Mangiacakes in Milan

After a couple of days of chilling out Como-side, Mara and I made a move to Milan, accompanied by Rosanna. We hit up the usual suspects, including the glistening, marbled Duomo, among the largest cathedrals in Europe, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a glass-covered cathedral of commerce built in 1867, and the Teatro alla Scala, the world’s most fabled opera house and where Bellini, Puccini, and Verdi all found fame.

Duomo

Gorgeous stained-glass window (one of 146!)

The floor's intricate stone carvings

View from the roof

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Spinning "on the bull's balls", a tradition at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Teatro alla Scala

We checked out an exhibit on Guido Crepax, a Milanese comics artist, and his muse, Valentina, before meeting Seba’s brother, Stefano, for lunch, and then set out to explore the Renaissance Castello Sforzesco and its nearby Parco Sempione. 

Mara and Rosanna, Castello Sforzesco

After refuelling at Grom, the genius Slow Food-affiliated gelateria, we ventured over to Piazza Santo Stefano to take in the ossuary chapel of San Bernardino alle Ossa. The ossario is disturbingly decorated with human bones and skulls, though the room is somewhat enlivened by its vault painting. Sufficiently spooked, and wanting to get on the road before dark, we picked up our Smart Car (the only reasonably priced automatic car rental in Italy) at Linate Airport, and headed home to Gera Lario for our very own Last Supper before the trip.

San Bernardino alle Ossa

San Bernardino alle Ossa