Culture of Milan. Places to visit - old town, temples, theaters, museums and palaces

A walk on the famous Piazza Mercanti is an excellent way to get acquainted with the cultural heritage of Milan. The street is the location of numerous outstanding historic buildings. Loggia degli Osii is a beautiful medieval building famous for its graceful balcony, which is built of black and white marble slabs. The whole building is erected by the order of Duke Matteo Visconti. Panigarola- a beautiful Gothic building – is located nearby. In the 15th century the building hosted the local Registration Chamber. The construction of Palace of Counsel was completed in 1562. Today, however, only a portion of its facade is visible from the street. Keep walking in this part of the city and you will see a beautiful Paris Commune Tower - a beautiful monument of the 17th century. The roof of the building is decorated with a beautiful statue of St. Ambrose.

Milan is home to a huge number of museums, in which you can see unique historical artifacts and art objects. Castello Sforzesco is now home for a beautiful museum, which houses collections of rare paintings and sculptures. Besides this, the halls of the museum are decorated by very rare and precious museum pieces - antique furniture and tapestries. Poldi Pezzoli Museum is located in one of the oldest mansions in Milan. Several centuries ago the house belonged to a well-known collector, who initially had an irresistible passion for armor and knight ammunition, but later began collecting rare and precious paintings. Nowadays everyone can see this wonderful collection created by Poldi-Pezzoli.

Church of St. Lorenzo is a truly striking religious attraction. Every year the church is visited by thousands of pilgrims. One of the greatest artists - Michelangelo – worked over painting and decorating the walls of the church. Church of St. Lorenzo has the full right to be considered one of the most beautiful churches in the world. The main relic of the cathedral, which is the object of worship of pilgrims, is a vessel with the blood of St. Lorenzo. Only one time a year the priceless relic is exhibited to the public. Pilgrims from many different countries come here to see the sacred item. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The beautiful Cathedral of Santa Maria delle Grazie is not only an important religious and architectural landmark. The church keeps numerous valuable icons, the most famous of which is the "Last Supper" of the great painter Leonardo da Vinci. It is also worth visiting Basilica of Sant 'Ambrogio, which also stores some unique relics. The interior of the basilica is decorated with amazing paintings. The most valuable artifact has been keeping in the basilica starting from 1230. This is a crystal vessel with the blood of Christ.

It is impossible to imagine acquaintance with Milan without visiting or at least taking a quick glance at Duomo di Milano. This is a real landmark of the city and its most important artifact is a nail taken from the Holy Crucifixion. The masterpiece of Gothic architecture attracts thousands of tourists every year, not in the least due to the fact that Leonardo da Vinci, who lived and worked here for a while, contributed to the construction of the cathedral. It is worth climbing to the roof of the building, as the impressive panoramic views that open up from here will amaze right about any tourist.

The great genius, Leonardo da Vinci, also took part in the design of two channels – Naviglio Grande and Naviglio Pavese. Walking here will give anyone some amount of pleasure, especially knowing that this is a truly historic place. However, Milan is such a town in itself: Ludovico Moro or Silvio Berlusconi (who was born in the capital Lombardy) could once walk in the provincial courtyard. If you were to look at Bosco Verticale, you would definitely find out that there is an incredibly beautiful view here. These “green houses”, fascinate from the very first minutes. It seems that this is what the modern house of elves looks like.

Many are fascinated by Cimitero Monumentale too, which is located relatively close to Bosco Verticale. This cemetery which is a kind of concealed treasure, have real works of art hidden in it. Also, it is worth mentioning a couple of words about another remarkable attraction of the capital Lombardy – the opera La Scala. The building which is constructed in a neoclassical style draws attention immediately. However, once you have just gotten inside, you can be surprised that not even some fancy palace can boast of such a luxury as you will find here. Nearby is the Museo Teatrale alla Scala, which is also worth visiting.

The best viewing platform after the roof of Duomo di Milano is the Torre Branca. It was built in the 1930’s on the territory of Parco Sempione, which, in its own way, is a great place for a leisurely walk. The museum La Triennale di Milano is also located here. The majestic Arco della Pace gate opens the entrance to the park. There is the Arena Civica, numerous fountains and sculptural compositions among other attractions of the park, the most interesting of which were the four mermaids who once adorned Naviglio Grande. Another amazing building is the Rotonda della Besana. This is a church which was built in the 19th century in the place of a former hospital cemetery, for the reason that surgeons took dead bodies from here for operations.