Bed and breakfast accommodation in Milan Monasteries

Italy’s economic capital, Milan is a fast-paced, hard-working city, which expanded in the 19th-century from its historic core into a sprawl of wide streets and neoclassical and art nouveau buildings. Its sights span the city’s history, with traces of the original Roman city of Mediolanum and superb buildings dating from the 13th – 16th centuries. Factor in a stupendous cathedral, some ancient churches, a world-famous opera house, top class galleries and museums, and it’s clear there’s more to Milan than high-end retail therapy.

On the secular side, don’t miss the Pinacoteca di Brera, a superb art gallery, the Castello Sforzesco, the 15th-century stronghold of the ruling family, and La Scala Opera House. Shoppers should hit the glass-roofed 19th-century Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the world’s first mall, or stroll the streets known as the Quadrilatero d’Oro, home to every fashion label imaginable. Head out towards the suburbs to the re-vamped Navigli zone with its canals, or take in the HangarBiccoca, a huge and innovative contemporary art space. 

Roman Mediolanum was the capital of the Western Roman Empire from 286 AD, and Christianity replaced the Roman gods when Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 AD. This paved the way for the new religion to become dominant throughout Europe, and  Milan has three superb religious complexes, spanning the ages, that perfectly illustrate the role Christianity has taken in the city. 

The oldest is Sant’Ambrogio, founded in the 4th century and an outstanding Lombard-Romanesque church, dedicated to St Ambrose, Milan’s patron. A thousand years later, in 1386, work commenced on the Duomo, the world’s largest Gothic cathedral, which was finally completed nearly 500 years later. Its crypt is the resting place of St Charles Borromeo, who worked with the poor in the 16th century.  The third great religious site is the church and monastery of Santa Maria della Grazie, whose refectory houses Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. Milan is rich in churches, basilicas and monasteries, and the Milanese still celebrate St Ambrose’s feast with a festival and market.