TRAVEL What to do in Milan Daily life in ancient Rome Capri revolution

WHAT TO DO IN MILAN

LIFESTYLE, LGBTQIA+ NIGHTLIFE, CULTURE AND MUCH MORE

by Giorgio Romano Arcuri

Modern, welcoming, full of life and open to novelty. Milan has an ever-changing identity, is projected towards the future, but always faithful to its traditions and unique style. Is its unmistakable character that attracts millions of people from all over the world. Milan, besides being recognised globally as the Italian capital of fashion, design, art, and finance, is also a cutting-edge metropolis when

it comes to civil rights and representation

of the LGBTQIA+ community. Through the city streets and especially in certain neighbourhoods, such as Via Lecco or NoLo, you can breathe that air of freedom, of safety and of history and culture of the queer community, on a par with the large European cities. Hereinafter, we will focus on the places, venues and unmissable events in the city that has become a real reference point for the LGBTQIA+ community, not only in Italy. Let’s start our tour of this city right away with 8 milestones.

A WALK IN VIA MONTENAPOLEONE

HOW TO GET THERE: Via Monte Napoleone is a 10-minute walk from the Duomo, between the ‘Montenapoleone’ and ‘San Babila’ metro stations.

Considered to be one of the most luxurious streets in Milan, Via Montenapoleone is the ideal place for fashion and shopping lovers

Dolce Gabbana store in Milan, Montenapoleone area Gucci shop in Milan, Montenapoleone area

who are looking for something exclusive to buy or simply to admire, scrutinising shop windows and dreaming of their next high-quality purchase. The best of fashion is to be found in the shops located in Via Montenapoleone in Milan: the most famous international brands, from Versa-

ce to Armani, Dolce & Gabbana to Cha-

nel, Gucci and many more, display their trendiest products and latest novelties. This floodlit street, has a length of only 350 metres, and it becomes something spectacular during Christmas time: you can walk on red carpets on which usually stand precious Christmas trees decorated with expensive clothes, handbags, jewellery, and hats. Strolling along the street you are surrounded by scenic illuminations, background music, concerts and stands where you can taste the gastronomic delicacies of the area. Few people know that Via Montenapoleone is a one-way street running from the centre to the ends, and even fewer know that the

plaques displayed on the stately palaces

are a tribute to famous people who lived here, such as Giuseppe Verdi and Carlo Porta. It is precisely Giuseppe Verdi, at the former convent of San Francesco di Paola (in Via Manzoni, a short distance from the Via Montenapoleone exit and located?) who is said to have composed Nabucco, the third opera that decreed the success of the musician and composer. Visiting Via Montenapoleone is an imperative for anyone in Milan, even if only for a few days! Let us now continue with the other unmissable places in the city that you absolutely must add to your itinerary.

CONTEMPLATION OF THE RONDANINI PIETÀ AT THE SFORZESCO CASTLE

HOW TO GET THERE: Underground M1 (Cairoli stop), M1 and M2 (Cadorna stop). Bus 50, 57, 58, 61, 94. Tram 1, 2, 4, 12, 14.

Located inside the Spanish Hospital of the Sforzesco Castle in Milan, the Rondanini Museo della Pietà is one of the city’s best-loved places for citizens and tourists: here you can contemplate, observe with amazement and be moved by the Rondanini Pietà, the best-known marble work by Michelangelo Buonarroti, the artist who worked on it between 1552 and 1566, until a few days before his death. Michelangelo’s last artistic expression takes up the sacred theme of the mourned dead Christ, a theme very dear to the sculptor (remember that, in addition to the Rondanini, there are the Vatican Pietà of St. Peter’s and the Bandini Pietà). In the Rondanini Pietà, the canons of perfec-

tion of the body and of the heroic beauty

are abandoned: the dead Christ is slimmed down in his torso and legs, transformed into a pure emblem of suffering. This work, which was rethought and modified several times, was created for purely personal purposes: the sculpture was thought to be placed on Michelangelo’s burial site. What appears before the visitor’s eyes is therefore a true arti-

stic and spiritual testament of Michelan-

gelo, which is both a meditation on death

and the salvation of the soul.

It is precisely the communion between the sculpture that dramatically unites the figures of Christ and the Virgin during the moment of loss, and the memories of the past enclosed within

Rondanini Pietà

La Scala Theatre

the walls of the Spanish Hospital of the Castello Sforzesco (where, in the absence of medicine, all that remained was prayer) that makes the Pietà Rondanini Museum a place where re-

spectful silence and ecstatic contemplation are fully celebrated.

