Mailand

Milan is where Italy goes to work and to dress. Milan Cathedral took nearly six centuries to finish and carries some 3,400 statues; its roof is walked among the spires, with the Alps closing the horizon. Beside it the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, an arcade of glass and iron opened in 1877, still shelters the city's oldest cafés, and Teatro alla Scala has been judging opera singers since 1778. Art is dense here: the Pinacoteca di Brera for the Italian masters, the Museo del Cenacolo Vinciano for Leonardo's Last Supper, painted straight onto a convent wall and shown to small timed groups. Sforza Castle holds Michelangelo's unfinished final Pietà, with Parco Sempione spread behind it. Evenings run on aperitivo, and the kitchen is rich and northern: saffron risotto, breaded veal, panettone. Lake Como and Lake Maggiore lie an hour out.