Duomo

In a short while we were at the Duomo. It surprised me because it did not have the Renaissance design that I would expect in Rome or Florence. Instead, the architecture was clearly Baroque in nature, and very ornate. I was assured that this was a result of the church taking so long to finish, and that while the facade was Baroque, the interior retained a very gothic shape and design. It was very neat to see a large cathedral like this because I had not been in Europe for several years, and although I had seen so many churches on my last trip, it is always fun to see new things, especially if it is after so long. 

The cathedral is at the center of the Piazza, and there are many more interesting buildings framing the square, including the Galleria. It has a very impressive gate in the shape of a triumph arch that leads into the covered space. The shape of the whole space is basically a cross, with stores along the sides, and the roof is glass that brings in an interesting atmosphere, and the center of the cross, there is a glass dome that is impressive. It might sound silly, but my first acquaintance with the Galleria was in a car racing video game, in which you drive through the Galleria. Seeing this in real life was a more fascinating experience.

Walking a little bit further, past the Galleria, we came upon another smaller square where La Scalla Opera house was. It was very nice to see, but it did not surprise me that of the fifteen or so operas on the summer schedule, the newest one was more than 75 years old. I suspect I can't expect them to play my own operas just yet.

After that, we got lost in the small streets of the neighborhood. That was a lot of fun, and reminded me of all the charm that being in an Italian city should be for tourists. Many of these small streets have since been closed to automobile traffic (which were probably too small for many cars in any case), so were perfect for walking. After wandering these streets to find our way back to where we had originally come out of the subway, we decided that we were too worn out to walk back to the apartment, so when we found a subway station, we went in, and headed home.