reassessment of the artistic heritage of milan and its province eventually led to a better understanding of the historical periods during which the city was planned and developed, and its most important monuments erected. roman-era milan, for instance (or mediolanum, as it was known in antiquity), is hidden within museums, inside churches, palaces, and in the underground excavations, often found squeezed between today's structures.
the city's major period of development was the renaissance, which coincided with princely rule of milan. during this period, the sforzesco castle and the filarete tower were built, with parco sempione just behind, in the heart of the city and in view of the cathedral, a great symbol of milan's power at the time, and a fine example of the gothic style. next to piazza duomo is the vittorio emanuele ii gallery, considered the "living room" of milan for its elegance and for interior shops. one of the best-known buildings is the neo-classical palazzo reale, alongside the cathedral, now hosting art exhibitions. not far away is the ambrosiana library and painting gallery, with its rich collection of canvases by great artists such as caravaggio, titian, and raphael. then, the brera gallery, in the eponymous district, hosts another major collection of italian paintings, including masterpieces the caliber of the dead christ by andrea mantenga. the poldi pezzoli museum, rather, is regarded as one of the largest museums in europe for number of works. hidden away is santa maria delle grazie, a church bearing the work of bramante (in the church and old sacristy) and leonardo da vinci, whose beloved the last supper is housed in the refectory of the convent annexed to the church.
marrying culture and sports, and certainly one of the city's most iconic structures, is milan's san siro stadium, that hosts the first and only museum inside a soccer stadium. the museum narrates the history of milan's two teams, inter and milan, by way of singular "relics" from the sport's history.
so much artistic wealth should not overshadow the nearby towns in the rest of the province, boasting a few artistic treasures of their own: castles, villas, abbeys and palaces. one of the most important is monza with its villa reale, its park and its cathedral.
in corbetta, the casa corbellino or castelletto is a typical example of a building constructed over the remains of a castle, later restored and expanded. in novate milanese, the casa de? busti and the oratory of saints nazaro and celso (gesiò) are typical examples of a noble residence and an oratory dating back to the 16th century. of great interest in abbiategrasso is the church of santa maria nuova, whose facade is adorned with the large porticoes designed by bramante. just a few miles away, on high ground dominating the ticino valley, stands the abbey of morimondo, an exemplar of fine cistercian architecture from the 12th century.?
milan's medieval abbeys are also unique draws: chiaravalle and morimondo of the cistercian order, viboldone and mirasole of the humiliati order. north of the regional capital, the elegant villas offer parks and nymphaeums of incomparable beauty; to the east of the city, on the river adda, art meets nature and offers magnificent examples of industrial architecture amidst the natural surroundings: the hydroelectric power station of taccani at trezzo sull?adda is one of these.
castles are another piece of the territorial assets. the castello borromeo d?adda stands on the river banks of the muzza at cassano d?adda, and dates from the 9th century; restoration works here have even uncovered frescoes from the school of giotto. in legnano, the castello di san giorgio was built atop a pre-existing augustinian convent in the 13th century. in cusago, the visconti castle is regarded as a major example of castle architecture in the region. and finally, in the zone south of milan reside san colombano al lambro and the castello belgioioso, in addition to casalpusterlengo, with its crenellated tower of pusterla.
milan is most known for industry, finance and fashion, but a greener milan of arcadian beauty absolutely exists: think winding rivers, e.g. the adda that forms rapids and canyons in the northern area of trezzo; and the ticino, traversing wood-abundant lands and small islands, and protected by the natural freshwater park, perhaps the largest in europe. the enitre zone is even crossed by channeled, often subterranean waters first created by monks from the middle ages, whose labor improved the po river valley. later, leonardo da vinci lived here during the sforzas' dominance, inventing a system - the famous navigli milanesi - to regulate the canals' water levels and make them navigable.