EVENING AT LA SCALA THEATRE

HOW TO GET THERE: Underground M1 Duomo (Red Line); MM3 Montenapoleone (Yellow Line). Bus: Line 61, bus stop via Verdi - via dell’Orso Yes. Milan is also one of the world’s capitals of opera: famous composers, musicians, librettists, and singers who have made the history of this musical genre have passed through here. The temple of opera, as well as a symbolic and unmissable place in Milan, is the Teatro della Scala, which, for more than 200 years, has hosted the most prestigious productions of the Italian and international artistic scene. Commonly referred to as ‘La Scala’, this theatre is a five-minute walk from Milan Cathedral: getting there is therefore very easy so you must visit it If you are in town.

Reservations are required to see the in-

side of the theatre, and we recommend you schedule the tour in conjunction with rehearsals and performances. But, of course, to better savour the atmosphere of La Scala, the best way is to consult the programme (online or directly from the playbill displayed outside the theatre) and choose the show you prefer. A very important moment in the ‘calendar of events’ is, of course, the opening of the La Scala season, which coincides with the day of Milan’s patron saint, Sant’Ambrogio, on 7 December. The Teatro alla Scala is a pearl set in the centre of Milan. This building, designed by Giuseppe Piermarini and inspired in its design by the Reggia di Caserta, is rich in history and is the centre of Milan’s cultural, social, and often political life. The history of the Corps de Ballet, for example, dates to 1778, the very year the theatre was founded. One of the most prestigious ballet companies in the world, the Corps de Ballet has been directed by illustrious choreographers and has seen some of the world’s most important dancers, such as Rudolf Nureyev, Roberto Bolle and Carla Fracci, among its ranks. Mention must also be made of the La Scala Orchestra, which consists of around 135 elements, selected from among the best musicians in the world, and which has seen conductors of the calibre of Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Muti take turns.

THE APERITIF IN PIAZZA DEL DUOMO

HOW TO GET THERE: by metro from Stazione Centrale, yellow line MM3, Duomo stop; from Stazione Cadorna, red line MM1, Duomo stop. Tram: 15, 2, 14, 16, 24, 27.

The aperitif is an all-Italian tradition, an indispensable ritual that allows people, from 6 to 9 p.m., to ‘disconnect’ from work, be together and relax. We are not talking about Happy Hour, even though this term is often used as a synonym for aperitif: Happy Hour is a real substitute for dinner (you go to the club, eat a quick meal and you are ready to go clubbing), the aperitif on

the other hand is preparatory to dinner.

The custom is to drink a mild alcoholic beverage with simple savoury snacks, cold meats, and appetisers. But it is in particular in Milan that the “Aperitivo” has become an art: Milanese bartenders

make the Negroni and Martini cocktails

like no one else can. It is no coincidence that Milan is the home of the Negroni Sbagliato, (Wrong Negroni) a variant of the Negroni born in Tuscany that has become beloved since its creation: thanks to the presence of sparkling wine, the Negroni Sbagliato is decidedly less alcoholic, fresh, and less pungent than the traditional Negroni.

What could be chicer and more elegant than a nice aperitif in Piazza del

Duomo? The Bar&Lounge Terrazza Duomo 21 (at Piazza del Duomo 21) offers a wide selection of traditional and sophisticated cocktails, gastronomic specialities, and a comfortable ambience, which at aperitif time offers a wonderful view of the sunset over Milan.

TASTING RISOTTO AND CUTLET “ALLA MILANESE”

Milan and its gastronomy focus on two traditional dishes: risotto and cotoletta. Risotto alla Milanese with sautéed onion, boiled in beef or vegetable stock, yellowed by saffron and masterfully whipped is an unparalleled delicacy. Cotoletta alla Milanese is a must in Italian cuisine: traditionally it is veal on the bone, breaded and fried in butter. But the so-called ‘elephant ear’ of beef is the best way to enjoy this dish. There are countless restaurants where you can try risotto and “Cotoletta alla Milanese”. We recommend these three: 1. Trattoria del Nuovo Macello (Via Cesare Lombroso, 20) 2. Osteria alla Grande (Via delle Forze Armate, 405) 3. Osteria Brunello (Corso Garibaldi, 117)

Milano Fashion Week

COOL AND TRENDY EVENTS IN THE CITY: FROM SALONE DEL MOBILE TO MILAN FASHION WEEK

Fashion and design in Milan have their highest representation during the international industry events held in the city: • Milan Fashion Week, which takes place twice a year (in 2022, in June and September) in various locations, including Palazzo Serbelloni and Palazzo Reale;

• The Salone Internazionale del Mobi-

le at RhoFieraMilano (in 2023 it will take place from 18 to 23 April) together with the side event ‘FuoriSalone’, which winds its way through the streets of the city and its hinterland with design initiatives and original installations. During Fashion Week and Design Week, the streets of Milan are filled with events, par-

ties, workshops, shows, talk shows and

meetings that make the city even more vibrant and lively, day and night.

