DK Travel : Milan and the Lakes

Milan is Italy’s economic powerhouse, a bustling city of finance and industry, media empires and fashion houses, backed up by an impressive cultural heritage of important art galleries and ancient churches. Yet a 40-minute train ride takes you to the azure pools of “the lakes”, lined with fishing villages, villas and laid-back resorts.

Casoeûla

Somewhere between a soup, a stew and a main course, this mighty Milanese dish throws sausage and chunks of pork chops and rinds into a thick cabbage soup, with dollops of polenta on the side. It’ll stick to your ribs (and clog your arteries).
Castello di Arco, near Riva

Perched above town, this 12th-century castle is in a state of near-total ruin. Only one wall remains of the imposing central keep, and the sole room in the complex to survive intact was filled with debris until 1986. When it was cleared, a surprise discovery found several excellent late 14th-century frescoes depicting nobles playing at board games and war.
Castello Sforzesco

A sprawling 15th-century castle, now home to collections of tapestries, archaeological artifacts, paintings by Bellini and Mantegna, and sculptures that include Michelangelo’s final work, the Rondanini Pietà .
Castello Sforzesco

Milan’s vast, glowering castle complex squats at the northwest corner of the historic centre, an odd combination of oversized courtyards, lithe towers and lovely medieval nooks and crannies.

Castello Sforzesco
Castello Sforzesco, Milan

The greatest free museum in Italy! There’s a bit of everything: paintings by the likes of Bellini and Mantegna, a stupendous cycle of 16th-century tapestries, archaeological collections and, its greatest piece, Michelangelo’s achingly unfinished Rondanini Pietà .
Castiglione Olona

In the 14th century Cardinal Branda Castiglione fell in love with the new Gothic painting style he saw in Florence and was determined to import it to his hometown. The aging painter Masolino did some of his best works in the cardinal’s palace and the Chiesa della Collegiata. The Chiesa della Villa nearby is a Brunelleschian church with colossal saints flanking the entrance.
Cavallino, Desenzano

Gianfranco and Ornella Dallai run this debonair restaurant, with recipes based around fresh lake fish and foul. Banquet-like “tasting menus” and fabulous desserts.
Ca’ Grande

In 1456 Francesco Sforza instituted one of his greatest public works, a massive hospital with separate wings for women and men, each based around four courtyards. The vast central Cortile Maggiore was added in the 17th century, along with the Annunciazione church with its Guercino altarpiece. The Neo-Classical men’s wing was eventually completed in 1904; but the entire hospital moved elsewhere in 1939, to be replaced by the University of Milan in 1958.
Ca’ Grande

This massive complex – originally a hospital, now part of the University of Milan – took 400 years to complete.
Certosa di Garegnano

The 14th-century Certosan abbey has largely vanished under Milan’s suburbs, but its church of Santa Maria Assunta survives. It is capped with a fine late Renaissance façade, and the interior was frescoed by Daniele Crespi in 1629 with stories of the Certosan order.

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