The Noble Milan: Entering the House of The Barons Bagatti Valsecchi

 Hello, my friends! Welcome to My Own Italy to discover Italy with my personal touch!
Our travel today is to Lombardy and we are going to the historical center of Milan to visit an ancient house: the Barons Bagatti Valsecchi Museum.

 The Bagatti Valsecchi Museum is situated in the historical center of the city: the most famous center, I mean the one of Montenapoleone and of the most cool and trendy streets.
  The so-called “noble” floor of the Bagatti Valsecchi mansion, restructured in the 1880s in the Neo-Renaissance style, houses the splendid home of the brothers Fausto and Giuseppe Bagatti Valsecchi.

The Lombard Renaissance art and decorative arts collections of the barons Bagatti Valsecchi are displayed in their home as they wished them to be.

In this way, the rich collection of paintings and 15th-16th century objects was melded with the rooms destined to contain it in order to form a fascinating unified ambiance . 

 Paintings by Old Masters, such as Giovanni Bellini or Giampietrino, majolica, Renaissance glass, 15th century furnishings, ivory, objects in precious metals, arms and armor compose the exceptionally rich patrimony of the house museum.

Everything has been haused to embellish the striking rooms created under the careful supervision of the two Bagatti Valsecchi brothers. 

The visit to this beautiful House, that you can't miss while visiting the cities of art in Italy, is even more exciting if you can count on a very special guide; I was so lucky as I had the good fortune to be accompanied by Stella: she is so prepared and so kind, really a nice lady of the house!

Leisure with me: this is my tourism!
 

Montevecchia: enjoy a breathtaking view of Milan and Brianza

Hello, my friends! Welcome again to My Own Italy to discover Italy with my personal Touch!
Ou travel today is to Lombardy and I'd like to suggest you a pleasant trip from Milan to a destination in the Alpine foothills of the rich and aristocratic Brianza: Montevecchia!

Montevecchia is a small town situated in the north of Milan;due to the geographical location (located on a hill about 500 meters above sea level) has a very particular climate more mild in winter and less hot in the summer ... a real treat!

Montevecchia has prehistoric origins: in the surrounding park, at the end of the seventies, were found two camps dating back to Neanderthal and human sapiens, dated respectively the first and the second in 60,000 years to 32,000. These settlements are among the oldest in Lombardy! 

 The word "Montevecchia" is believed to be due to a Roman fortress which was located in place of the actual sanctuary, surrounded by a circle of protective walls of more than 800 meters long. The original name was Mons Vigiliae (Watchtower).
 In the highest point of the hill of Montevecchia there is the Sanctuary of  Beata Vergine del Carmelo  of medieval origins. They think that this church was one of the first built by the Lombards.
     The lombard church on the top of Montevecchia resisted until 1570, when a fire due to "the neglect of the priest" (read by the acts of the visit of St. Charles Borromeo) completely destroyed both the vestments and the church vestments. In 1924 the current sanctuary was dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

  In Montevecchia you can also admire Villa Albertoni-Agnesi, home of the world-famous mathematical Gaetana Agnesi .
It was built in '700. The main entrance and the wrought iron balcony above, the staircase, the balustrade carved in garlands intertwined with "putti", are a clear reference to Rococo style. The beautiful Italian garden was perfectly preserved.

Cyclists are enthusiastic visitors of the slope leading to Montevecchia. Once you reach the top you can enjoy a truly breathtaking landscape!! 

Of course, there is nothing better than a meal outdoors enjoying this magnificent view: I suggest you to have a break at Tavern Galeazzino , and taste a typical menu of this place: cold cuts, cheese and good wine!  

Leisure me: this is my tourism! 

Milan: Discover Gallerie d'Italia Museum, Piazza Scala

Milan, Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery (Italy)

Hello, my friends! Welcome in My Own Italy!
Today I suggest you a different itinery in Milan, away from the most famous tourist destinations; you know that I love to let you discover Italy with My Personal Touch!

In the very center of the city, Piazza  Scala, you can visit a new museum: Gallerie d'Italia .

Symbols of the history of Milan, the buildings that together form the architectural complex that houses the Galleries were designed by leading Italian architects between the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century.

The Galleries, Milan (Italy)

The exhibition Twentieth Century Worksite presents Italian art of the second half of the 20th century, in a selection of approximately 200 art works from the Intesa Sanpaolo collections.

Organised into 12 sections, they are enriched by the inclusion of sculptures, by a themed study dedicated to Colour as a plastic form.


If you want, you can enjoy a short presentation of the Galleries in this video:

 

This is me inside the Galleries

The art works of the twentieth century are organized in 12 sections and 2 single-subject itineraries. The leading artistic movements of the period –  Informal Art , Spatialism ,  Nuclear Art, Concrete Art Movement , Kinetic and Programmed Art, Arte Povera, Conceptual Art  and Italian Pop Art  – are retraced through the most important artists.

The Galleries (Milan, Piazza Scala)

For me it was a really exiting experience: not only for the incredible richness of the works in the exhibition, but also because you can play with multimedia screens and customize your itinerary and deepen the arguments that you prefer.

The Galleries, Milan (Italy)

I hope that while you are visiting Milan, you can have enough time to visit this art Gallery.
Milan in the capital not only of fashion, but also of Italian art and design!!



Ciao, 
Carlotta

A Medieval Village near Milan: The Castle of Grazzano Visconti

The Castle of Grazzano Visconti, nearby Milan

Welcome, my friends!!
Are you ready to discover a medieval village nearby Milan? Here, in My Own Italy of course!

The Castle of Grazzano Visconti was built in 1395, perhaps on an existing structure, for Beatrice Visconti, the sister of Gian Galeazzo Visconti.  

It remained the property of the Anguissola family until 1870 when Count Philip died without any heir, and the Castle passed to his wife Fanny born Visconti di Modrone, who left her possessions to his nephew Grazzano Guido Visconti di Modrone.

The Castle of Grazzano Visconti

The castle has a quadrangular plan with towers on the four corners.
Built of stone and brick, the alternation of the two materials is used in decorative key with alternating bands and the use of profiles in cooked on the bottom stone.  

The Castle of Grazzano Visconti

The buildings form three sides of the assembly, the fourth is closed by a wall crenellated.  

The entrance was made possible by a drawbridge, of which the traces, over the moat, still exists.

The large park surrounding the castle is about 150,000 m2, and contains: the church, the Duke's studio, the viewpoint that looms over Rio Grazzano, the labyrinth, the Italian garden and several specimens of trees.

My son Francesco in The Italian Garden @ Grazzano Visconti

Through guided tours organized by the tourist board park is now open to the charge at certain times of the year.
   

Carlotta at Grazzano Visconti (Piacenza)

Today a tourist destination, the village is home to shops and eateries and is animated with historical reenactments and costume parties!

 

Hope to have your comments!

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Ciao! Carlotta