LGBTQIA+ EVENTS: FROM MILANO PRIDE TO FESTIVAL MIX

As we mentioned in the introduction, Milan is a reference throughout Italy for the LGBTQIA+ community. Along the city’s streets you can breathe an air of freedom and inclusiveness that is more difficult to find in other Italian cities. This

is due to all the work that associations, businesses, and the Milan City Council it-

self have done in recent years. In Milan, one can find countless services, events, venues designed for those whose sexual orientation and/or gender identity are different from those imposed by hetero-normative society. Certainly, the most important moment for Milan’s queer community is the Milan Pride, the pride event for gay, lesbian, bisexual,

Milano Pride

transgender, asexual, intersex, and queer

people: a wonderful, participatory celebration of freedom that usually takes place every year between late June and early July and ends with a grand final event. The Milan Pride considers all diversities, not only those related to sexual orientation and gender identity, but also those related to disability, ethnicity, immigration, etc. Another event that attracts the attention of Milan’s queer community is the Mix Milano Fe-

stival, the International LGBTQIA+ Film

Festival, an appointment with independent cinemas that has been bringing the best thematic films to the city for over 35 years. The last edition took place in June. Please check the Festival Mix Milano website and social pages for the dates of the next edition. There are many other events dedicated to Milan’s LGBTQIA+ community, some of them with sexier overtones, such as the following that will take place in the coming months: Bear Festival Milano, which takes place every April and is hosted by Company Club; Mister Rubber Italy, with 3 days of fun events, parties, city tours and competitions; Fluid Milano Circuit 2023, conceived by the famous DJ Phil Romano.

Milano Pride

THE BEST GAY FRIENDLY VENUES IN MILAN Here is a list of the best LGBTQIA+ venues in Milan, the city that is rainbow any day of the year and that has more and more neighbourhoods consecrated to true 'gay districts', such as the Porta Venezia and NoLo (North Of Loreto) districts.

LGBTQ FRIENDLY BAR

RED CAFÉ MILANO (Via Lecco ang. Panfilo Castaldi 29) LECCOMILAN (Via Lecco 5) MONO BAR (Via Panfilo Castaldi corner Via Lecco) MEMÀ (Largo Bellintani 2) LOLA (Via Tadino, 6) POP MILANO - lesbian bar (Via Alessandro Tadino,5) BLANCO (Via Giovanni Battista Morgagni 2) NOLO.SO (Via Varanini, 5) GAY-FRIENDLY CLUB NIGHTS

BUTTERFLY MILANO + VOGUE AMBITION at QLAB disco (Via Padova, 21). EVERY SATURDAY TOILET CLUB MILANO at Black Hole disco (Viale Umbria 118). EVERY SATURDAY COMPANY CLUB - GAY DISCO (Via Benedir, 14). Every Thursday from 10.30 p.m. there is karaoke. Every Sunday there is ‘Sunday & Night’ with happy hour from 5 to 6 p.m., aperitif from 6 p.m., karaoke from 7.30 p.m. The evening continues with DJ sets.

SAUNAS AND CRUISING BAR (ADMISSION WITH CARD)

BANGALOV - gay sauna (Via Calabria 5) DEPOT - gay sauna (Via Valtorta 19) HOT DOG - gay sauna (Via Oropa 3) ILLUMINED - gay sauna and cruising bar (Via Napo Torriani 12) METRO SAUNA CENTRALE - gay sauna (Via Schiaparelli 1) ROYAL HAMMAM - gay sauna (Via Plezzo 16) INFERUS - gay sauna (Via Paisiello 4)

Milano means its neighborhoods. Milano’s future drive is embodied by the people that inhabit the city’s neighborhoods, each with its own distinctive style and identity, each with its own history, ancient or modern.

5 things to do in Porta Venezia

Multiethnic and queer, Porta Venezia has all the best Milano can offer: green parks, cool bars, East African cuisine, elegant architecture, great shopping (M1 metro stations: Palestro, P.ta Venezia, Lima). Set just outside the city center, it is the rainbow neighborhood where you can be free to be who you want. Built in the Art Nouveau and Futurist eras, Porta Venezia hosts unique modernist villas in the neoclassical district facing the Giardini Pubblici, the local public gardens.

