Milan

I had never been to Milan, and most people who knew it had told me it was not very interesting - at least by Italian city standards - so I was very pleasantly surprised. I thought it a very nice city, lively and bustling, with great architecture and beautiful Paleo-Christian art, which is something I love - after all, it was the capital of the Roman Empire for a while, when it became Christian.

I was very lucky with the weather, it had rained hard the previous week, so everything was wet and shiny under the late autumn sun. Walking from the Central Station to the city centre I enjoyed the big avenues with the 19th and 20th century blocks, then passed the Scala theatre - that somehow disappointed, I imagined it more like the Paris Opera, and it's much smaller - and reached the famous Vittorio Emmanuelle Galleries, that are really impressive, and then the fabulous Duomo square.

The Duomo is much more beautiful than in the photographs, a white marble shiny massive church, whose neo-gothic architecture makes a huge building stand light and graceful on the big square. The huge queues disheartened me, so I headed for the small church of Santa Maria pressa San Satiro, a Renaissance jewel with the famous Bramante trompe l'oueil abse, and then walked around the city, passing the ancient San Nazzaro red brick church, that was unfortunately closed. Then to San Lorenzo Maggiore, a beautiful basilica in a very lively area - the combination of old art and architecture and modern living always enchants me - and chilled at a nice café terrace while the sun set over the Renaissance façade and the Roman columns.

I passed by the lovely Piazza dei Mercanti in the evening - there was a noisy demonstration about the coming referendum - and the Sforza castle, planning to avoid the queues to the Duomo the next day.

I couldn't avoid those queues, though. So there I stood, and read a good part of a novel while waiting, but it was worthwhile - the dimension of the Duomo is really impressive, and then there are the roofs, with great views over the city and the details of the cathedral's sculptures.

From the Duomo, I went to see the Pinacoteca di Brera, a great museum with lots of beautiful paintings - Rafael, Bellini, Caravaggio. Then more old churches, like San Simpliciano, and the amazing Luini frescos at San Maurizio, and the big old church of Santo Ambrogio, with the beautiful sculptures of the Stilicho sarcophagus.

I finished the Milan visit walking around the Navigli district at night, full of cafés, bars and young people. Only when I was leaving the city on the train to Bergamo did I notice I hadn't been to the fashion district, so renamed, and I didn't miss it the least. Maybe next time.