This is one of the most beautiful churches I have seen in Italy…read more Considered the "Sistine Chapel" of Milano, San Maurizio is overwhelmingly blessed with walls and ceilings decorated by one of the masters of frescoes Bernardino Luini and his sons. Entering through the doorway of the Archeological Museum, you walk to the left to the entrance. Once inside, your eyes are mesmerized by the frescoes of men and women dressed in flowing robes as appropriate in the mid-1500s. There is a huge organ on the second floor looming over wooden choir seats. The frescoes are on a wall separating the church where the general masses sit and the hidden portion of the church where nuns par tipster in the service. The towards the back are frescoes from passages of the Bible such as Noah's Ark, the passion of Christ, etc. The volume of art was spectacular. Having just been restored the color are so freshr-looking you could be looking at the scenes as they would have appeared when the Master artists finished their work. Entrance is free but please do tmake a donation to support this incredible treasure.

The Duomo is Milan's most beautiful church by exterior, but he has a competitor for the most…read morebeautiful church by interior: San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, a former nunnery! Behind a virtually nonexistence facade, San Maurizio hides perhaps one of the most ornate church interiors and can actually compete with the famous Sistine Chapel. From the moment you step in the door - assuming you finally find the right door - you will be awed by the incredibly colorful paintings that surround you! Despite being in a small room, the vast amount of the beautiful paintings can spell-bind you for a while. Additionally, for the first time in history, you as a public member can finally pass through the partition wall into the previously restricted nunnery hall! Like the public worship hall across the wall, the nunnery hall is also filled with paintings. However, while the worship hall paintings are intended to awe the public the divine grace with vibrant colors, the nunnery hall paintings intend to invoke piety with serenely-colored examples of female saints. You can admire for a few minutes or examine for hours, but this church is certainly a sight that you should not miss! Did I miss it's free to enter? --- tl;dr version: 1) Perhaps Milan's most beautiful interior 2) Small spaces that are filled with marvelous paintings 3) Free sight that should not be missed

This former abbey was a rare treat to visit as a foreign tourist. Located in the tiny rural village…read moreof Morimondo, approximately an hour from central Milan, you'll find this beautiful former Cistercian monastery. Construction was begun in 1134 and not completed until 1296, and while the decoration may seem simple compared to many other Italian religious buildings, it is gorgeous and a lovely example of Gothic architecture. You will want to arrange with a tour guide to visit in order to have access to all rooms, including the scriptorium. Our English-speaking guide was excellent and I learned not just about this particular structure but the philosophy of the monks in their architectural choices and designs, how they lived and worshipped, and how and why they ended up in this location to begin with. I believe there is also a minimum group price for the tour visits; since it was (very) off season when we were there the organizer apologized for the fact that we had to pay the full group price for just three people but it was still very much worth it - and we were given a beautiful signed portfolio of watercolor prints of the abbey to "make up" the difference.

Beautiful church and monastery complex well worth visiting if you are touring the area - and catch…read moreit during the limited opening hours. The front half of the church is open to all during those open hours (I wish there was more lighting on the paintings and chapels as they are hard to see in great detail otherwise...or at least working light boxes you could turn on briefly for a coin or two). To get into the rest of the church/monastery complex we had to wait until a monk gave a guided tour...seemed to be once every 45 minutes or so. The tour was only in Italian so be sure to read about the complex before your visit. Was neat to see the tomb of Ludovico Sforza and his wife Beatrice. At the end of the tour is a small museum you can visit if you have time (we didn't) and a shop where the monks sell chocolates, soaps, souvenirs and really potent liquors (including Gocce Imperiali).

Best known for its Ossuary, a small side chapel with high walls that is almost all entirely…read moredecorated with human bones. The origin story is a cemetery was running out of room and bones started to get stored in this small chapel, it continued to be added to and decorated with human remains. They are all arranged decoratively and form patterns, the most interesting ones to me are the giant crosses on opposing walls. It's macabre and not for everyone but it was one of the first destinations I want to go to. The good thing is they open at 8am for early risers and its a good way to avoid the inventible crowds in this tiny room. From the main church you turn left down a dark hallway to get to the Ossuary. The entrance is small and people will crowd around as this is the main attratcion. Outside on the right side is another large church you can go into, the lighting is insane and the time I went light happened to be falling quietly and elegantly on some empty chairs. This church is HUGE and much larger than it appears on the outside. Getting in is kind of confusing since they doors aren't open and aren't clearly marked but worth checking out as well.

