<< Lombardy

Flavours of the Milan of bygone days

Let us wander through Milan's ancient roads to discover what is left of the Capital of the Western Roman Empire: we can visit the remains of the ImperialPalace and of the circus, of the ancient Maximilian walls and the amphitheatre, all of which go to make up an important and oft-forgotten archeological trail through the city centre.
We can pause at the Colonne di San Lorenzo, at the tomb of the Three Magi in the church of Sant’Eustorgio and again in the mysterious Piazza della Vetra - the scene of many ancient and arcane episodes in the city's history.
We then move on to explore the narrow medieval passageways, to admire the Palazzo Borromeo with its stunning terracotta-framed windows and frescos, after which we will take respite at a typical trattoria serving the traditional Milanese dishes of yore: buttery yellow risotto with ossobuco (veal shank), nervetti (calf's foot tendons), foiolo (a tripe stew), braised meat with polenta and to end the meal, zabaglione or pears cooked in red wine.  All of which is accompanied by the local wines San Colombano DOC or Verdea IGT Collina del Milanese produced in Milan’s ‘hilly’ area of San Colombano (145 metres above sea level!) whose name commemorates the Irish monk Colman (Colombanus in Latin), who is said to have stopped here on his path towards Bobbio, where in 614 he founded the celebrated monastery.