buenos Aires (with over 300 shops), or Torino or Vercelli streets.
The Naviglio quarter
This is now one of the city’s liveliest quarters. The network of small canals, including the famous Naviglio canal, now have barges and a bustling commercial scene, with the opening of shops, antiques workshops and nightclubs that thrive during the day and, above all, part of the night. Life on the two canals (Naviglio Grande and Naviglio Pavese) still goes on. It is still possible to find typical apartment blocks in Milan yellow, with continuous balconies in bottle green around the courtyards. Enjoy a visit to the church of San Cristoforo al Naviglio (the patron saint of ferrymen) or the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie al Naviglio, which gives on to the canal. Also of interest is the antiquarians market, which is held on the last Sunday of every month in summer. There are bars, ice cream parlours and trattorias where you can take a break and try one of the delights of Milan.
Largo Augusto
This area lies between the church of San Názaro and Largo Augusto in the southeast of the city and is home to historic buildings, the university, cafés and a great number of artisan shops on the Via Festa del Perdono, as well as the Casa Grande (a magnificent hospital built during the time of the Sforzas and the present site of the university) and the Verziere column, one of the few surviving late eighteenth-century votive columns commemorating the end of the plague in 1576. There are houses, palaces and churches in a number of different styles and from different ages and several reminders of the fact that this quarter had a long tradition of hospitals. The city’s largest library, Palazzo Sormani Andreani, the Velasca Tower (106 metres high) and Milan’s oldest public garden (Giardino della Guastalla) are some of this quarter’s other gems.
The Brera quarter
The name of this quarter, situated in the northeast of Milan, means the grassy quarter. This quarter, where you could spend all day getting to know it, hides among its winding streets a whole number of boutiques, antiques shops, curiosity and décor shops, attractions that have made it the favourite quarter for bohemians. The façades and streets of Brera project an image of an old yet charming city. The Via Brera leads to the Palazzo Brera, where the Academy of Fine Arts is located (which brings in a great number of students) and the city’s most important art gallery. Summer sees many street stalls (you can have your cards read at some of them) and throughout the year some of the bars and cafés give the best they have to offer, earning a great reputation throughout the city.
The lakes
If you have time and you want to get out of Milan, a visit to the lakes surrounding the city is one of the best things you could do. It’ll take you less than an hour to visit up to three lakes: Como (the most famous at over 100 kilometres), Maggiore, Garda and Iseo, all framed by the incomparable setting of the Alps. Take the car or the train and the visit will be well worth it as there are so many views. Why not hire a boat and go out on one of the lakes or visit one of the villages on the lakeside for lunch.
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bdelicious Gastronomy Much more than pasta! Owing to the numerous conquests it suffered, Milan offers a cuisine that is varied and extensive in its influences. From the rural tradition, rice stew and pasta remain, besides other hearty stews always combined with meat, grain or vegetables. A more elaborate cuisine came with the Visconti and Sforza dynasties. The era dominated by Charles V left behind the taste for rice, in this case risotto, a descendant of paella. In autumn it has pumpkin while summer brings strawberries. The costoletta milanese and the classic panettone (cake filled with raisins generally served at Christmas) were created during the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. One of the strongest Milanese traditions is the aperitif, which is taken every day at around six in the afternoon. At that time, many of the bars in the city are brimful of people savouring salami, mortadela, carpaccio, sandwiches, cheeses, olives and fresh anchovies in vinegar, washed down with a drink. On occasion, the Milanese aperitif can become a good alternative to dinner, all for the price of a cocktail and amid a great atmosphere and modern music. Once inside a restaurant, Milanese cuisine means, first of all, a hors d’oeuvre or antipasti. The first course is usually pasta, rice or soup. The second is meat or fish (the city is famous for its top-quality seafood), accompanied by a garnish of vegetables. For dessert, you can always enjoy a good ice cream before your coffee. If you plump for dinner in any Milanese restaurant, you could go for a dish of veal (dressed with onion, oil and vinegar), risotto alla milanesa, stew (also veal) or casoeûla (a dish made with pork and cabbage). Some 100% regional dishes are pheasant with spices, rice and asparagus, whitebait in batter and dried and salted shad. Wines that could go with your meal come from the Franciacorta, Oltrepo Pavese, Garda and Valtellina areas, most notably a spumante from Iseo lake and the Bardolino red. It is usual to round the bill up after eating and leave a tip (normally between 5% and 10% at most), providing the service has been good.
