Today was bike return day, and since Mototouring is in Milan, this seemed a good day to play tourist in Milan, which so far I had pretty much managed to avoid. After checking that I had everything on the bike, it was off to Mototouring. No great drama finding them this time around, having figured out the easy way last time.
I explained the tip over, but nobody seemed to care; without having a close look at the bike they tore up the signed credit card receipt I was required to leave with them. I had a nice talk with the folks there, then they calculated the final bill. I owed an additional 480 euros, as they charge the minimum daily rate plus a per kilometre charge, OR the unlimited rate, whichever is the lesser. The unlimited rate was the lesser, as I added nearly 2,000 km to the odometer. And I've not heard anything from them, so there was no charge for the damage.
They offered to call a cab, but I chose to walk to a Metro station and head for downtown Milan. The walk seemed longer than I expected, but I find walking an excellent way to experience a new place. And so it was here. Eventually I ended up at Milan's Duomo, where there is a very conveniently located Metro station.
And this is the first view of the Duomo, and that's the back of it! This is Europe's largest Gothic building, and third largest cathedral, behind St. Peter's in Rome and Seville Cathedral.
The Duomo's major attraction is perhaps the forest of spires and intricate decoration. Mark Twain described it as 'a poem in marble'.
Well, it needs to be done at some stage, but it was somewhat disappointing to discover the Duomo's front mostly covered in scaffolding, which itself is covered with cloth, making the richly decorated (as seen in photos) front disappear.
I have not been able to discover who this represents - it's the statue in the right of the photo above. The horse is facing the Duomo.
So it was time to venture into the cathedral. Somewhat to my surprise there are guards on the entrance, inspecting bags or other items. I don't recall that level of security at other churches or cathedrals in Italy.
The view down the main aisle. It's not all that obvious from the photo, but the cathedral is rather dark inside, as is typical of Gothic buildings. It was the Renaissance (if I recall correctly) which let the light in. Well, more of it, anyway.
The sanctuary area, with either an old and new organ, or a really big organ. The hemispherical object about mid image is a canopy over the tabernacle. And the window in the backgroud is the one shown in the first photo above.
A close up of the tabernacle.
Side Window
Detailed View
External View
The above are photos of one of the side stained glass windows. I quite admired the detail in them. And that is where one leaves the cathedral back into the light and heat.
Italy In July