1. Chill out at Giardini Pubblici, with the Natural History Museum and the Planetarium, or be amazed by Villa Necchi Campiglio and Villa Invernizzi (there are pink flamingos in its garden).

2. Walk down Via Melzo to reach Via Malpighi and be amazed by the masterpiece of the Milanese Liberty style of architecture, Casa Galimberti.

3. Do power shopping in Corso Buenos Aires: one of the longest shopping avenues in Europe.

4. Food and drinks! From Eritrean/Ethiopian/Tigrayan zighinì to a taste of ramen or tandoori, from gourmet vegan to Italian cuisine, Porta Venezia has it all. A stiff drink in an LGBTQIA+ bar in Via Lecco or a glass of orange wine in one of the many natural wine bars of the area can be the perfect end of your night out.

5. Walk down Via Plinio (M1 Lima), you’ll get to Bar Basso, a veritable drinking institution which invented Negroni Sbagliato.

DAILY LIFE IN ANCIENT ROME

From fast food to Spas, to Gender Fluidity: let’s find out how much we look like the Romans after three millennia of history

by Letizia Strambi

The gender identity is a modern invention. For the ancient Romans there was no distinction between homosexuality, heterosexuality, and bisexuality. Everyone, within the scope of the power they held, did what they wanted under the sheets. However, manhood was a value, and the true discrimination was only regarding who took the active or passive role sexually. Women and men could entertain themselves with people of the same sex, although women had to be much

more careful. If a noble liked to have fun with an enslaved person, it was tolerated. Foreigners and slaves among themselves, on the other hand, could be freer from this point of view: considered on the margins of society, it didn’t matter what they did. The taverns, of which one of the most beautiful is today preserved almost intact in the excavations of Ostia Antica, usually also offered companions and escorts, usually waiters or waitresses from very low social backgrounds. They were a sort of modern fast food for everyone, just as today our spas are not too different from the ancient baths. Ostia Antica is an ideal place to discover the daily life of the ancient Romans, similar to Pompeii although less known. At the time, there were the taberna vinaria, which provided only quick drinks, the caupona, which also offered to sleep and popina, a place for the sale of drinks and hot food. A beautiful one is undoubtedly the Thermopoly of Via Diana. All that is missing is a host and the food: you can sit at the travertine counter and observe the shelves where food and drinks were displayed. The basins for washing dishes, a large jar for storing food and a masonry stove is intact. There is also a delightful outdoor space for patrons. But what did the ancient Romans eat? In Rome, on the Appia Antica there is still a restaurant today, the Hostaria Antica Roma, whose “host”, Paolo Magnanimi, has taken up the ancient De Re Coquinaria recipe book by Apicius to revive the authentic cuisine of the ancient Romans. He recreated a sort of Garum, the ancient oriental fish sauce, the Pullum Oxizomum, a chicken appetizer, the Patina cotidiana, a sort of lasagna prepared without tomato sauce (which had not yet been invented at the time), the lagana, ancient flat bread, filled with pork, pecorino and fennel.

Termopolio Ostia Antica

Moretum cream cheese flavored with coriander, celery seeds, pecorino cheese and garlic. Many notable people have discovered these dishes and have talked about them in the media all over the world, from Japan to the USA. Among the latest, Uma Thurman, in Italy for the filming of the new Netflix movie “Old Guard 2”. While staying with her staff in a villa on the Appian Way, she ordered the patina cotidiana and the oxizomum chicken. Upon delivery, Uma asked Magnanimi everything he knew about the cuisine of the ancient Romans, and in exchanged signed an autograph for him. Shortly after, Charlize Theron also tasted the famous dishes, and in this last part of autumn there was a visit from Sylvester Stallone, who chose to have lunch with the cotidiana patina. Even the baths of the ancient Romans tell us that we are not very different from them. They facilitated social relations, but also gave access to all the healing services that were practiced there, such as massages and gymnastics. We also find the thermal baths in Ostia Antica: through the vestibules, we reached the apodyteria (changing rooms) and a large frigidarium (a room with cold baths) with high cross vaults. The heated rooms were facing south, in order to make the most of exposure to the sun’s rays: the first room, octagonal in shape, was probably a helio-fireplace (room dedicated to sunbathing); followed by a laconicum (room for sweat baths) and saunas. The idea that saunas are meeting places for socialization was born millennia ago. And the system was the same: like modern spas, we switched from hot to cold to reactivate blood circulation. The men of ancient Rome were particularly attentive to the well-being of their bodies. They first proceeded with exfoliation using clay and a sponge, sand and oil, then massaged with various products, including a preparation based on soap plants, and finally did the peeling with a metal scraper called strigil (an example we find in the Vatican Museums in Rome, where there is the famous statue of the athlete who cleanses from sweat). According to a Roman superstition, sweat and the remnants of the peeling were collected to create an ointment called rhypos (filth), from which it was believed that energy and strength could be obtained. Men and women experimented with very painful treatments: incandescent walnut shells were thought to have hindered regrowth, or maybe spurned it.