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bparty Cultural events New Year’s Day
1 January, first day of the year. The Christmas lights still last. Procession of the Three Wise Men As is the tradition in so many other countries, 6 January sees a colourful procession that goes from the Duomo to Sant’Eustorgio.
Ambrosian Carnival
On the first Saturday in Lent, traditional characters such as Meneghin and Cecca parade around the Piazza del Duomo.
Fashion Festival Early March sees the MODIT (Milanovendemoda), highlighting the autumn-winter collections of the greatest designers.
Milan-San Remo cycle race
Prestigious trial that crosses the city centre on the third Saturday in March.
Flower Festival
The first Monday after Easter sees a festival with flowers on the Via Moscova.
A calendar marked by fashion
Festa della Repubblica
SMAU technology fair
Fiesta del Naviglio
Fashion Festival
A national holiday, 2 June marks one of Italy’s most important days of the year. Milan plays host to concerts and other activities.
The first Sunday in June sees the start of a festival featuring artists, concerts, crafts markets and regional cuisine displays in the Navigli quarter of the city.
Saint Christopher’s Day
The patron saint of travellers has his saint’s day on the third Sunday in June, when the boats are decorated and move around the canals in the afternoon-evening.
Arianteo film show
The Anteo cinema organises an open-air film show at the Rotonda di Via Besana during the warm months of July and August.
In the first week in October, the Milan Trade Fair Centre hosts the latest trends in multimedia technology, office technology, virtual reality, etc.
October sees the second date in the year to feature the most prestigious Italian fashion designers, this time showing off their trends for the springsummer collection.
Festa de Sant’Ambrogio
On 7 December, the eve of the day of the Immaculate Conception, Milan hosts a number of unmissable dates. The opera season gets under way at the Teatro alla Scala and the Teatro Grassi, while a street antiques market is set up around the Basilica de Sant’Ambrogio.
Formula One Grand Prix in Monza
One of the major trials on the world circuit is held in early September.
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bmoving Points of Interest Il Duomo
This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the three art gems that should not be missed when visiting Milan, along with The Last Supper and La Scala. This is the third largest church in the world. Building work began on it in 1386 using marble from Candoglia. The cathedral was consecrated in 1418 and finally completed under the Napoleonic Empire in the nineteenth century. The windows, including the oldest (1470) depict scenes and moments in the life of Christ. A visit to the roof terraces is a must, offering priceless views of the spires (the oldest dates from 1404), flying buttresses, the city and mountains. There are over 3,500 statues of saints, animals and monsters. Visitors should not leave without taking a close look at the Trivulzio candelabra, a masterpiece of mediaeval silversmithing. Rising above the sea of capitals and statues stands the small copper figure of the Virgin, the Madonnina, erected in 1774 and situated on a central lantern some 108 metres above the city. The statute is lit up at night. Remember that twice a year (in May and September), the bishop uses the nivela to reach the high altar and bring down Milan’s most important relic, a nail from the cross of Jesus, which has been on display at the altar since 1461.
Teatro alla Scala
One of the temples of opera, it was built by Giuseppe Piermarini in 1776. Inaugurated in 1778, it was bombed in 1943 but rebuilt in 1946 and underwent its latest reconstruction in 2004. It has an important Ballet School, founded in 1813. Many of its elements worth a detailed visit include the foyer (a vast hall of mirrors), the auditorium (with magnificent acoustics for audiences of over 2,000) and the Museo Teatrale (with numerous painting and sculptures linked to the history of music and the theatre). There are two collections dedicated to Verdi, including objects of interest such as the spinet that he learnt to play on, scores written by him and the jewel-encrusted baton given to him as a gift following the triumphant reception of Aida.
