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A countryside abbey now surrounded by the roar of suburban Milan, Chiaravalle has survived the centuries since its construction (between 1172 and 1221) remarkably well. Its lovely Romanesque architecture is enhanced by 15th- and 16th-century murals and a Luini Madonna with Child in the right transept.

Abbazia di Chiaravalle

A city as grand as Milan needed a port, so the long pool of the Darsena was dug in the 12th century, with the Naviglio Grande – a 50-km/30-mile canal stretching to the Mincio River (and thence the Po to the Adriatic) – leading into it. Today, the Navigli district is Milan’s most lively, bohemian neighbourhood. Its old warehouses now contain fashionable apartments and the towpaths are lined with restaurants, clubs, bars and shops. Its streets teem nightly with foodies out for a fine meal, young folks cruising the bars and street vendors spreading out sheets and rickety tables to form an impromptu bazaar. This is the only part of the city that stays open during the dog days of August.

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

A free-standing row of 16 Corinthian columns – once part of a 2nd-century temple – sets San Lorenzo’s frontal piazza off from the road. The vast interior of the church is magnificent and sombre. It was built on a circular plan, with a ring-shaped ambulatory and matroneum, or raised women’s gallery, which often marked such early churches. The Chapel of S. Aquilino, to your right as you enter the building, preserves 4th-century mosaics, a 3rd-century sarcophagus and a Roman-era portal.

Second only to the Duomo among Milan’s great churches (and to many, rather more beautiful), this 4th-century basilica, with a cloistered entryway, Paleochristian mosaics, medieval carvings and late Renaissance frescoes, counts among the region’s main Top 10.

Sant’Ambrogio