art – Living in Italy

Poldi-Pezzoli Museum – A Renaissance Art Treasure in Milan

Stef Smulders — Tue, 19 Dec 2017 11:51:37 +0000

This a beautiful museum housed in the palazzo of the nobleman Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli (19th century), very close to the Scala in the Via Manzoni. Among the numerous paintings from the 14th to the 18th century you’ll find the Madonna and Child by Andrea Mantegna , the Lament over the Dead of Christ by Giovanni Bellini , the Madonna and Child and Lament over the Dead of Christ two painting by Sandro Botticelli or the Portrait of a young woman a masterpiece by Antonio Pollaiolo , but also work of Piero della Francesca. The museum is also housing a collection of wonderful jewellery, Murano glass , porcelain, firearms, halberds, swords, tapestries, Persian carpets, fragments of Coptic textiles and a large collection of watches and clocks.

Aldo Pomodoro

Do not forget to visit the magnificent armoury directly to the left of the entrance. This room houses the collection of beautiful arms of Poldi Pezzoli and the display as it is now has been designed by 20th century artist Aldo Pomodoro, know for his large metal objects throughout the city. The display is impressive and a work of art in its own! Pomodoro is famous for his “Sphere within a Sphere” sculptures. There is also work of Pomodoro at the Banca Popolare (“Falling Movement”) and on Piazza Meda (‘Large Disc”) . In the Sant’Angela Merici church you can admire the altar designed by Arnaldo and his brother Giò ( Via Cagliero 26, north west of Stazione Centrale ).

Audio guides available in English (inclusive in ticket price). There is a calendar of temporary exhibitions. The museum website offers a beautiful guide of all paintings (sometimes with audio guide, phonetic English). The Museum is one of the four Historic House Museums (the others are the Villa Necchi , the Museo Bagatti Valsecchi and the Casa Museo Boschi Di Stefano) for which a passe-partout is available.

Accessible to the disabled, but no parking nearby.

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The Triennale Art & Design Museum of Milan

Stef Smulders — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 14:51:25 +0000

The Palazzo dell’Arte or La Triennale in Sempione Park is not to be confused with the Galleria d’Arte in Villa Reale. The 1933 building is called the Palazzo dell’Arte and was especially constructed to house the three-yearly art exhibition of Milan (till 2002). Since 2007 it is the home of the Triennale Design Museum , the Triennale Exhibition Center and the Triennale Design Café. The Design Museum gives a unique overview of the experimentations and innovations of Italian Design of the modern era: furniture, household objects and much more are on display. The exhibit is renewed annually.

Worth seeing:

the Bridge : an extraordinary suspended bridge of approximately 14 meters with overhead lighting
the Agorà Theater : a space entirely constructed in wood where debates, conventions, presentations, events and artistic performances are held
the chairs in the Design Café: a hundred or so different chair designs from different periods

An overview of current exhibitions is available on the Triennale website .

Finish your visit with a coffee in the modern café which is a popular meeting place of the Milanese. WiFi Internet available. At Thu&Fri you may combine the Happy Hour aperitivo with the museum visit for 13 euro.

The museum is a short walk from Piazzale Cadorna and afterwards you can go for a stroll in the Parco Sempione .

Completely accessible to the disabled.

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Vigevano – the ideal place for your Italian wedding

Stef Smulders — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 19:40:24 +0000

The small historical town of Vigevano, at a short distance south-west of Milan, has one of the most beautiful Renaissance squares of Italy. No wonder that many newly wedded couples come to this place to have their pictures taken. Vigevano’s era of fame lasted for about two centuries, when during the Renaissance period the city was governed by the Visconti and Sforza families respectively. It is the birthplace of Ludovico il Moro. The square is said to have been designed by Bramante by order of the same Ludovico il Moro (a Sforza ), as a kind of vestibule for the adjacent castle. Actually the piazza is not a square but a rectangle of balanced proportions, enclosed by decorated portico buildings on three sides and a Baroque style cathedral (of later date) on the fourth. From the piazza one enters the castle complex via stairs underneath the Bramante tower , as the castle lies at a higher elevation than the square. Originally there was a large ramp leading into the center of the square, to allow carriages to access the castle. This removed in the 17th century when the cathedral was built. All the decorations on the facades of the buildings are early 20th century reconstructions based on the traces of the original ones that were left. Note the beautiful motifs in the cobble stone pavement. The statue at the far end of the square represents St Matthew.

The Sforza castle

Vigevano has its own Castello Sforzesco , just as Milan, built by Ludovico il Moro in the 15th century . It’s adjacent to the square , that was constructed at the same time, also by Ludovico . Leonardo da Vinci stayed here as a guest and also Bramante came to work for the count: he is said to have finished the famous tower , originally a 12th century construction. From the Piazza Ducale you enter the spacious castle courtyard via the stairs (under the Torre), as the ground floor of the complex is raised in comparison to the piazza . The enormous castle complex (70.000 sq m) consists of
the Bramante tower , 75m high, visitable (tickets at the InfoPoint); the three scuderie , or stables, left and opposite of the entrance, of which the 2nd houses the Shoe Museum and the 3rd the Pinacoteca / Archaeological Museum (closed for renovation); a falconry ; elegant loggia supported by 48 columns, decorated with frescoes and recently renovated the maschio or residence building, with the Sala dell’Affresco; the massive covered street , 164m long, 7m wide and bridging a 10m height difference, meant to allow the duke to enter and leave (flee) the castle with horse and carriage without being seen the underground street;the Loggia delle Dame , the only remaining part of the Palazzo delle Dame , made for Duchess Beatrice d’Este; the 19th century cavallerizza.

The Duomo

This early 17th century Duomo was built on the premises of a 14th century Basilica dedicated to St Ambrose, as ordered by Francesco Sforza . The Baroque facade was constructed in the 17th century. The campanile tower is the result of several stages of building, the last one as late as 1818. Albeit of a different style than the rest of the piazza , the cathedral still presents a pleasant closure of the eastern part, probably also due to the particular curvature of the facade that seems to “embrace” the square. Inside you’ll find: the polyptych Biffignandi (Madonna with Child); a 15th century work by Ferrari (2nd chapel left); the 16th century altar (2nd chapel left); the triptych Gusberti (baptism of St Augustine) and St Thomas of Canterbury also by Ferrari (St Charles chapel right); an 18th century organ (presbytery); a 16th century funeral monument for bishop Pietra (entrance of the right sacristy). Of particular interest is the treasury , partly based on possessions of Francesco II Sforza, that has on display: valuable corals, missals, codices and manuscripts, a bishops crook, called La Pace , in narwhal ivory, a gold-plated silver reliquary, Flemish tapestries and standards, a pure gold embroidered vestment worn by Napoleon at his coronation. The treasury museum is open on Saturday from 3-6:30 and Sunday from 9:30-12:30 & 3-6:30 or on request. A photo gallery is available at the website of the diocese.

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