They say that for every church in Rome, there’s a bank in Milan. The economic success of postwar Italy can be attributed, at least in part, to this city of bankers, publicists, and pasta power-lunchers.
Like any great city, the more you know about it, the more it entertains. On a recent trip I gained an appreciation of Milan’s “Big Canal”—the Naviglio Grande. Surprisingly, even though landlocked Milan is far from any major lake or river, the city has a sizable port. For nine centuries, a canal has connected Milan with the Mediterranean via the Ticino River, which flows into the Po River on its way to the Adriatic Sea. Five hundred years ago, Leonardo da Vinci helped further develop the city’s canals and designed a modern lock system; you’ll find some of his exquisitely detailed drawings for the canals at Milan’s Biblioteca Ambrosiana.
Later, during the booming Industrial Age in the 19th century, the canals were used for shipping in the marble and stone needed to make Milan the great city you see today. In fact, a canal (filled in during the 1930s) once circled the walls of the city and allowed barges to dock with their stone right at the building site of Milan’s grand cathedral, the Duomo.
Today, the old industrial canal district—once squalid and undesirable—is trendy and thriving. Former workers’ tenements are being snapped up and renovated by go-getter singles on the career fast track. With lively bars and restaurants lining the canal, this area dubbed Milan’s “Little Venice” is a great people scene for dinner or evening fun.
Milan might have a reputation as Italy’s no-nonsense business and banking capital, but some locals still have a sense of humor. Piazza degli Affari, at the center of the financial district, is a knot of serious 1930s-era buildings in the heavy fascist style—except for the bold modern sculpture of a 36-foot-tall, marble middle finger raised high in the center of the square as if flipping off the Milan stock exchange building.
Is this marble “up yours” a commentary on the Italian fascist salute, or an insult to Italy’s banking and finance industry? The meaning was never made clear by its maker, Maurizio Cattelan—Italy’s most famous contemporary artist. But, when the finger went up in 2010, the head of the stock exchange was so offended by the view from his Piazza Affari office that he moved to a nearby wing. “L.O.V.E.,” as the statue is titled, was intended to be temporary. But locals liked it and, by popular demand, it’s now permanent.
For contemporary art that’s better behaved, the Museo del Novecento is worth a look. In this beautifully laid-out building, escalators and a spiral ramp whisk visitors through the last century’s art, one decade at a time. The capper, though, is the stunning view from the top floor over the gleaming Gothic cathedral.
Milan’s people are themselves works of art. Fashionistas flock to the up-market shopping zone, the Quadrilateral, where shopping is a solemn business, usually conducted in small boutiques. In this land where fur coats are still prized and cigarettes are chic, the people-watching is as entertaining as the window shopping.
To complement your people watching, drop into any high concept department store where escalators ferry shoppers from one tasteful level to the next to the beat of pulsing music. After checking out the $1,000 shirts and designer watches way out of my league, I then find the edible answer to all this conspicuous consumption at a luxury deli. Perusing the artful displays of top end cheeses, produce, and takeaway foods can stoke a particularly fancy appetite.
Although Milan was something of a cultural center during the Renaissance, the city languished during 400 years of foreign domination (Spain, Austria, France, and more Austria). The bad times finally came to an end in the 19th century, when Milan helped lead Italy to unification (risorgimento) as a modern state.
To get an idea of the rocky road to unity, take a quick 30-minute swing through the quiet, one-floor Risorgimento Museum. Paintings and displays here tell the story of the heady days from Napoleon (1796) to unification (1870). Thoughtful English descriptions offer a meaningful look at this important period of Italian history. Pondering the stirring paintings here makes it clear that there are Italian equivalents to our battles of Bunker Hill and Valley Forge. Italy’s heroic battles were led by patriots—Mazzini, Garibaldi, Victor Emmanuel—whose names grace local piazzas and boulevards and are household words in Italy today.
But to be honest, most Milanese seem oblivious to all this history. They just enjoy being who they are. Many tourists come to Italy for the past, but Milan is emphatically today’s dolce vita.
