Tuesday, April 12, 2016

ROW Lecture Tour 2016 - Milan



And so to Italy and the city of Milan. Here I was able to spend a couple of days with my friend and student Giovanni. Some would describe this part of my journey as from "the sublime to the riciculous", having flown from the tropical heat of India to the wintery and cold conditions of Italy. And I must admit that whenever I make such a journey, I am reminded how much I appreciate and enjoy the tropical climate, and why I have chosen to live in such a climate.

Nevertheless it is good to be reminded, and to once again experience the extremes of the weather, for extreme it can be, and usually is, with the snow on the mountains. And on some occasions, when Europe is experiencing a cold winter, still to be found in the cities and towns as well. This year though, so I am told, it has been a mild winter.






The buskers on the streets are a great joy to me, providing great music in what can be a rather dreary background, especially in winter. And yes I am aware that the saxophonist is wearing short sleeves and shorts which gives the impression of warmer weather. You will notice though, that all the other people in the photo are wearing winter gear, and I can assure you it was decidedly cold.



Yours truly with my friend and student Giovanni.





Naturally enough, there will always be a castle.
Originally a Visconti fortress, this iconic red-brick castle was later home to the mighty Sforza dynasty, who ruled Renaissance Milan. The castle's defences were designed by the multitalented da Vinci; Napoleon later drained the moat and removed the drawbridges. Today, it houses seven specialised museums, which gather together intriguing fragments of Milan’s cultural and civic history, including Michelangelo’s final work, the Rondanini Pietà, now housed beautifully in the frescoed hall of the castle's Ospedale Spagnolo (Spanish Hospital).


Adjacent to the castle is the statue of Garibaldi.
Giuseppe Garibaldi(born July 4, 1807Nice, French Empire [now in France]—died June 2, 1882, Caprera, Italy), Italian patriot and soldier of the Risorgimento, a republican who, through his conquest of Sicily and Naples with his guerrilla Redshirts, contributed to the achievement of Italian unification under the royal House of Savoy.



This man was indeed a most interesting Sculptor. The flowers and figuirines he was sculpting were sculpted from, of all things, different coloured fruits and vegetables.


And of course there has to be a cathedral.

An exceptionally large and elaborate Gothic cathedral on the main square of Milan, the Duomo di Milano is one of the most famous buildings in Europe. It is the largest Gothic cathedral and the second largest Catholic cathedral in the world.


So you are wondering what I am doing here, just as I did upon first observing others at this spot. Below my right foot is a depression into which you place your foot, rotate yourself in a clockwise direction three times, and make a wish. I have no comments as to whether your wish will be answered or not.


                        The statue of Leornardo da Vinci graces a square adjacent to the cathedral.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, more commonly Leonardo da Vinci or simply Leonardo (Italian: [leoˈnardo da (v)ˈvintʃi]; 15 April 1452 – 2 May 1519), was an Italian polymath whose areas of interest included inventionpaintingsculptingarchitecturesciencemusicmathematicsengineeringliteratureanatomygeologyastronomybotanywritinghistory, and cartography. He has been variously called the father of paleontologyichnology, and architecture, and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time.[1] Sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachutehelicopterand tank,[2][3][4] his genius epitomized the Renaissance humanist ideal.

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