La última cena
The refectory of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie houses a masterpiece of painting, The Last Supper, created by Leonardo in 1497, which has become one of the bestknown works of art in the world. Painted in tempera, it displays a rich range of colours that describe the expressions of the 12 apostles after Christ announces that one of them will soon betray him. The gestures, shocked faces and hands bring a great sense of communication to the painting, which has undergone several restorations (the most recent in 1999), as over time the paint has peeled away since Leonardo painted it directly on to a plaster wall instead of applying the pigments to damp plaster. On the opposite wall is the fresco The Crucifixion, by Donato Montorfano.
The Brera Art Gallery
Without a doubt, this is one of the best art collections in Italy. Located in a sixteenth-century palace built by Jesuits (who turned it into centre for the arts), it houses masterpieces by Raphael (The Marriage of the Virgin), Caravaggio (Supper at Emmaus), Mantegna (The Dead Christ), Piero della Francesca (Montefeltro Altarpiece), Tintoretto (The Discovery of the Body of Saint Mark), Francesco Hayez (The Kiss) and Modigliani (Portrait of Moisè Kisling). The gallery has 38 rooms, arranged chronologically or by school, and a room that houses temporary exhibitions.
San Lorenzo
Situated in the southeast of the city (just outside the Roman walls), this is one of the oldest Christian round churches. Built in the fourth century using materials from a nearby Roman amphitheatre, it comprises a main vaulted nave and several smaller ones. It has been reconstructed on several occasions following a number of fires. Among its contents of incalculable artistic value, it contains 16 Corinthian columns, the largest dome in the city and the chapel of San Aquilino, which contains some of the best mosaics in the region.
San Fedele
This church, which is the Jesuit See of the city, is an example of counter-reformist style architecture and was completed in around 1650. It comprises a central nave without side naves, wood furniture, austere décor and three paintings worth a look: The Vision of Saint Ignatius (Giovan Battista Crespi), Transfiguration (Bernardino Campi) and Virgin and Child (also by Campi).
Museum of Science and Technology
Apart from religious works, we would like to highlight this museum situated in a former monastery, which was once a hospital and barracks before housing works relating to science. It contains one of the best technology collections in the world and a huge space for temporary exhibitions. Engineering, foundry work, astronomy and acoustics are just some of the disciplines on display at this museum. Also worth a mention is the discipline of calculation, including the exhibition of the first mechanical calculator, invented in 1642. Cinema, photography, measurements of time and an overview of some of Leonardo Da Vinci’s inventions are also housed at this museum (his designs for military or flying devices and his inventions in general awaken the admiration of visitors).
Sforza Castle
Belonging to the Visconti family and later embellished by the Sforzas, it lies in northeast Milan (either before or after you visit the castle, you must go and see the Sempione park and gardens). This fortress was built in 1368 by Galeazzo II Visconti and during the Italian Renaissance became one the most admired courts. It is now home to 12 tapestries designed by Bramantino, as well as the Ducal chapel, with paintings by Stefano de Fedeli and Bonifacio Bembo. Leonardo also created a painting at this fortress in the Sala delle Asse. The present Filarete tower exploded in 1521 due to the gunpowder stored in it, but was reconstructed in 1905. One final highlight is the Pietà di Rondanini, an unfinished work by Michelangelo. The castle is now home to the Civic Museums, with a rich legacy of paintings, sculptures, furniture, ceramics, tapestries, engravings and even seals.
Museum of Modern Art
The CIMAC is currently housed on the second floor of the Palazzo Reale (Napoleon’s former summer home on the edge of the Giardini Pubblici). It’s an absolute delight for lovers of nineteenth- and twentieth-century art. The extensive collection ranges from the neoclassical to the present-day. It contains works by renowned artists such as Balla, Modigliani, Carrà, De Chirico, Burri, Manzoni and Tancredi. One of the most famous and futuristic works is the sculpture entitled Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, by Umberto Boccioni.
