Milan is Italy’s second city after Rome and its population of almost 1.4 million people occupies a metropolitan area of just over 180 square kilometres. Like many large, historic cities in Europe, it developed outwards in concentric suburban rings, after its medieval city walls were successively expanded and finally abandoned. This means that its various neighbourhoods have quite different atmospheres, from the cool groove of the Navigli canal district to the sleek Quadrilatero della Moda (or fashion district) and arty Brera. These districts are best explored by public transport, which in Milan is inexpensive, integrated (subway and tram) and plentiful – unlike some other Italian cities we could name! Just take the usual safety precautions for public transport in major European cities.

from ancient rome to the renaissance

Milan has always been a political and commercial base due to its strategic location at the foot of the Italian Alps, and from the fourth century it even became the capital of the Western Roman Empire. This was also the period in which Christianity was growing in power as a state religion, and so Milan preserves some of Italy’s most significant and ancient churches. From the basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, founded in the fourth century by Milan’s patron saint Ambrose, to the sixteen Roman columns (above) that stand outside San Lorenzo, the city contains surprising paleo-Christian mosaics, Roman sarcophagi and a little-visited archaeological museum underneath the church of San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore – less than five minutes’ walk from the crowds thronging Leonardo’s Last Supper.

A centre of weapon production and metalsmithing in the Middle Ages, Milan grew in wealth and power and the attenuated spires of its Gothic cathedral are one of the best-known symbols of this developing status. A must-do of any stay is a trip up to the cathedral terraces, which you can ascend either by stairs or by elevator. Be sure to pre-book your ticket to skip the queue, and avoid the early morning when the view out to the mountains can be shrouded in mist or fog. We like to head up to the roof at lunchtime, when other tourists are enjoying a break from sight-seeing. You won’t forget either the views over Milan’s rapidly-changing skyline – more on that below – or the up-close-and-personal encounter with medieval craft, thanks to the terraces’ hundreds of gargoyles, spires and sculptures.

During the Renaissance, Milan was the capital of the powerful Visconti-Sforza dukes, who summoned Italy’s best minds to build their palaces, decorate their halls and even stage their parties. One such genius was of course Leonardo da Vinci, who spent much of his adult life in Milan and worked on a varied range of court projects. These included hydraulic engineering on the Navigli or canals, a painted trompe l’oeil of mulberry trees for the duke’s rooms in the Castello Sforzesco (a vast medieval pile that is also the location of a civic art gallery and Michelangelo’s moving Rondanini Pietà), and of course The Last Supper, an experimental and much-restored wall painting in the Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery where Duke Lodovico Sforza spent time after he was widowed.