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Shopping spree in Milan

Milan, City Life Shopping district

Enter designer heaven in the Quadrilatero around Montenapoleone, packed with flagship stores from Armani Manzoni 31 to Versace. Amble along Milan's longest shopping street, Corso Buenos Aires, buy shoes on Via Torino or visit department store, La Rinascente near the Duomo.

Foodies will love Peck, leather lovers should head to Chinatown's Via Paolo Sarpi and for quirky one-offs, browse around the Brera district.

Milan does markets and designer fashion. Bargain for crafts, second-hand clothes and DVDs at Saturday's Fiera di Senigallia by the Alzaia Naviglio Grande canal. Browse the popular Viale Papiniano Market on Saturdays, and its Tuesday flea market. Discover an antique gem at the Antiquariato sul Naviglio Grande on the last Sunday of each month. On the third Saturday, visit Brera for trinkets and toys.

For the best designer deals, buy during the January and July sales, or visit the out-of-city outlet stores. Some shops close for lunch, following Italy's standard shopping hours of Monday-Saturday 9am-12.30pm and 3.30pm-7.30pm. International and department stores are usually open orario continuato (all day).

scritto da wUmrLVWz wUmrLVWz - ultima modifica il 17/11/2021

Milan seen with the eyes of Alessandro Manzoni, the famous writer

Portrait of Alessandro Manzoni

On March 7, falls the anniversary of the birth of Alessandro Manzoni. And speaking of falling: it was in 1873 when our Manzoni, already a successful writer known throughout Europe, falls like an ordinary mortal in front of the Church of San Fedele. From this church, before which now stands the bronze statue of the writer, we begin to travel the romantic places in Milan lived by Manzoni, in the years of the Italian Risorgimento and today. Via Morone is the place where one can still visit the house where Manzoni spent much of his life and where he received Verdi, Garibaldi, Balzac. The house-museum occasionally hosts readings of the pages of The Manzoni. The lounge is a true nineteenth century meeting place where the fate of nascent Italy was decided; walking here in Milan today we find ourselves in a place full of atmosphere, but also extremely elegant, at the margins of neighbourhoods of museums such as the Poldi Pezzoli and of the Fashion District. A mixture of art and new not to miss! Looking up to the sky we can see the white spire of the Gothic Cathedral with its golden Madonna, impossible not to visit. Don Lisander, as the Milanese call Manzoni, loved to walk the streets of Milan and perhaps his wandering gave birth to some creative ideas for “I promessi sposi”, his most famous novel. Manzoni describes a Milan in the grip of famine and plague: the first case of plague was recorded in San Babila and spread the plague spreaders on the benches of the Cathedral. The Lazzaretto is one of the most sad places remembered in the novel. The only remnants are visible today in Via San Gregorio between Buenos Aires and Via Tadino, today a shopping and cosmopolite area of Milan, where to shop and live a multicultural atmosphere, for an experience similar to European capitals. Finally, Don Lisander is remembered among the great of Italy at the Cemetery (Cimitero Monumentale), located in the northern part of the town. The atmosphere of Milan's literary elite can still be found walking in the avenues, contemplating the important and majestic buildings that portray a Milan bearer of great culture.

scritto da wUmrLVWz wUmrLVWz - ultima modifica il 19/01/2020

Christmas fairs and markets in Milan

Christmas Fair in Piazza Duomo, Milan

Milan is one of the more popular and best destinations where you can spend Christmas vacations. Thanks to the number of events hosted daily, like cultural initiatives, fairs, free concerts, typical markets and much more. All this has made Milan one of the best and most attractive towns in Europe for both the young and old people. Especially during Christmas festive, the city assumes a new face; all starts on the 7th of December with a marvelous feasting celebration for the city’s patron, Saint’Ambrose. The day also coincides with the famous and an ancient Christmas market day full of typical products and sweet: the "Oh Bej! Oh Bej!" fair featuring: wine, craft vendors from Piazza Sant'Ambrogio and food. Special churches services during this occasion are held in Duomo. During this festive season, you will have the chance to visit the famous Christmas Craft Fair of Milan L’Artigiano in Fiera, which is largest crafts exhibition in Italy, attracting thousands of foreign exhibitors and visitors to Fiera Milano. With food, clothes, jewelers, antiques, furniture etc. on offer, this places the best alternative for shoppers during Christmas festive. For the running second year, Milan own Christmas Theme Park, the Villaggio delle Meraviglie will be operationalized in the lovely serene Giardini Pubblici Montanelli’s surrounding, one of the best and nicest parks in Milan’s centre. You will also have the opportunity to be entertained by the fairytale village, which is inspired by Christmas. If you have children, the house of Santa will be there, where they can hand Santa Claus their Christmas letters. Adjacent to Santa’s apartment, a toy factory where kids can draw their preferred character will there enabling them to see the animations of their drawings. There will also be rollercoaster in Santa sleigh’s shape; ridding along the mountains snow for the children to see. There will be a rink of ice-skating also where alongside free skating, lessons, and sessions many shows and exhibitions will take place. During Christmas season, Milan’s shopping is unlike other shopping experiences you may have experienced in the past. Most expensive prestigious boutiques and showrooms globally can be seen lining the pedestrian walkways and boulevards in Milan. For instance, Via Montenapoleone the famous crosses Via Della Spiga which in turn is crossed by Via Sant'Andrea forms a part of real estate’s commercials including outlets for Gucci, Cavalli, Versace, Valentino, Louis Vuitton, and Prada among others. This shopping section is just for the high-end goods. When you go shopping for the middle range accessories and fashion the alternatives are even more thrilling. Milan, like any other Italian cities in general, observe Christmas quietly. Here you will see families re-uniting, friends reconciling and the poor fed. During this festive season shop for gifts but also of most important, think of what to cook for Christmas dinner. Here you will see families cooking their traditional favourite foods like: Risotto alla Milanese- which is prepared with onion, saffron, butter, beef bouillon and wine. Cotoletta alla Milanese-a meat typical dish prepared from breaded and Veal cutlets and then fried in butter. Polenta-made with cornmeal, which is ground and then it is served with tomato sauce and some type of meat. Panettone-a popular Christmas cake made with flour, water, dried candied fruits, eggs, and butter. There are a couple of markets during the Christmas festive season throughout Milan. One is the Smart Market which is based on the theme recycling and reusing at the Piazza Sant' Ambrogio; a Christmas edition based on the regular market. This market ends on the 23rd of December of that year. In this market, you can find the famous holiday Panettone, the symbol of Milan. Another shopping trip worth visiting is the market of Lazzate Christmas a small village in the outskirts of Milan. This market has a firm favourite atmosphere for shopping as well as events to keep children happy and an array of mouth-watering goods, many hand-made. You should also note that between Mid-December and 6 January is when Christmas Markets in Milan open and you can buy Italian-made children's toys, local crafts, and seasonal treats. Tips: On 25th of December, Christmas day, you can anticipate all shops, stalls, and markets to be closed. While in Milan, you can also celebrate Christmas by attending midnight masses at Duomo or visiting Christmas crèches within the city. On 26th of December, it is Saint Stephen's Day, is an extension day of Christmas, when families go camping out visiting Christmas markets and viewing nativity sites in churches. On 31st of December it is New Year's Eve or San Silvestro di Festa. This day is marked with much more fanfare in Milan.

