Archive for 'Northwest Italy'

HangarBicocca is a contemporary art space in Milan. A former industrial space previously owned by Ansaldo-Breda in the area which was once dominated by Pirelli factories, it was converted to house exhibitions and events. The area has become urbanised and trendy with shops, houses and galleries popping up all around since HangarBiccoca's opening. With a unique approach to organising events, utilising space and involving the general public as well as a rather special site, the HangarBicocca is one of the most interesting contemporary art spaces in the world.

Milan is not only the fashion capital of Italy but one of the major fashion capitals of the world, hosting one of the key global fashion weeks each season. If you're visiting the city, it's hard not to be aware of how stylish its citizens are, or of fashion itself. Presumably, any tourists who are even vaguely interested in this part of Milan's heritage will want to bring a little piece home with them. However, unlike other cities such as Paris, there isn't quite the international understanding of where to shop in Milan. So, to help you out, we've rounded up a list of some of the best places and shops to visit on your next trip. Find a holiday rental in Milan and shop until you drop.

The Cathedral of St. Ambrose is a building in Lombardy with roots going as far back as the tenth century, though the present structure dates to the sixteenth.

It is the seat of the Bishop of Vigevano and the current building was commissioned by Duke Francesco II Sforza in 1530.

Dedicated to St. Ambrose, it was designed by Antonio da Lonate and thought it was begun shortly afterwards, work was not completed until 1612.

With beautiful painted interiors, a newer Baroque façade and a famous treasury and museum inside, it is a typical Italian cathedral in many ways.

Napoleon's Edict of Saint-Cloud forbade burials within churches and towns in 1804. Up until that point, people clamoured to be buried on the grounds of the churches that they had attended all their lives but room was swiftly running out and the bodies were unhelpful to the outbreaks of disease and plague that occurred over the centuries. A cholera epidemic, and sudden multiplying of the death-toll, in 1835 further hastened the move to have bodies buried in monumental cemeteries on the outskirts of towns. These same concerns were what led to the establishment of great park cemeteries in Paris and London but lesser known is the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno in Genoa.

The Fiat Lingotto Factory in Turin was built in the 1920s and was the largest and most modern car manufacturing plant in Europe and second in the world at the time. It is five storeys high with a test track atop the roof and cars were moved upwards from floor to floor to be tested on the track when completed. The factory was eventually closed in 1982 but, thankfully, didn't fall into ruin as such places usually do. In 1985, it was converted and made into a multi-purpose centre that still retained the original architectural identity of the structure. It is now used commercially by various companies and businesses and is readily accessible to the public. If you want to see this amazing roof-top track for yourself, find a villa with pool in Piedmont and make your way to Turin.