After the riots…

May 2, 2015July 14, 2015 / Anna / 1 Comment

After the wonderful concert on Thursday evening in Piazza Duomo and a spectacular opening ceremony for Expo on Friday morning, Milan was filled with hope and happiness! There was definitely a sense of triumph and pride that finally Expo was here and a fun party atmosphere! However this was to be short lived, as Friday afternoon protesters took to the streets of Milan and whilst some were there as peaceful protesters, others were there to riot and quickly it turned into guerilla warfare.

The left-wing protesters, who came not only from Italy but other European countries too, included anti-globalization and environmentalist activists as well as students and anti-austerity campaigners. Many of whom see Expo as a symbol of corruption (there have been accusations of Mafia involvement) and waste.

It is unfortunate they cannot spell ‘system’!

Whilst I sympathise with some of their ideas, I cannot accept violence as a form of protest and yesterday evening the city was in a state of shock and the sense of hope had been replaced by anger and sadness. They set fire to cars, broke bank and shop windows and defaced many buildings throughout the city. To make matters worse, when interviewed some of these so called ‘protesters’, seemed unable to string a sentence together to defend or rationalise their actions, but instead stated it had been a great experience.

‘Against power, against the authorities’

I saw a few cars which had been damaged during the riot, but by the afternoon most of the debris had been cleared away.

But today, as the sun shone brightly there has been an immense clean-up effort and a new sense that Milan will not be defeated and the people of Milan will take back their city! In fact a ‘meeting’ in Piazza Cadorna (where a lot of the worst damage happened) has been arranged for Sunday afternoon with the hashtag #NessunotocchiMilano #NoonetouchesMilan. The people of Milan will gather to show support for the city and Expo and help in the cleaning up effort! The facebook group already has more than 9000 likes. There is definitely a sense of community here today and I feel proud and thankful for all the people who are working and volunteering to help revive the city!

Anna

Music by Moonlight

May 1, 2015July 14, 2015 / Anna / 4 Comments

Last night in Piazza Duomo under the moonlight, I was serenaded by the amazing vocals of Andrea Bocelli and the phenomenal talent of Chinese pianist Lang Lang! Well in reality, me and around 20,000 other people, along with a live TV audience….but still it was amazing!

Milan really is beautiful at night and the Duomo looked stunning!

It was the opening night of Expo2015 Milan, a six month World Exposition which starts today and runs until the 31st of October. The theme of which is ‘Nutrire il Pianeta, Energia per la Vita’ – ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’. The idea is to bring together countries, ideas, people and cultures from all over the world, to talk about sustainability and providing food resources for everyone world wide, working towards an end in famine and poverty.

There has been speculation as to whether a large scale exposition, where millions has been spent in preparation, not only building an enormous exhibition space, but also on improving the city, is the best way to tackle these issues, but if it raises awareness then surely that is helping? Still, many people are against the Expo and there have been many protests and I’m sure they will continue throughout the next six months. And of course, this being Italy there has been talk of corruption and all sorts of questions arising, including would they finish preparation in time? But, we will have to wait and see before anyone can decide if Expo will be a success!

I am personally quite excited about it all, there are 148 countries taking part, many who have had their own pavilions built in order to showcase the best their country has to offer. The UK’s pavilion for example, features bees (and I love honey!) to show how Britain is a ‘hive’ for business, creativity and science! Also lets not forget as an exposition focused on food, all the countries participating will be offering up some of the best of their cuisine and I for one am excited to try some new food and take a culinary trip around the world! Plus there are hundreds of other events taking place in Milan’s museums and all over the city under the guise of Expo, even though many take place every year, such as one of my favourites Piano City.

But back to last night and Andrea Bocelli serenading me…oops sorry ‘millions of people’ in Piazza Duomo! He was joined by not only Lang Lang, but also sopranos Diana Damrau and Maria Luigia Borsi, tenor Francesco Meli (wow what a voice!) and baritone Simone Piazzola. They were accompanied by the Chorus and Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala and the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala Academy and played homage to Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Gioacchino Rossini, amongst others. It really was a magical evening and the musical talent of these people is simply outstanding! Andrea Bocelli’s voice is surreal and for me it was a dream to hear him sing live, as I have always admired him! Plus I had serious piano envy as Lang Lang played the most beautiful Steinway & Sons Grand Piano! Maybe one day I will get to play one…..

I have put two short videos on my Instagram page of Andrea and Lang Lang, which you can access from the side bar!

Are you planning on visiting Milan for the Expo? What is your opinion about it all? I would love to hear from you!

Anna

The Seven Heavenly Palaces

April 26, 2015July 14, 2015 / Anna / 1 Comment

A little while ago when I went to see the ‘bau bau‘ exhibition at Milan’s Hangar Bicocca, I also visited (once again) my favourite permanent exhibition there, I Sette Palazzi Celesti. The Seven Heavenly Palaces by Anselm Kiefer was a site specific installation created for the opening of the Hangar in 2004. The name of the installation comes from the ancient Hebrew treatise Sefer Hechaloth – the Book of Palaces/Sancturies.

