If you have found a vacation rental in Milan and are planning on spending time in the city, there is lots to see and do. However, we'd like suggest something that might not have already featured in your plans heavily, or at all: a visit to Milan's Planetarium.
The Civic Planetarium “Ulrico Hoepli” of Milan is an institute for communication and education in astronomy and related sciences like physics and astronautics. It is the largest and most important planetarium in all of Italy. Located on the edge of the Gardens of Porta Venezia, in the Porta Venezia district of Milan, a stone's throw from the Natural History Museum, it was established in 1930. Designed by architect Piero Portaluppi for Ulrico Hoepli, an editor and publisher, who donated it to the city upon its inauguration.
The Civic Planetarium “Ulrico Hoepli” of Milan is an institute for communication and education in astronomy and related sciences like physics and astronautics. It is the largest and most important planetarium in all of Italy. Located on the edge of the Gardens of Porta Venezia, in the Porta Venezia district of Milan, a stone's throw from the Natural History Museum, it was established in 1930. Designed by architect Piero Portaluppi for Ulrico Hoepli, an editor and publisher, who donated it to the city upon its inauguration.
Hoepli had lived in a small farm-village in the canton of Thurgau, in Switzerland as a child and had an incredible view of the stars every night there. In 1870, he moved to Milan to work in a small library and went on to become an incredibly successful publisher. Despite his success in his adoptive city, however, he missed the starry skies that were blocked by a haze of fog that surrounded Milan. His solution was to build a planetarium as a magical, if synthetic, way to take in the starry night sky whenever he wanted. A planetarium is a projection system that realistically reproduces the starry night sky and astronomical phenomena and Milan's planetarium generally offers guided projections every Saturday and Sunday afternoon.
The building has an octagonal base and an overall capacity of 300 seats. The dome-shaped screen is decorated with the silhouette of the Milan skyline as it was in 1930 and the stars are created by Zeiss IV star projector, which has been in use since 1968.
The building has an octagonal base and an overall capacity of 300 seats. The dome-shaped screen is decorated with the silhouette of the Milan skyline as it was in 1930 and the stars are created by Zeiss IV star projector, which has been in use since 1968.
The planetarium boasts around 100,000 visitors a year and is often home to special events, conference and meetings. There are guided star-gazing tours for beginners, scientific lectures for experts and various educational events for children and young adults including musical performances and plays so literally anyone can get involved and enjoy this incredible attraction. Full-price tickets are €5 and we can't of a better deal or a better way to spend a calm afternoon in Milan.
Photo credits
Picture 2: Stefano Stabile / CC BY-SA 3.0
Picture 2: Stefano Stabile / CC BY-SA 3.0
