Sotto, il Naviglio a Cassinetta di Lugagnano (foto Cinzia Picciocchi - Navigli Lombardi Scarl) Below, the fleet at Cassinetta di Lugagnano
Il dottor Pier Gianni Prosperini, assessore a Giovani, Sport, Promozione Attività Turistica Regione Lombardia Dott. Pier Gianni Prosperini, Regional concillor for Youth, Sport and Tourist promotion Lombardy Region 88
green area with small lakes, meadows, woods and little bridges. It contains several monuments such as the Napoleonic Arenate Tower designed by Giò Ponti and the Triennale of Milan. Ahead, on one of “piazza Duomo”, stands the huge portal of the Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery, also known as “Milan’s parlour”, with its ancient cafés, restaurants, boutiques and ancient bookshops. Close to the Cathedral, there is the picturesque and ancient Merchant’s Square with its historical buildings representing Milan cultural life from Middle Ages to the ’700s: the Palace of Ragione of 1200, the Osii Loggia, the XVII century Palace of the Palatine Schools and, at the beginning of Merchant Street, the Palace of Giureconsulti. Towards Porta Venezia there are the beautiful XVIII century gardens which host rare botanic species as well as monuments dedicated to famous protagonists of the Italian history. The religious history, too, has left its mark in these places. Besides the imposing Lombard-Gothic Cathedral, other Basilicas show their invaluable beauty and value, such as Saint Ambrogio’s, the most ancient of Milan, built in 379, Saint Eustorgio’s, Saint Lorenzo Maggiore’s and Saint Maria delle Grazie’s. Milan also offers a large series of museums and
theatres, the most ancient of which is the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana of 1609, exhibiting masterpieces of artists such as Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Raffaello and Botticelli; then the La Scala Theatre Museum (dedicated to the works of the famous theatre), the Science and Technique Museum and the Risorgimento Museum. Leaving the centre, we find the Navigli, which date back to 1100 and which, towards the end of 1300, were opened to navigation from the River Ticino to downtown in order to transport the marble which was used to build the Cathedral. The ancient Dock of Porta Cicca is the timeless symbol of the hard work of man: for many centuries it had been an important commercial harbour which was permanently closed in 1979. Today the Naviglio Grande and the Naviglio Pavese, which links Milan to Pavia, are among the most suggestive places of Milan, with their old and typical “banister houses”, the clubs, the trattorias, the painters’ workshops being handed down from generation to generation, the hydraulic engineering works such as lift bridges, floodgates and dams, which testimony and carry on a centuries-old experience. For further informations check out the Region website www.regione.lombardia.it, in the section dedicated to the tourism.
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