Kiefer is one of the best known contemporary artists and his work pays reference to ‘German philosophy, Romantic symbolism, Germanic mythology, Judaic-Christian religiousness, alchemy as the ability to transform the world and the metaphor of art and its role in interpreting reality’.

The Seven Heavenly Palaces, made using reinforced concrete, each weighing 90 tonnes and varying between 14 and 18 metres in height are supposed to interpret the ancient religion of Judaism, while representing the ruins of the West following the Second World War and movement into the future, while asking us to consider the ‘ruins of our present’.

Each tower is themed and named individually:

1.) Sefiroth – representing the ten instruments of God in Hebrew mysticism of Kabbalah

2.) Melancholia – featuring glass and strips of paper at its base, which signify “falling stars”

3.) Ararat – this tower takes its name from the mountain where according to the Bible Noah’s Ark ran aground. It symbolises peace and salvation.

4.) Magnetic Field Lines – features a film of lead running down the tower – a material which repels light and therefore stops any image being created. In the exhibition guide it suggests this represents Kiefer’s own idea that each new piece of work cancels out the previous one.

5 & 6.) JH&WH – these letters join together in Hebrew phonetics to form the word Yahweh meaning God, but which Jews consider too holy to verbalize.

7.) Tower of the Falling Pictures – the name of this tower is quite literal, it features picture-less picture frames, some shattered on the ground.

Sefiroth Tower

Sefiroth Tower

Glass and Paper strips with numbers on which correspond to the classification of heavenly bodies used by NASA – at the foot of the Melancholia Tower

The reason I find this installation so fascinating, is the sheer size of it! When you stand in the Hangar amongst these giant, overwhelming towers, you feel very insignificant and small. It does as the artist intended, make you think about the ruins of the Second World War, but also stays relevant to our ‘ruins of the present’ as it could easily be the remains of a modern building in any of the war torn countries in our world. It certainly makes you reflect upon what you are seeing, and as the space is so immense, the sound in the Hangar as you walk around is quite eerie. Whilst there is no music, you can hear your footsteps and the whispers of other visitors reach you around the corners of the towers, but the way they are positioned, often restricts your view of the speakers. Whilst you wouldn’t immediately think that reinforced concrete would be the most aesthetically pleasing material, there really is beauty in the towers and they way they are lit and what they are supposed to represent. Definitely worth a visit!

Have you visited the exhibition or another by Kiefer? What did you think?

Anna

(All pictures are my own except for 1 and 6, for which I must thank my friend Anna! :))

Mooching around the Market!

April 20, 2015July 14, 2015 / Anna / 3 Comments

One of my favourite neighbourhoods in Milan, is Navigli in the South of the city. Milan used to rely heavily on its network of canals and its harbour La Darsena for supplying water and materials to the city as well as for transportation. Over time as roads and railways were further developed, usage of the canals diminished as traffic travelled too slowly and their condition deteriorated. Gradually parts of the canals were filled in and the harbour become less important for the city. Today three of the canals remain, Naviglio della Martesana in the North-East and the Naviglio Grande and Naviglio Pavese in the South-West. The Grande and Pavese join together with the Darsena in the middle, which when I arrived in Milan was quite a run down, desolate sight. However, shortly it will reopen following a major redevelopment project as part of EXPO Milano. The new Darsena will feature a covered market place, walkways and a waterfront for tourist boats!

The Naviglio Grande

I used to live really close to the Navigli and would pass by almost every day! It is one of the coolest and busiest areas in Milan and has some great restaurants and bars, as well as lots of vintage shops. There is also a great antique market held on the banks of the canal every last Sunday of the month (this month brought forward, due to Design Week). So I thought what better excuse to head over to the Navigli than to have a mooch around at all the market stalls?! Plus it was another beautiful sunny Sunday!

If I had a garden I would put this little dog out there – maybe even his penguin friends!

There is literally everything and anything you can think of available to buy – (if you have deep pockets!) I for one could have decorated a whole apartment with all the antique furniture and fittings! They were stalls selling vintage clothes, jewellery, shoes and bags, people selling fabrics and fur coats. Retro children’s toys, antique musical instruments, old advertising prints, jewellery, books and pottery as well as people selling artwork.

This was one of my favourite finds, there was a button in every colour you can imagine! You could jazz up some old clothes with these!

For anyone who enjoys antiques or vintage things, make sure you put this on your list if you find yourself in Milan! In my opinion there is something for everyone! Plus it is another chance for a spot of people watching…Navigli is full of cool street style and well dressed Italians…and a lot of cute dogs too!

Have you been to any great antique markets? Discovered any interesting finds or bargains?

Anna

A Sunday Stroll

April 12, 2015July 14, 2015 / Anna / 4 Comments

Happy Sunday everyone!

