Accompanying Persons

July 3rd, 2023

The Basilica of St. Ambrogio is one of the most ancient churches in Milan. Crossing the doorway of the quadriporticus projects you to a distant time, when the divine mystery was manifested in the beauty of ancient carved stones, walls painted with edifying stories, shining mosaics … but, above it all, stands out, in St. Ambrogio, the Golden Altar of Vuolvinio: a precious and rare work of early medieval goldsmithing.

The Duomo is one of the most famous and complex Gothic constructions of the world. As dimensions, it is the second highest church of the world after the cathedral of Beauvais in France, and the third greatest cathedral after St.Peter in Vatican and the cathedral in Seville. A complex of 135 spires and 3200 statues, crammed onto the roof and into the facade, adorn the exterior of this vast cathedral. In particular, the central spire is capped by a golden statue, called Madonnina, literarily “little Madonna”, traditionally considered the Milan’s protector. The interior of the Cathedral, organized into five aisles divided by majestic pylons, contains a collection of beautiful and sacred pieces of art donated by wealthy noblemen and patrons over the centuries.

The Theatre alla Scala is considered among the most prestigious theaters in the world. A fascinating journey among the rich halls of the Theater Museum, decorated like an ancient noble residence, throughwhich you access the Toscanini Foyer and the palques from which you can look out to admire the theater.
Lean out from its boxes and experience the unique emotion of seeing the “best theatre in the world” according to Stendhal; discover all the technological improvements that made it a real engineering jewel, and learn more about the great protagonists of the most famous theatre in the world.

The morning part of the tour will end with a promenade in the fashion district. Milan is unquestionably one of the fashion capitals. The ateliers and showrooms are located in the historic buildingsof the ancient Milanese aristocracy and are concentrated in the streets of the historic center, which has become a world famous “fashion district”: Via Manzoni, Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga and Sant’Andrea among sparkling shop windows and ancient buildings.

After the lunch break the tour continue to the Navigli district. Along the two canals – Naviglio Grande and Naviglio Pavese – banks there are still reminder of the romantic milan of days gone by – typical, old milanese houses, craft workshops, old wash-housse with wooden beamed roofs, typhical cafés and meeting places and old moored barges. The Milanese canals were born with different purposes back in the Middle Ages: defense, irrigation … but above all they became efficient waterways for the transportation of goods and people. Telling its story “above water” aboard a boat is certainly curious and is a bit like going back to a time when the rhythms of life were punctuated by the flow of the water, a time when the voices of the washerwomen and the commands of the boatmen were the background of a city on a human scale.

July 4th, 2023

Varenna is a picturesque and traditional village, located on the eastern shore of Lake Como, Italy. An essential stop for anyone wishing to visit one of the most typical and peaceful towns of the lake. This small village, where you can still breathe in the traditions of yesteryear (above all, fishing), is home to elegant villas with botanical gardens, and beautiful walks between history and nature. Villa Monastero is an amazing complex that includes a wide botanical garden, which is arranged in terraces and collects many rare plant species. The mild climate, favored by the lake, allows numerous botanic species from all over the world to grow. This is the reason why, in almost every season of the year, the Villa Monastero gardens give you the chance to enjoy a variety of colors and scents.

Villa Melzi d’Eril is a typical English style garden with Egyptian sculptures and Roman statues among exotic trees. The complex includes the villa and the vast botanical garden that surrounds it. The villa was built in neoclassical style and houses valuable decorations by Antonio Canova, Andrea Appiani, Giovan Battista Comolli and Giuseppe Bossi. The gardens of Villa Melzi d’Eril are preserved with great care by the family Gallarati Scotti, the current owners. A long avenue of plane trees begins at the boat dock, and gardens of azaleas and gigantic rhododendrons surround the villa, enclosing small spaces such as the hidden cave or the artificial pond in Japanese style. Villa Melzi’s gardens also have many exotic and rare plants that alternate with centuries-old trees, large hedges of camellias, and many other plant species. This gives you the opportunity to take a walk through one of the most enchanting places around Lake Como.

