Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
2
Palazzo Reale
MUSEUM, PALACE
Empress Maria Theresa's favourite architect Giuseppe Piermarini gave this town
hall and Visconti palace a neoclassical overhaul in the late 18th century. Its elegant
interiors were all but destroyed by WWII bombs; the
Sala delle Cariatidi
re-
mains unrenovated as a reminder of war's indiscriminate destruction. In other
rooms, blockbuster shows wow the crowds with artists as diverse as Titian, Francis
Bacon and Dario Fo.
(
www.comune.milano.it/palazzoreale
;
Piazza del Duomo 12; exhibitions
€5-12, Museo della Reggia free; exhibitions 2.30-7.30pm Mon, 9.30am-7.30pm Tue, Wed, Fri & Sun,
9.30am-10.30pm Thu & Sat, Museo 9.30am-5.30pm Tue-Sun;
Duomo)
3
Biblioteca e Pinacoteca
Ambrosiana
LIBRARY, ART GALLERY
The Biblioteca Ambrosiana, built in 1609 by Cardinal Borromeo, was Europe's
first public library and houses more than 75,000 volumes including Leonardo da
Vinci's priceless
Codex Atlanticus
. Later an art gallery, the
Pinacoteca
, was ad-
ded to exhibit Italian paintings from the 14th to the 20th century, most famously
Caravaggio's
Canestra di Frutta
(Basket of Fruit), which launched his career and
Italy's ultrarealist traditions.
(
02 80 69 21;
www.ambrosiana.it
;
Piazza Pio XI 2; adult/re-
duced €15/10;
10am-6pm Tue-Sun;
Duomo)
4
Chiesa di Santa Maria
Presso di San Satiro
CHURCH
Here's an escape from the Zara/ Benetton maelstrom. Ludovico Sforza saw poten-
tial in this little church built on top of the mausoleum of martyr San Satiro, and
asked architect Donato Bramante to refurbish it in 1482. His ambition wasn't
dampened by the project's scale: a trompe-l'oeil coffered niche on the apse makes