Sant’Ambrogio
This basilica was built on the orders of Bishop Ambrosio in 386 BC. Situated on an ancient cemetery, the church contains the grave of the same name as the bishop and patron of the city. It was first extended by the Benedictines and from then on has been reformed on several occasions. The columns depict stories from the Bible. The nave is covered by ribbed vaults and generally the inside is in the Lombard Romanesque style. Below the pulpit is the Sarcophagus of the Roman general Stilicho, a work with stunning reliefs, which dates from the fourth century. The altar was created in the ninth century as the final resting place of San Ambrosio. The stucco ciborium is supported by four Roman porphyry columns. 7
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bfun Shows & Events
borganized
your notes
A few days visiting Milan will give you enough time to enjoy any number of cultural activities, try out some of Milan’s nightspots or go to an interesting sports event. Tickets for the opera at La Scala or a football match at the San Siro are just two of the most coveted options, although there are also many other concert halls, theatres and places where you can enjoy, albeit in smaller doses, some of the events that this city offers every night.
Theatre
Enjoying an opera at La Scala is an absolute must for lovers of culture. You will need to book quite early and remember that the opera season starts on 7 December. However, La Scala is not the only place where you can enjoy the art of the theatre. The Grassi, Studio, Manzoni (a favourite with the Milanese), Carcano, Smeraldo, Nazionale, Nuovo and the intimate Filodrammatici theatres are also good cultural options. If you want to see comedy, try the Ciak theatre and for something a little more avant-garde or experimental, try the Teatridithalia-Elfo, Leonardo da Vinci, Out Off or Teatro dell’Arte theatres.
Cinema
Generally speaking, the Italians are passionate about the cinema and the centre of Milan has over 20 cinemas. The area around Corso Vittorio Emanuele contains many cinemas showing the latest releases. If you want to watch art cinema, a good option is the Cineteca Museo. Finally, lovers of original version cinema don’t have much to choose from, although you can always try the Anteo, Arcobaleno and Cinema Centrale cinemas.
Music
Before you decide on a bar or area you want to visit to enjoy the Milan night, have a look through ViviMilano, a supplement in the Corriere della Sera newspaper, or its opposite number Tutto Milano, from La Repubblica paper, which provide current listings for all events. If it’s listening to live music or dance that you’re after, there are a whole host of places to fulfil the traveller’s desires. Most bars, where young and not-so-young hopefuls perform, are in the Navigli quarter (such as Grilloparlante, Ca’Bianca, Nidaba and Tunnel). One of the city’s most famous nightspots is Scimmie, which specialises in jazz, rock, blues and ethnic music. Indian Café and the Grand Café fashion are two discopubs, where as the night draws on, the place becomes noisier. Other places from the Milan nightlife are Alcatraz, Zenith, Shocking Club and Café Atlantique, as well as Limelight, one of the biggest discos in the city. Finding out opening times and entry policies is recommended, as many nightspots are reserved for their usual guests.
Sport
Footballer lovers cannot leave Milan without a trip to the San Siro, formerly the Giuseppe Meazza stadium, and if possible make their visit coincide with one of the city’s two rival clubs, Silvio Berlusconi’s all-powerful AC Milan and the old, but equally a champion, Inter. Visitors can also enjoy horse racing at the Ippodromo, indoor football (a very popular sport in Milan), skating at the 24 Sport Village complex or water sports on the region’s lakes.
INFORMATION The Milan tourist information office is located in the city centre, offers detailed information regarding the most important current cultural events and provides hotel and restaurant listings.
IAT Milano Via Marconi, 1. 02 72 52 43 01 www.milaninfotourist.com There are also offices (branches of the main IAT) on lakes Maggiore, Como, Garda and Iseo, as well as Pro Loco agencies (in small towns and villages around Milan) and Giro della Città (at IAT head office, Vía Marco, 1), if you want to arrange a guided tour of the fashion capital.
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