The dynamo behind the country's
"economic miracle",
MILAN is a city like no other in
Italy. It's foggy in winter, muggy in summer, and is closer in
outlook, as well as distance, to London than to Palermo. This
is no city of peeling palazzi, cobbled piazzas and
la dolce
vita , but one in which time is money, the pace fast, and
where consumerism and the work-ethic rule the lives of its
power-dressed citizens.
Because of this most people pass straight through, and if
it's summer and you're keen for sun and sea this might well be
the best thing you can do; the weather, in August especially,
can be off-puttingly humid. But at any other time of year it's
well worth giving Milan more of a chance. It's a historic
city, with enough churches and museums to keep you busy for a
week - the Accademia Brera, duomo and the church of Santa
Maria delle Grazie - but there are also parks and cafés to
relax in, and the contemporary aspects of the place represent
the leading edge of Italy's fashion and design industry
The CityHistoric Milan
lies at the centre of a web of streets, within the inner
Cerchia dei Navigli , which follows the route of the medieval
city walls. Piazza del Duomo is the city centre's main
orientation point: most of the city's major...
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