Paolo Magnanimi, Sylvester Stallone and Massimo Magnanimi at Hosteria Antica Roma

bit.fieramilano.it

CAPRI

REVOLUTION

Wild and rebellious like no other destination, the island has a history as the preferred refuge of LGBTQ+ artists, writers and emperors immersed in its unique landscape

by Letizia Strambi

Jump on a comfortable hydrofoil a short trip from Molo Beverello in Naples and you are on one of the most fascinating islands in the world: Capri. It has unique characteristics that make it a unique place for the luxury of its nature, elegance, glamor, views, shopping, and crafts. The history between Capri and its queer tourists begins with the Roman Empire. Here, Tiberio built a wonderful villa where he could afford to dress as a woman and wander around undisturbed. A destination for romantic travels, it has always had a revolutionary soul within it, which comes from the culture that permeates it.

Montepulciano

Even today, for anyone in love, it is an essential destination, even if this international fame derives from a series of historical appeals that have made it a refuge from the world, and a place where you can be yourself by rebelling against what the world considers “normal”. It must be said that all this allure is not due to a dedicated welcome, from a precise invitation, but from the simple acceptance and inclusion that turned out to be a great opportunity for the islanders to discover themselves and, sometimes, to rebel against social stereotypes of oppression. Its great popularity rose between the end of the 1800s and the beginning of the 1900s. It was an unmissable stop on the grand tour. Aristocratic visitors and artists from Northern Europe decided to create their refuge here, with splendid villas, where art was free to express itself as it wished. Even today you can admire the Villa Lysis, built in 1904 by Jacques d’Adelswärd Fersen, the Parisian nobleman who chose the island for his voluntary exile after being overwhelmed by scandals that convinced him to leave his native country. Villa Lysis is linked to the queer history of Count Fersen. Gorgeous and elegant, eccentric and luxurious, it became the intimate refuge for the nobleman’s love affair with the young Roman Nino Cesarini.

Over time it became the meeting place for artists, intellectuals, poets, and writers who arrived in Capri at the beginning of the twentieth century and who were able to describe and exalt its myth. The German painter Paul Hoecker also lived in Villa Lysis after being expelled from his country for using his mercenary love as a model for a Madonna. An intolerable scandal in Germany. Hoecker also painted several portraits of Nino Cesarini within these walls. Capri is therefore a place of knowledge, a world apart, a confinement by choice outside the bitterness of the world that makes you feel different. This was how Oscar Wilde lived as soon as he came out of prison, when he chose the island as a place to foster his relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, reopening an international scandal that deepened the island’s reputation of transgression and disobedience. The Scottish writer Norman Douglas took refuge in Capri following a scandal that inspired his most famous novel, Siren Land, in which the link between sexuality and wild nature is reaffirmed and blends together, in ways typical of Ancient Greek culture. A first hint of naturism that later developed more after the war. Capri, in fact, is also the protagonist of Capri Revolution, a beautiful film that explores the bond with nature through the narration of a segment of history that has long been kept hidden.

Director Mario Martone, famous for a film called “Il Giovane Favoloso”, in which he depicts the friendship between Leopardi and Antonio Ranieri, uses the Visconti style of realism to tell the true story of a naturist and utopian commune that once lived in Capri in the beginning of the 1900s. The theme of Capri Revolution centers on the difficulty of women to affirm themselves, but also explores the impossibility of a real bond with the people and the nature of the island alone. In fact, while choosing to rebel and merge with the people of the commune who have chosen the island as a place of freedom, the female protagonist seeks to escape the patriarchal, crude, and male chauvinist society of the island. But once there, she finds impurity in so-called freedom of the people who live in the commune, a trait inconsistent with their own ideological choices. Capri is a universal symbol of beauty and rebellion with inclusive tourism woven throughout its history. The inclusion is so pervasive that today there is no club, or exclusively LGBTQ+ place. LGBTQ+ folks are welcome everywhere. Surely no life could be complete without at least one night spent in this symbol of Mediterranean delight that is the Anema e Core tavern, or to experience the atmosphere of the Number One disco, or to see the Blue Grotto and Faraglioni. Only there, as director Martone helps us understand, are we able to breathe the island’s wild and rebellious essence.

Anema e Core tavern