The Navigli area includes the Naviglio Grande and the Naviglio Pavese, the two navigable canals that converge in the Darsena, the one-time city docks. The area has recently been redeveloped and is traditionally one of the most popular spots in the city for a night out.
The Silos, dedicated to the creativity of Giorgio Armani, occupies 4,500 square metres on four floors. It exhibits a selection of his designs from 1980 to the present day, divided by theme: the ground floor houses the Stars and Daywear sections; the first floor, Exoticism; the second floor, Colour Schemes and the third and last floor, Light.
Opened to the public in the 1950s, the Sforza Castle Museums house such important collections and works as Leonardo’s decorative painting of the walls of the Sala delle Asse and Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptural masterpiece, the Pietà Rondanini.
This light-filled building on the edge of Parco Sempione was designed by Giovanni Muzio and opened in 1933 as the home of the Milan Triennale, dedicated to exhibitions of design and architecture. Since 2007 it has also housed the first Italian Design Museum.
While living and working in Milan, Leonardo was commissioned by Duke Ludovico Maria Sforza to paint the Last Supper on a wall of the refectory in the Santa Maria delle Grazie Dominican Convent. The famous dry wall painting depicts the moment when Jesus tells the apostles that one of them will betray him.
The Brera quarter, with its narrow pedestrian streets flanked by historical buildings, is one of the most charming areas in the city. Because of the nearby Fine Arts Academy, since the 19th century it has always been an area that has attracted artists, and is still a favourite destination of the young and not-so-young as a place to meet for an aperitivo at an outdoor table or for a romantic candle-lit dinner.
This Lombardy town to the north of Milan is famous worldwide for its Formula One circuit. In the 7th century the town was the summer residence of the Lombard kings and the park where there now stands the neoclassical Royal Palace is one of the biggest in Europe.
The Porta Nuova area has undergone a complete transformation in recent years, and has seen not only the appearance of skyscrapers designed by prestigious Italian and international architects, but also large parks and plenty of pedestrian areas and bicycle lanes. In the evening it becomes one of the liveliest nightlife hubs in the city.
The museum has a collection of mainly Italian masterpieces from the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries. The first works acquired were used as didactic material for students of the Academy. The Pinacoteca was officially inaugurated and opened to the public in 1809 by Napoleon Bonaparte.
A project founded and financed by Giuseppe Verdi himself during the last years of his life, Casa Verdi is a rest home for retired Italian artists and musicians and also provides accommodation for some Conservatory students. The maestro is buried in a crypt in the garden.