Wednesday, 5 november 2025 Milano
We are in Italy again, though not on a bicycle trip, for thef irst time in a non-summer month. We’ll risk rain in return for smaller crowds.
Today was our first full day on Milano, with bright sun and clear skies — a beautiful fall day. Our hotel is close to the Duomo, the third-largest church in Europe (after St. Peter’s and the cathedral in Seville).
Opening onto the Piazza del Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele, the best-ever of interior shopping areas:
From the Galleria, it’s not a long walk to the Sforza Castle
which was once a huge fortress protecting Milano from Venetians and other invaders.
The Sforza family built their palace within its walls. Today, I was impressed by the size of the fortress, including a huge central square, and by the excellent condition of the open spaces and many museums inside.
Moats are always a feature of fortresses. The spheres on the ground here are stone balls, to be flung by pre-gunpowder catapults before cannons got good at shooting metal balls.
The museums inside the Sforza Castle are heavy on church and military artifacts related to the history of Milan and Lombardy. An important figure was St. Ambrose, who fought against heretics in the 4th century, and became a symbol of the counter-reformation in the 14th. This huge tapestry was carried in the streets during civic events to inspire the Milanese:
An unexpected feature of the museums is an unfinished work by Michelangelo, a Pietà left after his death in 1564. It’s quite different from the more famous sculpture in Rome.
On a lighter note, I always try to find a theme for my photos on a trip like this. (Years ago, it was the horrible warnings on European cigarette packages.) i’m not sure if I’ll find a theme for this trip, but it may be window displays, given the fine examples in the Galleria. Here are a few to end this entry:
The MHB Foghorn 