Day 4 Milan: exploring some of the Naviglio, Sforza Museum.

Exhausted from yesterday’s marathon effort, we had a slow day today.  When we finally emerged from the apartment, we strolled the 2 kilometres to the navigli, the canals of Milan.  These were apparently built  to drain the areas and to connect Milan to the lakes.  Rumour has it that  Da Vinci was involved in the planning.  Without these canals, the Duomo could not have been built.

Walking along the Via Savona, we passed through several socio-economic suburbs - from our rather  lower middle class one to a higher class and then down again.  It is quite interesting what makes these class differences stand out.  The upkeep of the apartments, the security guards, the plantings, the shops all have an influence on one’s judgements, as does the clothing of the inhabitants. Near the canals, the cafes suddenly became Asian - Japanese and Chinese- then it is back to Italian ones again.

Our first view of the Darsena looked a bit dispiriting and grubby with all the sterile concrete and unkempt air.

But mounting the bridge and looking the other way, which was bordered by grass,  it looked very inviting.  Although the water looked murky, the presence of large carp indicated that it must not be that dirty.

 Crossing to the narrower Naviglio Grande, we could see what the fuss is about.  The water runs rapidly, carrying water weeds, and it is clear.  We were lucky enough to see schoolboys practising their rowing and chanting as they went.

 

The buildings are attractive and the ground floors house lots of restaurants and shops.

 

We popped into the Santa Maria delle Grazie which is a bit of an ugly  hotch potch  from the outside.  Inside, it has been renovated in the 20th century, so the stained glass windows are very modern, which was a bit odd.

 

We visited the charming Centro dell’Incisione  Alzaia Naviglio Grande and bought some lovely little etchings.  I was also greatly impressed by the beautiful plantings and decorations.

 

 

 

 

Even some of the unrenovated buildings along the canal had their own charm.

 

I wouldn’t mind coming back again and exploring  the surrounding areas.

After that, we returned to the Sforza Museum for a brief look before they closed.

 

The prehistory section was interesting.  I always am amazed that so much has survived.

 

Some of the curating seemed a bit odd to my uneducated eyes. We found it interesting that the focus in this section was on the influences from the north of Italy rather than from the south.  I was a bit bewildered as to why  neolithic tool use was illustrated by modern photos of what I think were Papua New Guineans.  We ran out of time, so yet another visit is needed.

After that, we strolled along Via Dante for some Gelati and a bit of shopping. A quieter day, but we still did a lot!