Geneva to Milan

Geneva to Milan

The train journey wound its way through rugged mountains. In the distance, remnant snow could be seen on the Southern Alps. While waterfalls spilled intermittently down the hillsides, recent ice movement was evident. The tilt-train sped through the hills at about 160 kph and we soon left Switzerland behind, seeing our first glimpse of the Italian Lakes.  There was a slight haze in the sky, hiding a perfect view.

The Duamo

One of the large columns

Difference between restored and untouched
columns, and associated scaffolding

In Milan, we navigated our way through the Metro to the Duomo, the famous cathedral of Milan.  At the entrance, some guards, military or police, were searching bags and making sure that women had their shoulders covered.  One of guards spoke to me in Italian.  I was so awed by his beautiful eyes, I just gaped at him.  The he repeated “open your bag”.

The size of the square in front of the Duomo misleads you into thinking that it is a minor cathedral until you enter the building and you appreciate the immensity of height and size of it. The massive great columns inside dwarf you and this gives some indication of the dimension of the building.  Major restoration and cleaning is going on constantly, and inside we couldn’t hear ourselves think because they were building scaffolding inside and there was much clanging and banging.  It quite changed the peacefulness and solemnity of a church.  

San Bartolomeo Flayed

We observed a man atop scaffolding who was steam cleaning the stonework at the top of a column, and another woman was cleaning the stonework around the nave with a small brush and cloth.  Quite a few statues had been repaired or remodelled in the cathedral.  

For a Catholic church it was not overly ornate but there were lots of statues, one in particular, of a human body, San Bartolomeo Flayed (1562) by Marco d’Agrate.  This statue drew me to back several times to study it.  Amazing!

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a shopping arcade on a grand scale, apparently the world’s oldest shopping mall, is near to the Duomo.  Designed in 1861, it is dedicated to Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of the Kingdom of Italy.  The design is spectacular and awe inspiring.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II Shopping Arcade

La Strada (unassuming on the outside)

Poster for 1925 Production of Aida

La Strada, the Milan Opera House is just near the Duomo.  I have heard so much about La Strada, that it was a must see on this trip.  We were able to do a Museum tour, and could see into the theatre.  There were testing the lighting, so we could only see glimpses of the theatre in the dark, but were able to get a good idea of the layout of the tiers of boxes and seating.  I think there were six tiers of boxes.  The Museum was very interesting with lots of memorabilia, instruments, costumes, archives, ephemera and many, many paintings and busts of opera stars and composers.  Verdi featured in the Museum as he was much loved by the Milanese and many of his works, including the “Aida” were performed here.