scritto da wUmrLVWz wUmrLVWz - ultima modifica il 17/11/2021

Monza, the city of Queen Theodolinda

Monza, Villa Reale

Queen Theodolinda, of German origin, was very important for the city of Monza.
Theodolinda was given his wife to the Lombard king Autari for political reasons as usual then.
The Queen was very beautiful as evidenced by the paintings in the Chapel and won the trust of the people. It was very much loved by the people of Monza that gifts chose as a summer residence. The pagan king converted to Christianity thanks to the influence of his believing wife and his son was baptized in Monza.
Also in Monza he had a church built, the current Cathedral. The place was chosen in a particular way: the Queen had promised to dedicate a church for St. John the Baptist but she did not know where. One day, riding with his escort along the Lambro River, he stopped to rest. She fell asleep and in the dream she saw a pigeon standing near her talking to her, saying, 'Way', here. She answered 'Etiam', yes, and so was defined the place to build the church. The two words together formed the first name of the city, namely Modoetia.
The Duomo is beautiful, but there is nothing left of the original construction. During the 13th and 14th centuries it was completely redone. The marble façade with white and green bands is very beautiful and richly decorated. The bell tower was built in the 16th century.
Inside is the Chapel of Theodolinda full of colorful frescoes that in 45 scenes tell the story and life of the famous queen.
In the altar of the chapel there is a display case containing the Iron Crown, a crown with a very special story that was brought by the queen but also by Napoleon.
Protected in its case, the ancient, precious crown sparkles in the light of lighting. It's really pretty and studded with precious stones. It was used for the coronation of the kings of Italy until the 19th century. It is said that the crown contains one of the nails of the crucifix of Christ. Therefore, the crown is also revered as a relic.

scritto da wUmrLVWz wUmrLVWz - ultima modifica il 10/09/2021

Crespi d'Adda Village, Bergamo

View of the village with the working houses

In the province of Bergamo, near Trezzo d'Adda, a bit hidden between the Brembo and Adda rivers lies this extraordinary village. The result of the commitment of the Crespi family, cotton industrialists, more than a century ago. In 1878 Cristoforo B. Crespi decided to build in that green corner, near the water and a bit isolated, a modern factory. Unlike other industrialists, Crespi believed that a comfortable and quiet life was of vital importance for the workers and for the proper functioning of the factory. He had three buildings built together with the plant for the workers who worked in the cotton mill. His son Silvio, returning from his studies in Great Britain, proposed the construction of a real workers' village. Houses complete with external services and garden were built. The families were large and they found enough space in the beautiful, comfortable homes. The gardens were charged for a vegetable garden, so people became almost self-sufficient and had something to do beyond work. The village was slowly completed completely. Nothing was missing. The church full of frescoes and the house of the parish priest not far away, near the doctor's house. Public toilets, a laundry room, a grocery store, a hospital and even a school.
The Crespi especially cared for the education of young people. The school days were long and in addition to normal subjects, the children were also taught the techniques of working in the factory. The management also lived in the village but in beautiful villas, one different from the other. The Crespi family built the Castle, a large medieval villa next to the factory. Nothing was missing, a short distance from the village, there was the cemetery with the mausoleum for the master family. This beautiful place remained as it was then, with so many houses still inhabited by descendants of the old workers. Ordered and clean remains a unique country, to be visited without a doubt.

scritto da wUmrLVWz wUmrLVWz - ultima modifica il 05/09/2019

Visit Metanopoli - Tourism and travel tips for your vacation or weekend.

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Milan (8,5Km)Christmas fairs and markets in Milan

Monza (17,5Km)Monza, the city of Queen Theodolinda

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