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The great architect of the High Renaissance travelled from Urbino to Florence, then Milan and Rome, leaving churches in his wake (and doing a stint as chief architect of St Peter’s in Rome). He favoured geometric designs and smooth walls, with architectural lines picked out in dark stone.

Italian chain of fast-yet-excellent food. You carry a tray around to various food-prep islands, where the dishes are cooked to order.

The industrialized face of Brescia hides a fine medieval and Renaissance centre, with several mementos of its time as a Roman colony (including a temple and theatre in the heart of the town). Installed in the ancient San Salvatore e Santa Giulia monastery is the excellent Museo della Città, a repository of prehistoric, Roman and medieval objects and artworks. The painting gallery (Pinacoteca Tosio-Matinengo) sports works by local Renaissance artists as well as the great Raphael and Tintoretto.

The classic journey to this hillside village is to take a short boat ride from Como’s harbour to the funicular station, then ride the cog-train up to Bru-nate. You’re rewarded with vistas over Como and the lake, and the starting point of many trails into the surrounding hills (the tourist office has maps).

A post-modern disco owned by a group of Premier League footballers. The DJs spin everything from revival pop to salsa.

This is high-tech nightclubbing, with TV screens, internet feeds, concerts broadcast live and a magnetic card that keeps track of your tab (you pay when you leave). The music ranges from modern pop and hip-hop to 1960s and 70s revival – the owners are a group of Serie A footballers who are often seen here when not on the field.

This historic café on the main piazza has been a local living room (and site of rebellious debates) since the 16th century.

When Teresa D’Ambrosio opened this place, she envisaged the fin de siècle cafés where artists met, writers scribbled away at corner tables, professors spent an hour or two poring over the papers and political thinkers made plans in hushed tones. And, indeed, Milan’s intelligentsia do appear to have taken the bait and placed themselves at appropriate tables.