{"id":6924,"date":"2017-05-16T09:00:21","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T13:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=6924"},"modified":"2017-05-15T12:10:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-15T16:10:00","slug":"art-and-architecture-appreciation-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snappingtheglobe.com\/?p=6924","title":{"rendered":"Art and Architecture Appreciation Day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 2017 Snapping the Globe, L.L.C. All rights reserved<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Sometimes things go as planned.<\/p>\n

Sometimes they don’t.<\/p>\n

That’s when you make lemonade out of lemons!<\/p>\n

My plan for the day in Milan was to visit the Duomo.\u00a0 I hadn’t been there in years and was excited to see it and photograph it again.<\/p>\n

After taking the metro and arriving in the Piazza del Duomo, I reached into my bag to pull out my camera.\u00a0 Trying to take a picture of the Duomo, I realized that the shutter wasn’t reacting.\u00a0 Thinking that I may have broken it somehow, I turned it over and realized that the battery door had come loose and the battery was probably still in my bag back in my hotel room.<\/p>\n

Argggghhh!<\/p>\n

Okay, I really wanted to take some amazing photographs of the Duomo’s interior, but without my camera, it would have to wait.\u00a0 Looking up at the bright blue sky, I realized that maybe, it was just a better day to go exploring and save the Duomo for a rainy one.\u00a0 So…that’s what I did.\u00a0 Checking some saved locations on my Google maps and the condition of my iPhone battery (since that was going to act as my camera), I set off on my Art and Architecture Appreciation Tour.<\/p>\n

Here’s what I found.<\/p>\n

The Duomo…of course! \u00a0<\/em>So beautiful and always wonderful to gaze upon.<\/p>\n

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Beautiful buildings and architectures exist everywhere in Milan. \u00a0<\/em>Turn down random streets. \u00a0Look up. Look all around. \u00a0You never know what you might find!<\/p>\n

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The Milan Stock Exchange.<\/em>\u00a0 The interesting sculpture in front of the Milan Stock Exchange building placed there since 2015, and designed by Maurizio Cattelan, has caused much controversy but brings in the curiosity seekers.\u00a0 About four meters high, on a base of eleven meters, the marble sculpture is officially titled L.O.V.E., but reading between the lines, gazers can take away the message that they see for themselves.\u00a0 All of the fingers have been cut off except the middle one, butchered by the scammers-turned-entrepreneurs who have dominated the Italian Stock market for generations.\u00a0 This is a big F***You! from the people.<\/p>\n

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\"\"Palazzo Borromeo and Santa Maria Padone.<\/em> \u00a0Palazzo Borromeo was built in the late 14th century when the Florentine Borromeo family moved to Milan. \u00a0Remodeled over the centuries and badly damaged during the air raids of 1943, it’s appearance today is not of its original construction. \u00a0The square was created in 1440 following the demolition of a number of houses purchased by the Borromeo family to create a space linking the family palace with the 9th century parish church of Santa Maria Padone. \u00a0The Romanesque church was transformed into a small basilica and a small family chapel was added in the 15th century.<\/p>\n

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The Roman Circus. \u00a0<\/em>Did you know that there are some Roman ruins remaining in Milan?\u00a0 <\/em>What shocked me most was that there once was a Roman circus right in the middle of the city, occupying an area between Via del Torchio, Via Cappuccio, Corso Magenta, Via Brisa and Via Morigi. \u00a0The original structure was 450 meters long by 80 meters wide and probably built by Emperor Maximian in the 4th century A.D. \u00a0A\u00a0few blocks of the foundations of the stands remain (some can be found in the cellars of some houses in Via Cappuccio and Via Morigi) and some parts have been incorporated into newer structures.<\/p>\n

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\"\"Imperial Palace.<\/em>\u00a0 Close to the circus, you can find the remains of\u00a0the Roman Imperial Palace complex. \u00a0Many different buildings were used privately and publicly by the Emperor\u00a0as well as his court officials and the imperial bureaucracy. \u00a0As in other Italian cities, the Emperor had direct access from his palace to the circus.<\/p>\n

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Colonne di San Lorenzo. \u00a0<\/em>The colonnade, located in the front of the Basilica di San Lorenzo, consists of 16 tall Corinthian columns in a row. \u00a0The columns were relocated to this area in the 4th century after presumably being removed from a 2nd century pagan temple or bath house. \u00a0South of the colonnade is a remaining city gate, the medieval Porta Ticinese (see new Porta Ticinese below). \u00a0The area serves as a meeting place as well as a hangout for young people, especially during the evenings.<\/p>\n

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The Wall of Dolls. <\/em>\u00a0A permanent exhibition, by artist Joe Ring, located on Via de Amicis, near Colonne di San Lorenzo. \u00a0At first sight, it seems a bit disconcerting, however, it exerts a strong message…each doll represents women lost or who have succumbed to domestic violence and hate crimes.<\/p>\n

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Porta di Ticinese.<\/em>\u00a0 The modern city gate of Porta Ticinese is located\u00a0long the Inner Ring Road at Piazza Venti Quattro Maggio, at the southern end of Corso di Porta Ticinese. \u00a0Built between 1801 and 1814, along the path of the old 16th century Spanish Walls, it replaced the gate from the Spanish Habsburg era.<\/p>\n

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So…after all these years of telling everyone that Milan is not my favorite city, “cause there’s nothing to do”…I think I might have to eat my words.<\/p>\n

It’s definitely no Rome…there’s not something on every block, but I do have to say that I found some extremely interesting things during my Art and Appreciation Walk. \u00a0Milan is a bit like\u00a0an onion! \u00a0Taking the time to peel back the layers, you can definitely find some fascinating\u00a0things throughout the city.<\/p>\n

For more pictures, check out Facebook, Snapping the Globe and Instagram, @snappingtheglobe.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Borsa Italiana (Milan Stock Exchange)<\/strong><\/p>\n