Museum of Science and Technology - Milan - Churches and Museums

This interesting museum, which is named after Leonardo da Vinci and which was recently renovated and housed in an old monastery, is one of the most interesting science museums in the whole world. 40,000 square meters of exhibition space for subjects ranging from astronomy to computers. The models and machines built to the design by the great Tuscan genius cannot be missed.

The Museum of Ancient Art - Milan - Churches and Museums

This interesting museum is housed in the splendid Castello Sforzesco, and is home to some of the most important sculptures that help to understand Lombard history and culture. The works come from a period ranging from the 4th to the 16th century. They include the funeral monument for Gaston di Foix and the “Pietà Rondinini” by Michelangelo.

Pinacoteca Ambrosiana - Milan - Churches and Museums

This is Milan’s oldest museum, which was opened in 1609 It is home to some masterpieces by artists such as Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello and Botticelli. The Ambrosiana also houses an important library which contains some ancient codes, illuminated manuscripts, and ancient books.

Pinacoteca di Brera - Milan - Churches and Museums

The Pinacoteca di Brera is an art gallery set up in 1809 by Napoleone Bonaparte. It houses a great number of works of art that were “confiscated” from churches and convents throughout Europe. Works to be seen range from the fourteenth to the twentieth centuries, and include masterpieces by artists such as Piero della Francesca (Pala d’Urbino), Raffaello (Sposalizio della Vergine), Mantenga (Cristo Morto), il Bramante and Caravaggio. The courtyard holds a wonderful statue of Napoleon that was created by Canova.

La Scala Theater Museum - Milan - Churches and Museums

Founded in 1913, this interesting museum houses exhibits of various costumes and theatre sets that are of great historical and artistic value. Some rooms are dedicated to the La Scala Theater’s architecture and the life of the famous composer Giuseppe Verdi, while others house ancient musical instruments, curtains and costumes that belonged to famous artists such as Maria Callas and Rudolf Nureyev.

Cenacolo Vinciano - Milan - Churches and Museums

Between 1495 and 1498, Leonardo da Vinci painted the whole wall of the refectory in the Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with a fresco of The Last Supper, one of the most famous masterpieces in history. This work of art has undergone a restoration that lasted twenty years and which was only recently finished, bringing it back to its full glory and halting the deterioration that was turning it into a faded, shapeless stain.

Santa Maria delle Grazie - Milan - Churches and Museums

This church was built in the second half of the fifteenth century. It was only completed years later by “il Bramante” on the wishes of Ludovico il Moro. The famous architect designed the wonderful apse, the cloisters and the old sacristy. Leonardo da Vinci painted “The Last Supper” in the refectory, which is one of the most famous works of art ever painted.

Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore - Milan - Churches and Museums

This wonderful basilica, located opposite the Roman columns that are the only remains of a third-century temple, includes many different architectural styles, due to the various renovations that the building has undergone. The main elements are Paleo-christian (for example the mosaics) but other more recent styles also stand out, including ones from 1600 (the dome) to 1800 (the façade).

Basilica of Sant' Eustorgio - Milan - Churches and Museums

A wonderful medieval religious building that was built at the beginning of the fourth century on the wishes of the Bishop Eustorgio who brought the remains of the wise kings here from Constantinople, that can still be seen in the Chapel bearing their name today.

Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio - Milan - Churches and Museums

This is the symbol of Milan’s religiousness. It was built in 379 A.D. in the Romanesque-Lombard style, and was consecrated by the famous Bishop Ambrogio, who lent his name to the Ambrosian Church. Inside there are valuable artifacts and works of art that tell the story of about 1600 years of Milan’s history.

The Duomo - Milan - Churches and Museums

The most outstanding example of Gothic-Lombard architecture, the Duomo dates back to 1300. It was built on the wishes of Gian Galeazzo Visconti. This imposing religious building, second only to St Peter’s Cathedral in Rome, houses almost 3500 statues that are spread over an area of almost 12,000 square meters. The tallest spire, which has the famous “Madonnina” on top of it, is 108 meters high. The statue of the Virgin Mary, the “Madonnina”, is covered in 3900 pieces of gold leaf.

Columns of San Lorenzo - Milan - Historical Buildings and Monuments

This is the only monument that dates back to the Roman era, which has managed to survive up to the present day. These sixteen columns that stand opposite the Basilica of San Lorenzo are all that remains of an ancient Roman temple, that probably dates back to the 2nd century.

La Scala Theater - Milan - Historical Buildings and Monuments

A Temple to Opera music, built at the end of the 1700s over the remains of the Church of Santa Maria della Scala, from which the theater then took its name. Some of the greatest names in opera have made their debuts in this theater: Rossigni, Donizetti, Bellini, Puccini and, in 1839, Giuseppe Verdi who moved to the Grand Hotel in Milan on that date where he continued to live until he died. The La Scala Theater, famous worldwide, stands on one side of the beautiful square that carries the same name. In the center of the square there is a monument to Leonardo da Vinci and on the other side there is the wonderful Palazzo Marini.

Arco della pace - Milan - Historical Buildings and Monuments

In the middle of Piazza Sempione there is this huge monument 25 meters high, that dates back to Napoleonic era. Arco della Pace is built in Neoclassical style, and is decorated with marble sculpture and Corinthian columns, and on the top there is a charming bronze “Sestiga”, a chariot drawn by six horses.

Royal palace - Milan - Historical Buildings and Monuments

The Royal Palace, in Piazza Duomo, is a very old building that dates back to 1100 and which has been home to the most powerful men in Milan over the centuries, from the Viscontis to the Sforza family, the Spanish governors and Austrian rulers. Several temporary art exhibitions are held inside the building today.

The Monumental Cemetery - Milan - Historical Buildings and Monuments

This great cemetery was built around 1860, in a Lombard style and some obviously Byzantine shapes. Among the statues, chapels and other works of art, we can find the graves of some of the most famous people from Italian and European culture, such as Alessandro Manzoni, Salvatore Quasimodo, Eugenio Montale and Maria Callas.

Castello Sforzesco - Milan - Historical Buildings and Monuments

The original center dates back to 1450, which was built on the wishes of the Duke Francesco Sforza. Over the centuries, the castle has undergone various changes, also due to the particular ups and downs that have seriously affected the structure. At the end of the 19th century, a major renovation was made on the whole building. Castello Sforzesco is a majestic building. Inside it has wonderful interior courtyards, built in Gothic-Renaissance style and incredible halls, designed by Leonardo, and frescos painted by master painters such as Bramante, who were commissioned by the court of Ludovico il Moro. The Castle now hosts important art exhibitions.

Piazza Mercanti

This characteristic square near the Duomo is surrounded by very interesting historical buildings that represent Milanese culture from the middle ages to the seventeenth century. These include Palazzo della Ragione that dates back to 1200, the Loggia degli Osii, the seventeeth century Palazzo delle Scuole Palatine and Palazzo dei Giureconsulti that stands at the top of Via Mercanti.

Porta Venezia Gardens - Milan - Discover the Most Romantic Places

These wonderful gardens can be found between Via Palestro and Porta Venezia, the favorite place to be for the Milanese on springtime afternoons. The gardens which were the first to be opened to the public in Milan, date back to the end of the eighteenth century and were renovated in 1880. There are many monuments dedicated to famous characters from Italian history and there are also many botanical species to be admired.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele - Milan - Discover the Most Romantic Places

This was built around 1870 and is called the “salotto di Milano” (The Milan Lounge): If you walk along its cross-shaped "arms", topped by the glass and iron structure, you can see old coffee-shops, restaurants, boutiques and historical bookshops.