museum – 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.

Living in Italy: the Real Deal - Expat Stories

Would you like to know how we found our house and moved to Italy? Then read our book!

More Info

The post Poldi-Pezzoli Museum – A Renaissance Art Treasure in Milan appeared first on Living in Italy.

Leonardo da Vinci in Milan – Traces of the Renaissance Man in Lombardy’s Capital

Stef Smulders — Sat, 16 Dec 2017 13:53:12 +0000

The biographer Walter Isaacson has recently published a new biography of the uomo universalis of all history’s geniuses, Leonardo da Vinci. The book has immediately become a worldwide bestseller so apparently there still is need for more information about the Renaissance man Leonardo. From 1482 till 1499 Da Vinci worked in Milan for Ludovico Sforza and there is a lot to see in the city that reminds of the inventor and artist.

An overview of the traces Leonardo da Vinci left in Milan

The Cenacolo or Last Supper
To see (15 minutes per visit) in the Santa Maria delle Grazie church when you book well in advance or take a tour. On how to get tickets for the Last Supper see my special blog post. The fresco isn’t a real fresco and started deteriorating almost immediately after completion (guarantee till the exit!). Restored at the end of the 20th century.
Leonardo da Vinci museum
It’s impossible to give an overview here of the wealth of exhibits presented at the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia Leonardo da Vinci in Milan. The excellent website (in English) will help you out here.The museum is housed in a former cloister (plus two new pavilions) and is the largest of its kind in Italy. Especially worth mentioning is the entire department dedicated to the inventions of Leonardo (rightly so as the museum takes its name from the Renaissance uomo universale), see again the excellent website.
Castello Sforzesco
In the Palazzo Ducale of the Sforza castle you’ll find the Sala delle Asse decorated with paintings originally designed by Leonardo da Vinci.
Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
The Library of the art gallery has the Codex Atlanticus (the most important collection of his drawings) of Leonardo da Vinci on exhibit. The gallery itself exhibits the Ritratto di musica painting of Leonardo.
Leonardo’s Horse
To honor his father, the Duke of Milan Ludovico il Moro commissioned Leonardo da Vinci to make the largest horse statue of the world. Unfortunately Leonardo’s clay model was destroyed and the statue never came to be (designs of Leonardo’s hand exist though). It was only in the 20th century that American pilot Charles Dent decided that the statue should finally be realized. An new model was made and the enormous horse (7 x 9 x 2.4 meters) was cast in bronze in 1999. The horse statue can be admired in the Cultural Park of the Hippodrome San Siro. There is a copy of the horse in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA and a miniature version in Allentown, USA and also in Vinci, Leonardo’s birthplace. The Galileo Museum in Florence has made a different reconstruction of the horse, in steel and fiberglass, also based on Leonardo’s designs.
Leonardo’s Vineyard
This is a new museum in the house where Leonardo owned a vineyard at the end of the 15th century, the Atellani House. Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan, gave the vineyard to Leonardo in 1498. The house is now a museum, cafe and bed and breakfast! The house is situated opposite of the Santa Maria delle Grazie church with Leonardo’s Last Supper. Skip the line last minute tickets for the Last Supper can be booked through the museum’s website.

Living in Italy: the Real Deal - Expat Stories

Would you like to know how we found our house and moved to Italy? Then read our book!

More Info

The post Leonardo da Vinci in Milan – Traces of the Renaissance Man in Lombardy’s Capital appeared first on Living in Italy.

Ambrosian Art Gallery Milan – Home of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus

Stef Smulders — Sat, 16 Dec 2017 13:15:53 +0000

The Ambrosian Art Gallery , located not far west from the Duomo, consists of the actual Art Gallery as well as the Biblioteca and an Accademia. Paintings and sculptures from the 14th century to the beginning of the neoclassical 19th century are in the collection. An overview of the exhibition rooms is available on the very extensive museum website (still only in Italian), as well as a virtual visit to the exhibition rooms.

The most significant works of art include:

La canestra by Caravaggio
Ritratto di Musica by Leonardo da Vinci
Madonna del Baldacchino by Botticelli
the small pictures of Jan Brueghel
sketch of the Scuola di Atene of Raphael
Adorazione dei Magi by Titian

The Library has the Codex Atlanticus (the most important collection of his drawings) of Leonardo da Vinci on exhibit and also a manuscript of Virigilus that once belonged to Petrarca .

Reservation in advance is advised as only a limited number of people is let in at a time. You can reserve tickets on-line or at the call-center 0515881589.

Living in Italy: the Real Deal - Expat Stories

Would you like to know how we found our house and moved to Italy? Then read our book!

More Info

The post Ambrosian Art Gallery Milan – Home of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus appeared first on Living in Italy.

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.

Living in Italy: the Real Deal

Would you like to know how we managed to find a house and move to Italy? Read our book!

More Info

The post The Triennale Art & Design Museum of Milan appeared first on Living in Italy.

Castello Sforzesco – The Sforza Castle of Milan

Stef Smulders — Sat, 09 Dec 2017 11:37:20 +0000

The actual Sforzesco Castle is for a large part a 19th century reconstruction of the Renaissance building of the Sforza family. There are a lot of castles in Lombardy built in the Renaissance by the nobility of the time, mainly the Sforza and Visconti families. The Sforza Castle in Milan houses several municipal museums (one fee) the most interesting of which are to be found in the so-called Ducal Courtyard. At present, the Castle is a quadrilateral divided in three parts.

The first half is taken up by the Piazza delle Armi , with its landmark, the central (19th century) Filarete tower facing the city and with two cylindrical towers on each side.

The back half of the quadrilateral is covered by the Rocchetta (left) and the Corte Ducale (right).

The Rocchetta has an inner courtyard and a square tower.

The Ducal Courtyard encloses the Palazzo Ducale and the Portico dell’Elefante . On the ground floor of the Palazzo Ducale you’ll find the Sala delle Asse decorated with paintings originally designed by Leonardo da Vinci . In the rest of the building you’ll find Michelangelo ‘s last sculpture, the Rondanini Pietà and Mantegna ‘s Trivulzio Madonna . The museum website gives a precise floor plans with clickable rooms (see first floor rooms 7, 8, 12, 15, 2nd floor ). On the first floor of the Rocchetta (reachable via the Palazzo Ducale museum) is the Sala del Tesoro (Treasury room), which contains the beautiful tapestries of the 12 months by Bramantino .

Leaving the Castle at the back (western) side, you enter the very pleasant Sempione park.

Living in Italy: the Real Deal

Would you like to know how we managed to find a house and move to Italy? Read our book!

More Info

The post Castello Sforzesco – The Sforza Castle of Milan appeared first on Living in Italy.

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.

Living in Italy: the Real Deal

Would you like to know how we managed to find a house and move to Italy? Read our book!

More Info

The post Vigevano – the ideal place for your Italian wedding appeared first on Living in Italy.