May Day in Milan

Since today is May 1^st, this was not a typical day in Milan.  May Day for Milanese is similar to Labor Day in the US, but there is a HUGE political parade/celebration involving communists, anarchists, and socialists.  Many shops and places of business were shut down for the day in recognition of the holiday.  The parade also caused traffic jams and public transportation, as well as blockades and many, many heavily armed police.  That being said, the parade seemed pretty tame – mostly young people, loud music and drinking.  We still found ways to keep ourselves entertained, but it involved lots of hoofing it around the city.

This morning we started off taking the tram, then the underground train towards Doumo. 

The Duoma originally started construction in 1387 and took over 500 years to complete.

The Duomo

The original thought behind the cathedral was to house all of the population (back then it was only 40,000) of Milan.  There are several different types of architecture, since styles changed over the 500-year construction, but it has a definite medieval feel.

Inside the Duomo they don't allow any immodesty, so I covered up with my scarf :)

Nothing to do with Milan, this sculpture is actually on loan from NYC, but Joe was a fan, so I snapped an image

We strolled through Parco Sempione, past the castle and came upon the notorious Arco della Pace (Arch of Peace).  This arch was started in 1807 and finished in 1838.  It was reminiscent of Paris’ Arch de Triumph!

Arco della Pace

Detail in the main arch

With sunny, 72 degree weather, we were lucky to find a table at an outdoor café for lunch, complete with a view of the Arco della Pace.  It was lovely to kick back and soak up some sunshine.

At Deseo, the outdoor cafe

After lunch, we made our way to the Basilica di Sant’Ambrogio.  We lit some candles and checked out the corpse of St Ambrose who was Milan’s patron Saint.  He founded the Basilica in AD 379.

Joe and I lighting candles in the Basilica

The patron Saint is laid to rest in the middle and has a martyr on each side of him - creepy!!

In the late afternoon, the parade was unavoidable, here’s a shot of the May Day parade…definitely something important to young political activists here in Milan.

May Day Parade

Tomorrow we move on to Lake Maggiore via train.  It is located on the south side of the Alps and is the second largest lake in Italy.  The weather is forecasted to be in the high 70s/low 80s, so we look forward to more sunshine.  Ciao!