Travel in the Lombardy region of Italy
Anywhere else in the world, a shopping mall would be just that: a place to get your shopping and perhaps to grab a drink and a bite to eat. But this is Milan, fashion capital of a country where style is de rigeur, and the architecture of the Galleria Vittorio Emaneule II is just as …
The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II: Milan’s Drawing Room Read More »
Coming into Mantua on the train from Verona, the first thing I noticed were the three artificial lakes that surround the city. Today they are a pleasure ground, with boat trips, lakeside walks and picnic areas. But they were originally constructed for a quite different purpose: defence. As was common in medieval Italy, Mantua was …
According to my guidebook, Brescia is “disappointing”. But I wanted a day out from Verona, and Brescia was easy to get to. So, not knowing quite what to expect, I went anyway, and I was not at all disappointed. I found Roman remains, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and all the piazzas, churches and museums …
The Certosa di Pavia is a historic Carthusian monastery situated a few kilometres north of the medieval university town of Pavia, close to Milan. It was commissioned by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the first Duke of Milan, as a monastery and family mausoleum. The Duke had his court in Pavia and the Certosa (meaning “Charterhouse” in …
Certosa Di Pavia: A Historic Carthusian Monastery Read More »