Milan, the golden quadrilateral of fashion

Large, vibrant and active the province of Milan is the second most populated in Italy. Its territory covers the stretch of the Po Valley and includes the rivers Ticino and Adda west to the east. Milan is an area characterized by "waterways": rivers and canals sometimes delimit the boundaries, the Navigli Milanesi, ancient roads between the major waterways .

Just along the course of these rivers you can see farms and villages such as CornelianoBertario with the BorromeoCastle and historic buildings as those in Inzago near the Martesana and the VilloresiCanal considered the longest man-made canal in Italy.

This Canal is perceived as the southern boundary of the Brianza, considered a region of Lombardy, where the mountains, lakes, plains stand magnificently.

Six Regional Parks enrich the area around Milan: NorthAddaPark , SouthMilanAgriculturalPark , GroanePark , North Park Milan, Parco della Valle delLambro and the LombardPark of the TicinoValley . Half of the province of Milan is characterized by agricultural land and rivers, recognized as a protected area with different and very interesting natural and architectural landscapes.

The era of major development was the Renaissance which has largely coincided with the period of the Lords. The Castello Sforzesco and the Torre del Filarete are just amazing 'outputs' of that age, with Sempione Park behind, located in the heart of the city of Milan, to watch the Duomo, a magnificent Gothic representation of the power of the lords of the city at the time.

On the side of Piazza Duomo stands the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II , the living room of Milan, not only for its beauty but also for its elegant shops. Among the palaces, the most known is the neoclassical Royal Palace, next to the Cathedral, which now hosts major art exhibitions.

Not far from the PinacotecaAmbrosiana exhibits there is a rich collection of paintings by artists such as Caravaggio, Tiziano and Raffaello. In the district, the Brera Gallery holds one of the major collections of Italian paintings with masterpieces such as the "Dead Christ"  by Andrea Mantegna. And speaking of masterpieces , another gallery, the MuseoPoldiPezzoli is considered, for the amount of art pieces there collected, one of the most important museum in Europe.

The more hidden Santa Mariadelle Grazie is a temple which bears the signatures of Bramante, for the church and the old sacristy and Leonardo 's for its "Last Supper" a masterpiece kept in the refectory of the convent near the church.

At the San Siro Stadium, that is certainly one of the most representative stadium in Milan you can visit the Museum, the first and only in Italy host in a stadium, which tells the story of the two historic soccer teams Inter and AC Milan, through a collection of unique memorabilia.

Milan is arguably the fashion capital of Italian and international haute couture and pret-a-porter.

The city is home to many jewelers, designer boutiques and unique furniture, and many ateliers that naturally give to the city the important name of "Golden Quadrilateral of Fashion". So named because bounded by four streets - Via Monte Napoleone, Via Manzoni , Via dellaSpiga and Corso Venezia - the " The Fashion district" is the area where the best fashion designers offer their amazing creations. Shopping lovers come, in fact, from all over the world to buy clothes in these famous ateliers or just to admire these perfect clothing creations.  Walking through the Quadrilateral is a unique opportunity for tourists to experience the magic atmosphere of Milan between the lights of the shops, the elegance of the environment, the colored windows , the charm of perfumes surrounded by the best brands in the world: Armani , Versace , Alberta Ferretti , Dolce &Gabbana , Prada , Fendi, Louis Vuitton , Chanel , BottegaVeneta , Gucci , Bvlgari, Cartier , Valentino and Gianfranco Ferre.

Heart of the neighborhood is definitely via Monte Napoleone, considered among the most expensive and prestigious streets in the world like Fifth Avenue in New York City and the Avenue des Champs Elysees in Paris. The street name dates back to 1804 , during the Napoleonic domination . Already at that time Milan was full of foreigners, crowded in the city for business and pleasure, but it was in the fifties that the road stands out as one of the most important shopping world.

The whole Fashion District is indeed made of very elegant streets like Via Borgospesso , via Santo Spirito, Via Gesù , via Sant'Andrea and via Bagutta and the entire area is very much alive from a cultural point of view as well. Among these beautiful boutiques in fact, there are several places, historic and prestigious buildings such as the museums BaghattiValsecchi, Palazzo Morando , the New Museum of Costume and Fashion , Grand Hotel de Milan , where people such as Giuseppe Verdi lived there, the church of San Francesco di Paola , the 18th century Palazzo ScottiGallerati and the Palazzo Borromeo d' Adda.

Fashionable stores, but also department stores, jewelry and antique shops, old buildings, museums, cafes, cinemas and bookshops make the trendy and chic Milan an enchanting destination .

And we did not speak about the food yet. Among the cheeses we should mention the Grana Padano  and Gorgonzola, the Stravecchio  and the Crescenza. Among the sausages Milan is famous for the typical grain-of-rice salami, the sausage of Monza , a typical sausage used in Lombardy to flavor rice dishes and soups in winter. The frogs omelet recipes , risotto with saffron, risotto with pumpkin, cabbage soup, the tripe, the casoela , mixed boiled meats and the famous Wiener Schnitzel are just ones in a multitude of famous recipes.  Among the desserts, instead, panettone is the symbol of Milan and it only prepared for Christmas; then the raisin bread, cake heaven with mascarpone and charlotte à la Milanese, a sweet made with fruit, apples and pears. Definitely a must to try!!