DK Travel : Milan and the Lakes : Places of interest

Page
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Museo Nazionale della Scienza e delle Tecnica – Leonardo da Vinci

The National Science and Technology museum knows what draws the crowds, hence its subtitle, “Leonardo da Vinci,” which refers to the wooden scale models of his inventions, which fill the main hall. However, the telecommunications work of Marconi, displays on physics, cinematography, electricity and other scientific marvels don’t get short shrift either (see Museo Nazionale della Scienza e delle Tecnica – Leonardo da Vinci, Milan).
Pavia

The capital of northern Italy during the Dark Ages is now lost in Milan’s suburban sprawl but retains its historic centre. In addition to the glorious Certosa (see Certosa di Pavia), other important churches include San Pietro in Ciel d’Oro and San Michele, both full of Romanesque carvings, and the Duomo, whose architects included Bramante and Leonardo. Pavia also boasts a Renaissance bridge and 14th-century castle with paintings by Antonella da Messina, Correggio, Bellini, Luini and Tiepolo.
Puppet Shows

Italy’s rich tradition of puppet shows, from Sicily’s epic tales of Saracen warriors and Charlemagne’s knights to Naples’ slap-stick Pulcinella (Punch and Judy) shows, has almost died out. Thankfully, here and there master puppeteers such as Cosetta and Gianni Colla at Milan’s Teatro delle Marionette keep the tradition alive and update the stories to appeal to a modern audience.
Riva del Garda

A bustling town, blessed with good surfing and the medieval Torre d’Apponale and Rocca Castle. Just inland lies Arco, home to an elegantly ruined castle (see Lake Garda).
Rocca di Angera

This medieval castle, a Borromeo fortress since 1449, preserves a hall of crude frescoes (1342–54), which count among the oldest surviving Lombard-Gothic works on a non-religious subject. Wooden staircases lead to the tower and lake views. Most of the rooms now house a Doll Museum, with its splendid collection of Japanese figures and 18th- and 19th-century European examples (see Rocca di Angera, Lake Maggiore).

Rocca di Angera
Rocca di Angera, Lake Maggiore

This 8th-century Lombard fortress dominates Angera’s headland. Expanded in the late 13th century by the Visconti of Milan, it later became the seat of its own county, and in 1449 passed to the Borromeo clan. Today the glowering fortress preserves delicate medieval frescoes and a Doll Museum.
Rocca Scagliera, Sirmione

The 13th-century keep is at the narrowest point of Sirmione’s long, thin peninsula. The striking, angular pale grey stone citadel, in use as a fortress until the 19th century, still dominates and protects the town – the only way to enter Sirmione is over the moat on one of the castle drawbridges, then under one of its squat gate towers. It’s worth climbing the 30-m (95-ft) tower for the grand panorama.
Rotonda di Via Besana

This Greek-cross church, dating from 1713, is now used for exhibitions. It is surrounded by a small green park bounded by a lovely rosette-shaped ring of a cloister. Here, in summer, films are shown al fresco.

Rotonda di Via Besana
Sabbioneta

Duke Vespasiano Gonzaga had this town built from scratch in the late 16th century, the closest any potentate ever got to fully realizing the ideal Renaissance city. A single ticket lets you in to all the major sights: Palazzo del Giardino (the summer palace); the fabulous trompe-l’oeil frescoed Galleria; and the Teatro all’Antica, the first purpose-built theatre since antiquity.
Sabbioneta

An entire town planned between 1556 and 1591 to Renaissance ideals, Sabbioneta is the legacy of Vespasiano Gonzaga Borromeo, who, bereft of heirs, put his energies into a complex of palaces and a theatre.