Finally the weather here is warming up, the flowers are out, the sun is shinning and you can’t help but have a smile on your face! Spring always makes me feel happy (especially as it means Summer is on the way!) and what better way to enjoy a Spring Sunday than with a stroll in the park!?

I met my friend this afternoon to do just that in Milan’s Parco Sempione, which covers (as I learnt today) 40 hectares from Castello Sforzesco to the Arco della Pace. Apparently it was designed in the style of traditional romantic English parks – which really surprised us – and features watercourses, paths and small rises! I personally love the park as it offers up some excellent people watching opportunities, which is one of my favourite things to do on a lazy weekend! Milan is abundant with interesting characters to spy on, especially when the sun comes out! Hehe!

After a leisurely walk around, we sat down in the sun on Corso Sempione, to enjoy a refreshing Aperol Spritz. This is a typical Italian aperitif, particularly popular in the North of the country and is made using 2 parts Aperol (a rather bitter liqueur), 3 parts Prosecco and 1 part Soda! Delicious!

Absolutely love this! Genius idea to bring your own hammock to the park!

Castello Sforzesco

Hello there! Look at this little fellow…he has got the right idea, chilling in the sun!

Aperol Spritz

We are definitely going to try and make this a new Sunday ritual! Have a great week everybody!

Anna

An afternoon of interactive art

March 8, 2015July 14, 2015 / Anna / 1 Comment

One of the great things about having friends in town, especially ones who used to live here, means they are usually keen to go to an exhibition or gallery with you. So last Sunday my friend and I made our way to one of my favourite exhibition spaces in Milan, Hangar Bicocca, to see the first solo exhibition in Italy of Céline Condorelli. The title of the exhibition “bau bau” is a play on words, relating to the Italian meaning of ‘bau bau’ as the barking of a dog and the German word ‘bau’ for construction.

The works which were presented by Condorelli, offered up physical encounters between the art and the viewer and we were encouraged at various points to sit and climb on specific pieces. This is one thing I particularly enjoyed, as I often find modern art quite hard to understand and to see the vision behind it, but getting stuck in and really experiencing the art definitely helps – and leaves you in fits of giggles when you get scared climbing back down the ladder – it was higher than it looks!

Built using several separate pieces of furniture, each piece becomes reliant on the others and therefore can’t stand alone. Once you are on the ladder, it acts as an extension to the human body.

My friend looking very at ease with the art….on the other hand, I, in her words, look like I have been put on the naughty step!

The exhibition featured installations as well as sculpture, video and text and it showed variations in light and time, black and white, daytime and night-time.

This gold curtain blows gently in the wind and separates dark from light, hot from cold, inside from out.

This was one of my favourite pieces, showing an Egyptian cotton field from around the 1930’s. It was enormous and really quite beautiful – and hid an archive containing material on the textile and rubber industry.

Whilst I didn’t understand the meaning of all of the installations, I learnt a lot and certainly had a lot of fun…plus before heading home we got frozen yoghurt! So all in all a successful Sunday!

Anna

Hello!

March 6, 2015July 14, 2015 / Anna / Leave a comment

So, here I am writing my first ever post! I am pretty excited as it has taken me a while to finally start this blog. I think I first mentioned the idea when I was in my last year at university. I have no real reason for having taken so long to finally get around to it, just pure procrastination, but all that doesn’t matter as I am here now. I am sure I have a lot to learn so I hope you will be patient with me but I am super excited to get going!

Obviously, January is the time for setting new years’ resolutions, but I’ve never been one for them anyway, so instead I want to lay out some of my hopes and aims for this year. I feel it is going to be a good one and this is a good starting point for my musings in Milan!

First things first, start my blog (so far so good!)
Get back to studying German, which up until the age of 18 I was pretty good at until I decided Italian was the way forward and more than neglected my German.
Do lots of yoga, which I only discovered I love just before Christmas!
Spend a week in Greece at a yoga retreat with my dear friend Grace and leave feeling fabulous
Make my way to the South of Italy – Sicily or Sardegna
Make the most of EXPO starting on 1st May in Milan and running all the way through to October 31st. Based around nurturing the planet and renewable energy resources, it is set to bring millions of visitors to Milan and offer up tons of exciting things to see and do.
Visit Sienna
Return to Modena where I lived on my Erasmus year for 6 months
Spend the summer in Essex with my family getting plenty of country air and going for long walks with our crazy Staffy Robbie.
Finally make it to Zurich to visit my friend who I haven’t seen in nearly three years
Have a father and daughter day in London at the Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon exhibition

I will be sure to keep you all updated on which of these I manage to achieve, I am hoping most of them, always optimistic!

Anna

musings in milan

– The random ramblings of a daydreamer –

Milan

After the riots…

Music by Moonlight

The Seven Heavenly Palaces

Mooching around the Market!

A Sunday Stroll

An afternoon of interactive art

Hello!