Monday we tried to find places we had missed and also to have a second look at what most intrigued us. We ignored obstacles like 'Closed between noon and 3pm'.
This canal, complete with grafitti, was our high spot. It is controlled with familiar 'irrigation channel' gates. We walked along to look around the first bend, and found the grafitti (which we noticed even defaces very old stonework, a universal problem).
May God smile on you today,
Elizabeth
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| Porta Ticinese Medioevale is the second medieval gate and the start of the road that leads to Rome. The Romans called Milan 'Mediolanum' and after 292 Diocletian made it the effective capital of the western half, with Byzantium for the eastern half. St Barnabas, friend of St Paul, is credited with bringing Christianity here, and under Diocletian the local Christians were martyred.
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You can see this red wall, through the arch of the gate. The 16 Corinthian columns are very old - were put here in 400AD, being moved from an unknown temple. They face the church of San Lorenzo (locally called a Basilica).
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The bronze statue of Emperor Constantine is a copy of one in Rome, and is a reminder of his Edict of Tolerence 313 to put an end to persecuting the Christians. The three-story houses show they are on the site of earlier buildings. This re-using is a feature of the revival of Milan over the last 50 years.
Christianity had it's next crisis when the Alexandian teacher Arius (256-336) was invited to teach the Christians in Milan, and dialogue resulted in questioning the divinity of Jesus. The answers became called 'the Arian heresy' and the Council of Nicea was called in 325 to work out the answer - the Nicean Creed saying the son is of one substance with the Father, and therefore divine.
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San Lorenzo is the oldest round-plan church of the Christian era, and is surrounded by former religious houses. The area has been renovated, with a park joining two very old churches. Dogs are provided with a fenced area where they can run loose. The local rule expects dogs to be on a leash (often an extending one), but usually not muzzled. Italy is introducing more rules to control dogs.
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We walked through the park to this road which separates the two halves, with Sant' Eustorgio in the background, behind the tractor. Their clock tower dates back to 1190 and is the tallest in Milan, with the first clock added in 1306.
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The Market Place is close to the centre of Milan. The horse statue overlooks the square decorated with a 17th century well. The busy crowd is on the opposite side of this building.
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The green spiral stairs leading up to the upper floors of the Merchants rooms above the market area. We rounded the corner to the plaza in front of the Duomo. Naturally the church has dress rules, as well as refusing entry to dogs, cigarettes, mobile telephones, men in hats, women in shorts or miniskirts, and tourists interrupting divine services.
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We sat in the peace of the church, and admired the lovely stained glass. This view is the first two of the lower 7 levels - the first half of one of many soaring windows.
The Marini and Guscetti ancestors may have seen the exterior, as this church was started by Queen Theodolinda about 600 after she worked to stamp the Arian heresy out of her Lombardia and the capital Milan. It was rebuilt after 1386, and is in constant need of maintenance to protect the lovely building and fittings.
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