Milan

As I was travelling directly to Florence from Como I decided to spend the day looking around nearby Milan. My first stop after arriving at Milano Centrale, an enormous station in white marble, was the Castello Sforzesco,  a gigantic red-brick Renaissance fortress designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Behind the Castle the green Sempione Park is located and at its southern entrance sits a very impressive monument, the Arco della Pace or Arch of Peace. The 1807 neo-classical Arch, crowned with a six horse carriage and modelled on the Arc du Carrosel in Paris, was dedicated to Napoleon when Milan was under Napoleonic rule. After a relaxing stroll through the Park I headed for the Duomo. What a sight!  The construction of the Cathedral in pink marble began in the late 14th century. On top of its exterior 135 spires reach for the heavens and some 3,200 saintly statues guard the perimeter. Inside there are a multitude of brilliant stained glass windows, intricately carved pillars and numerous individual chapels. After the Duomo I stolled through the elegant  iron and glass Galleria Vittorio, one of Milan's finest Shopping Arcades, to the  La Scala Opera House. On the Gallery floor there is a colourful mosaic of a rampant bull. Milanese tradition claims women can avoid bad luck by grinding their heels into the bull's testicles. I was a littled disconcerted to see women enthusiastically lining up to give the bull's cojones a workout. After this unsettling experience I hastened to the trendy, bohemian district of Breda in search of a friendly bar where I could have a cool drink or three.