My parents arrived for their weeklong+ visit with us. After a few fun days of touring around Torino, we all boarded an early morning train for our first stop, Milan. Josh and I took the kids to Milan in August, in the blazing heat. It was quite a different experience to arrive in crisp, fall air. Our grandparent/kid itinerary was not overly ambitious. Day one we had a guided tour scheduled to see the “secret gems” of Milan, as well as gain access to Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper. Day two we planned to wake up and climb the 250-some stairs to the top of Milan’s famous Duomo. My parents last visit to Milan was in 1971, so they were interested to see how it had evolved (or not).
The tour of secret Milan was charming, as we stopped at a few churches and landmarks not on the main tourist track. It was interesting to learn that the Milanese have a bit of an inferiority complex to its more touristy brothers and sisters, namely Rome, Florence and Venice. The Expo hosted by Milan last year brought a burst of city pride and confidence to the locals. While always known as a city for fashion, Milan does suffer from some of the same bad press and preconceived notions as Torino.
The real reason to book a tour is it gives you access to Da Vinci’s masterpiece, The Last Supper. It is a late 15th-century mural painting that was completed on the wall of the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Unfortunately, shortly after Da Vinci took four years to paint on a dry wall (a technique he was trying) instead of on wet plaster, the painting began to flake and peel. As such, the wall mural is kept under strict temperature control and visitation. Each group is allowed just 15 minutes in its presence. The fresco is kind of like the great wall of China. No matter how many times you have seen it in pictures, to stand in front of it is overwhelming . The mural has been maintained over the past hundreds of years with good intentions, but sometimes disastrous results. At the end of the 20th century, it underwent a major renovation to restore it to Da Vinci’s original intent. While the colors are not as vibrant as one might imagine, the scale, composition and hidden complexity of the painting are unrivaled. Our tour guide was an Italian art history student who spoke of the painting in loving, reverent tones. As she said, “this does not exist as a moment in time, this is a living image”. She was right.
Maybe it was because we weren’t melting on the sidewalk, or because it was our second visit, or because I was with my parents, but I certainly enjoyed Milan even more on this visit. It was good to see the hustle of a typical Milanese day, something we missed in the middle of sleepy August. We did take my parents back to the same restaurant that we visited in the summer. The seasonal menu was totally different this time, and the whole family feasted on autumnal delicacies.
Day two came with another cool weather forecast, which was welcome after climbing the steep stone stairs to reach the terraces of the Duomo. It is beautiful to get to stand among the arches at the top of the church, gazing down on the huge piazza below. The church, as many treasures in Italy, was receiving a facelift to its rear facade. Amazing that a building that began construction in the 14th century and took 600 years to complete is still a work in progress. I am sure there is a lesson in there somewhere. I just enjoyed standing up there with my parents, my husband and my kids.