Villa Carlotta is a place of rare beauty, where masterpieces of nature and art live together in perfect harmony in over 70.000 square meters of gardens and museum. The beautiful villa was built at the end of XVII century. The important but sober building and Italian garden is decorated with sculptures, stairs and fountains. At the beginning of the 1800s the property attained the summit of its splendor. The gardens of Villa Carlotta chiefly owe their reputation to the rhododendrons’ and azaleas’ spring flowering, consisting of over 150 different sorts. But the gardens are worth to visit in every period of the year: old varieties of camellias, century old cedars and sequoias, huge plane trees and tropical plants, the Rock garden and the Ferns valley, the Rhododendrons wood and the Bamboos garden, the agricultural tools museum and the wonderful views on the lake built in the ages the celebrity of this place. It is still today considered “a place of heaven”.

July 5th, 2023

The Church of San Maurizio was built in 1503 as an annex to the oldest Benedictine convent in Milan, the “Monastero Maggiore.” The interior has a single nave, but no side aisles. The wooden choir lofts are still in excellent condition; the walls are decorated with 15th-century paintings; the foundations and part of the two towers are from Roman times. The organ, made in 1554 by Giacomo Antegnati, is still functioning and is used during seasonal organ concerts.

Is one of the symbols of Milan together with the Madonnina and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Built within ten years between 1358 and 1368 under Galeazzo II Visconti. The Castle was partly destroyed in 1447 because of a decision of the Ambrosia Republic, it was rebuilt during Francesco Sforza’s period. The Castle suffered many adversities until 1880 when the government wanted to destroy it. The good sense prevailed and the Castle was restored under Luca Beltrami’s direction. The entrance is situated under the tower of Filarete; on the back you find the Bona di Savoia’s tower and on the left side the Rocchetta, a fortified part inside the Castle useful to get refuge during war attacks. The Rocchetta has a three sides internal portico, and inside its rooms there is the famous Bramante’s “Argus”. The Ducal Court was usually the residence of the lords. One of the rooms of Ducal Court, the “Sala delle Asse” is thought to have been frescoed by Leonardo da Vinci.

The Church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro (Saint Mary near Saint Satyrus) is one of Milano’s hidden gems with its fascinating faux perspective apse. Seen as the space available to construct the church was very restricted the architect, Donato Bramante, had to use visual deception to create the impression that the apse, conserving the image of the Madonna, was 9.70 m in depth and covered by a coffered barrel vaulted ceiling when, in actual fact, the apse was only 97cm deep. He crafted a faux choir in painted stucco thus creating an optical illusion that is only revealed to the eye when standing to the side of the altar. Visitors standing at the entrance would never doubt the authenticity of the apse as it gives the impression of a much deeper space, a masterful technique that celebrates the genius of Italian art and the exceptional use of perspective.

Brera once was a popular and artistic district of old Milan. You will find cobbled alleys, unique boutiques, numerous cafes and quaint restaurants. The Brera Gallery was officially established in 1809, even though a first heterogeneous collection with educational purpose existed already from 1776 – and then increased in the following years – alongside the Accademia di Belle Arti, requested by Mary Therese of Austria to offer the students the opportunity to study lofty masterpieces of art close up. Brera become a museum to host the most important works of art from all of the areas conquered by the French armies. So unlike other important museums in Italy such as the Uffizi, Brera did not start out life as the private collection of a prince or nobleman but as the product of a deliberate policy decision. Paintings confiscated from churches and convents throughout Lombardy with the religious orders’ dissolution began to pour into the museum in the early years of the 19th century, soon to be joined by artworks of similar provenance from other areas of the Kingdom of Italy. This explains why the collection comprises chiefly religious works, many of them large altarpieces, and accounts for Brera’s special aura on which later acquisitions have had only a minor impact. Here we will take a journey through great Italian painting from the 14th to the 19th century: from Mantegna to Hayez, Piero della Francesca, Raffaello, Caravaggio…