Milan is the second largest city in Italy, renowned as one of the fashion and design capitals of the world. And you have to give it to the Milanese – they do know a lot about looking good. They are daring, and even though their experiments don’t always pay off (such as a man I saw with green glasses), when they get it right it’s distinctive and absolutely eye-catching. And since we’re talking about fashion, here’s a couple tips for the guys: try lavender shirts, which seems to be one of the colors of the moment; pastel enough not to shock your co-workers, but at the same time standing out in a sea of white and blue shirts. And what about your old blue shirts? Pair them with salmon pants and get out of the black/grey/navy rut. Trust me, it looks good.
The heart of the city is the Duomo, a gigantic Gothic cathedral sitting on a piazza with a size to match. God, in whose honor the cathedral was erected and who created the universe in six days (He sounds like a goal-oriented overachiever to me…and God knows I say that in the most positive way), must have pulled His hair out watching the construction of the Duomo: it took over five centuries to be completed. That’s not a typo…I did mean five centuries. Construction began in 1386 and is said to have ended in 1812, although some could argue that it actually ended much later because carving of the statues continued through the 19th century and the last gate was inaugurated in January 1965!
This was not the first time I visited the Duomo; I came in November 1999, and spent only one day in Milan. It was so foggy and I was so jetlagged that around 4 pm I was sitting on the steps in front of the cathedral, barely able to keep my eyes open. The only reason I didn’t fall asleep right there and then was that a handful of Hare Krishnas in bright yellow garb were clanging their bells and banging their drums right next to me and kept me awake. Krishna be with them for saving me from hitting the pavement.
It was a lot better this time. Maybe because it was a sunny summer day, or maybe because I took No-Jet-Lag tablets, I felt pretty good, and was able to have a better appreciation for the Duomo. The cathedral was designed to impress: it is 515 ft (157 m) long, 302 ft (92 m) high, its dome is 215 ft (65.5 m) high, and it can accommodate 40 thousand people. It houses 135 spires, over 3,200 statues (the largest collection in the world), and 146 stained-glass windows. Everything about the Duomo is grandiose, from its dimensions to its façade of Candoglia marble, from its numerous and elaborate carvings to its lengthy construction that required several innovations over time (e.g., how to transport and lift the huge stones). Inside, the Duomo is cavernous, gargantuan, but I found it too somber to be inspiring. Much more rewarding was the climb to the roof, allowing you to see up close the countless intricate spires and statues. When you see the Duomo from this point of view, you can almost forgive the constructors for such a botched workplan.
True to Milan’s fame as a shopping mecca, right next to the Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II, completed in 1877 in honor of the first king of united Italy and reputedly the world’s oldest shopping mall. The galleria has a tragic story surrounding it: architect Giuseppe Mengoni, who designed it and worked on it for 12 years, died just weeks before completion when he fell from a scaffolding. Superstition has it that to avoid the same bad luck as Mengoni, all you need to do is to grind your heel into the testicles of the mosaic bull on the floor near the central cross. Well, actually there is a depression on the floor where the testicles would be, and you’re supposed to stick you heel in and make three 360˚ turns. Almost everybody who comes to the bull does that, including women in stilettos (now, that’s a skill!). And whoever came up with this idea to make everyone look like a spinning fool must be laughing in their grave to this day.
Italy is the country dell’amore, and you’ll find couples making out everywhere: in the subway, on the beach, in front of the Duomo, in restaurants, anyplace you can imagine. Some couples are cute, some should be dunked in a pool of ice, but the interesting thing is that some guys, while they are making out with their girlfriends, are also checking out other women around! Who said that men cannot multitask?
Curiosities: it was in Milan (at the time called Mediolanum – Middle of the Plain) that the Roman Emperor Constantine I (the first Christian Roman emperor) granted Christians freedom of worship in 313. It was also in Milan that Mussolini founded the Fascist Party in 1919.
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