San Bernardino alle Ossa is known for having an Ossuary Chapel clad in human bones. This was by far…read morethe craziest thing I saw in Milan, and I would highly recommend checking it out. This church of medieval origin stands on the site of an ancient cemetery. It was rebuilt several times (it was destroyed by the collapse of the old bell tower of Santo Stefano in 1642 and by fire in 1712). The building, designed by Carlo Giuseppe Merlo, was finished in 1754. It has a central floor plan and a dome with elliptical oculi. An atrium leads to the Ossuary Chapel, a square chamber with frescoed ceiling whose every architectural detail is clad in human bones. There must be thousands of former human beings in there... I can't confirm if this is true, but allegedly, the bones are from people who died of the plague.

Most people come to Milan for the fashion and to see the Duomo di Milano, but my main reason?…read moreConnecting with my Christian roots and seeing The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. This painting is known all over the world--whether you're religious or not, it's hard to NOT know this painting. Seeing it in person is just as breathtaking as expected. Highly recommend: set your calendar and book tickets at the earliest time 3 months in advance! Though you can hire a tour guide, I didn't find it necessary, since I found everything I needed to know about the Last Supper via AI. Since tickets are strictly timed, show up a bit earlier than your slot. Tickets allot a 15-minute viewing time. Once the 15-minutes are up, you WILL be escorted as a group out to allow for the next group.

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a must visit in Milan!! It houses the masterpiece of Leonardo da…read moreVinci's The Last Supper painting in the refectory. The church is gorgeous. It's quieter and more peaceful compared to the city center. We came mostly for The Last Supper painting. We booked our tickets months in advance through Get Your Guide. Our tour guide was awesome and we got to know the history of the church and the materials used by Leonardo da Vinci in his paintings. When you get inside the refectory, they only let a small number of people inside for 15 minutes at a time. Once your time is up, you exit while the next group comes in for their 15 minutes. And the same process repeats itself. Just know that there is a no flash policy when taking pictures of The Last Supper to preserve the paining.

In late November of 2024,I spent a delightful morning relishing this Cistercian Monastic Complex…read moreoriginally created in the 12th Century.I saw and appreciated its awesome bell tower,church,and cloister.Chiaravalle was a major agricultural center in the Medieval and Renaissance Period. In the interior of this special church,I saw fine paintings produced in the Renaissance Period by Bernardino Luini("Madonna on the Throne With Christ Child"),Giovanni and Giovan Mauro Della Rovere(Fiamingo Brothers,"Foundation of Abbey of Chiaravalle"),and Bramantino(frescoes).The abbey's church,bell tower,and cloister are fine examples of Gothic Architecture.The booklet "Chiaravalle Abbey Milan"written in English and sold at the abbey's shop for a very reasonable price helped me appreciate this religious complex more.You can reach this abbey by bus from the Milan Metro (Bus#77 from the Corvetto Metro Station).

The Abbey of Santa Maria di Rovegnano (Latin: Sanctæ Mariæ Clarævallis Mediolanensis) is a…read moreCistercian monastic complex in Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. The borgo that has developed round the abbey was once an independent commune called Chiaravalle Milanese, now included in Milan and referred to as the Chiaravalle district. The abbey was founded in 1135 (!!!) and it is one of the first examples of Gothic architecture in Italy, although maintaining some late Romanesque influences. Curiously, the church tower is known in the local dialect as Ciribiciaccola. Agriculture and Grana Padano Here as elsewhere in the Po valley the Cistercians, and later the Benedictines, were known for their industry in clearing the thickets and woodland and in draining the marshes so as to establish up-to-date agriculture practices based on a system of large farming establishments called granges. The origins of the hard Italian granular cheese known generically as grana--the best known examples today being Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano (or Parmesan)--are traditionally ascribed to the monks of Chiaravalle. The weekly meetings with your art history teacher ends here. See you soon on Channel Yelp;)