The Duomo
The great cathedral of Milan, aka the Duomo, was begun in 1386 and, as everyone insists on telling you, took more than five centuries to complete. They should have stopped sooner. Much, much sooner.
The Duomo is indeed an impressive structure; "awe-inspiring" might not be too strong. The sheer physical size is staggering, let alone the quantity and quality of skilled labor that it represents.
It is not, however, beautiful. Mark Twain thought it was, and went on about it at great and admiring length, but then Mark Twain thought Titian's Venus was obscene.

The basic layout and proportions aren't too bad, though rather on the blocky si ...

National Museum of Science and Tecnology
With its twenty-eight sections, from information technology to engines to astronomy, some 40 000 square metres of displays, and a massive 15 000 pieces in its collection, the "Leonardo da Vinci" National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan is one of the most important technical and scientific museums in the world.

In addtition to this, the Museum offers a particular section which transports us back to a golden era in Italy's artistic history: the Renaissance and its great men, among them Leonardo da Vinci, who perhaps knew best how to bring together and unite the concept of "art-science-technology", a concept which over the ...

Civici Musei Castello Sforzesco (Castle Museums)
This series of Renaissance halls (beautiful frescoed ceilings) includes sculpture (14th-18th centuries, with Michelangelo's last work, the Rondanini Pietà), including Leonardo da Vinci's "Sala delle Asse", a lovely but little-known fresco depicting a complex composition of tree foliage. On the first floor (this part open Tues-Sun 9.00-13.00, 14.00-17.30), there are sections dedicated to furniture, musical instruments, ceramics, paintings and sculpture. At present, large sections of the museum are closed for restoration. In the Cortile della Rocchetta, a pavilion at the centre of the courtyard exhibits 1,500 stone items that were previously ke ...

Portinari Chapel
A piece of the Tuscan Renaissance in Milan: a chapel commissioned by Medici banker Pigello Portinari, with architecture by Michelozzo or Filarete, sculpture by Giovanni di Balduccio and lovely frescoes by Vincenzo Foppa. The visit also includes the Palaeochristian cemetery, and reliquaries and other sacred objects in the sacristy. ...