MAIN CITIES CLOSE TO MILAN
There are many interesting cities around Milan, let’s start a short tour:
Bergamo
Bergamo is a medieval hilltop town that has been highly influenced by Venice style in an artistical and architectural way. Bergamo is divided into upper and lower town - Bergamo Alta, the hilltop medieval city and Bergamo Bassa, the lower city. The city hosts the Orio al Serio airport which regularly welcomes many tourists who want to visit Milan and the surrounding area.
Brescia
is Lombardy's second largest city after Milan. Major sights after the main square, Piazza Vittoriale are: The Tempio Capitolino, which is a museum and theatre, the Pinacoteca Civica Tosio Martinengo, containing works by Raphael and Lotto and the market at the Piazza della Loggia.
Modena
The town offers gorgeous monuments and museums. The Ghirlandina tower is the symbol of the city. In Piazza Grande you will find the Palazzo Comunale while the Palazzo Ducale hosts the Military Academy.
Monza
It is a small town situated very close to Milan. It is world-wide famous for the Italian Grand Prix of Formula 1 which takes place at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza and the Ferrari Team. It has also a beautiful centre and it is famous for the textile and glass manufactory.
Parma
Parma is not just the city of ham and cold cuts, it has many attractions to offer to its visitors such as the cathedral and the bell tower. Palazzo della Pilotta is another gorgeous building, today seat of the National Museum of Antiquity.
Pavia
It was the capital of the Italian Kingdom a long time ago. Churches, towers and other monuments stand as a testimony of the city's greatness. The Certosa, built in Renaissance style, is worth visiting. But there are also other interesting sights to mention: beautiful churches such as the San Pietro in Cel D’Oro, the San Michele Maggiore or the San Teodoro's . The University of Pavia is rich in architecture and decoration of statues. At the Visconteo Castle you will always find exhibitions, and also the civic museum is hosted there. The Coperto bridge is another monument that you should take the time to visit.
Torino
This city, seat of the Olympic Games in 2006, offers lots of attractions. The Mole Antonelliana is the symbol of the town. It was built like a synagogue and it hosts the National Cinema Museum, today. Piazza Castello is the heart of the city with many great buildings dating back to the Roman age. In the middle of this square you will find Palazzo Madama, close to the Royal Theatre and the Royal Library, which houses Leonardo da Vinci’s operas. From Piazza Castello many important streets are easily reachable such as Rome Street, Po Street, Garibaldi Street and Pietro Micca Street. Another remarkable attraction is the Medieval Castle, castle and village. The castle is an exact replica of the Castle of Fenis (Aosta Valley) and the village is similar to a Piedmont medieval little township.
Verona
This is a city with about 2 millenniums of history. Verona has a variety of possibilities for amusement. But the most important feature of Verona is the connection with Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet: the story took place in this famous Italian city, so that today you can visit the house with the balcony of Juliet, a statue of her in the court and her grave. You will see how the Roman era was extremely important for this city: the Arena, the Roman Theatre, the Arch of Gavi, Porta Borsari or the area of Porta Leoni and the Scavi Scaligeri are perfect examples of the Roman architecture. The ancient town wall are ideal for a stroll with a spectacular view all around the city.
Genova
It is the Italian city with the Europe's biggest aquarium and the second in the world after the Osaka's one. You will find fifty tanks there, for marine
species, including sea turtles, dolphins, seals, eels, penguins,
and sharks. For further information you can visit the website
of the Aquarium: www.acquario.ge.it The Aquarium is situated inside
the Porto Antico (the old harbour). The Palazzo Ducale was the
former registered office of the government, today it hosts
social and cultural activities.
In the
beautiful historic city centre you will find more sights of interest.
Bologna
It is quite far from Milan (the transfer is approximately two hours driving), but it is absolutely worth going. The Archiginnasio
Palace houses and the Municipal Library are just two of the most interesting sights to visit. The two Towers at Piazza
di Porta Ravegnana are the landmarks of Bologna. In the ancient times, towers in Italy
were sign of fertility of a family and it was kind of a
battle among them: the family the most important erected the higher tower. Tourists are allowed to visit the higher tower, the smaller one is pending.
The town hall is called Palazzo Comunale and it hosts today for the
Municipal Art Collection and other museums. The church of San
Petronio is the fifth largest church in the world, but it is not
the Duomo of Bologna.
