Despite its worldwide reputation as the economic capital of Italy, there is more to Milan than just the Piazza Affari stock exchange, its technology and industry. Recognised as one of the European leaders in fashion and design, the city is also a major “exhibition centre”. In 2015, it was the venue of one of the most important events in the world, EXPO, which played host to the official presentation of the 2016 Giro d’Italia.
Milan is also rich in art, and there is much to explore in the city of the “Madonnina”, which boasts a long tradition in literature, art, music and science. The city’s large museum network includes Museo della Pietà Rondanini, MUDEC, Cenacolo Vinciano, Pinacoteca di Brera, Museo Nazionale della Scienza e Tecnologia “Leonardo Da Vinci”, Museo del Novecento, Villa Reale, Triennale Design Museum and Museo San Siro.
One may even claim that Milan was Leonardo’s city. The Last Supper, the Atlantic Codex, the Naviglio Grande gates, as well as frescoes, paintings and myriad drawings and designs are part of the heritage that Leonardo – an architect, engineer, inventor, scientist and artist – left behind during the 20 years he spent in the city. The church of Santa Maria delle Grazie holds one of the most famous religious artworks of the Renaissance, “The Last Supper”, a mural that Leonardo da Vinci painted between 1495 and 1497, as commissioned by Ludovico Il Moro, Duke of Milan.