In the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio, Milan, with some difficulty, you will see a haut-relief on the capital of the fifth column to the right of the nave, which depicts the transport of the bodies of the Three Magi to Milan. Dating from the eleventh century, it shows Eustorgio leading...
Opposite Santa Maria della Grazie, Milan – in whose refectory Leonardo painted The Last Supper – stands Case degli Atellani, where the artist owned a vineyard to which he was particularly attached. The building itself dates from the end of the fifteenth century. Constructed at the behest of Ludovico...
In the seventeenth century, the populous area of Verziere was one of the most disreputable and sinister in Milan. Contemporary legends said that the house at 2 Via Laghetto was inhabited by a powerful witch, who was the head of all the fortune-tellers and sorceresses of the area....
During the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries, Europe was regularly devastated by the plague: 25 million people – about one third of the European population at the time – died from the disease. Like the rest of Italy, Milan was one of the first places in Europe to...
Within the courtyard of a building facing Via Giannone you will find a free-standing bell-tower that dates from 1230 – all that is left of the old church of Santissima Trinità, which was bulldozed in 1968. This bell-tower, bought by a private individual after it had been spared...
In the Corso Indipendenza gardens, just next to the playground you will find a rather sad but very touching statue of Pinocchio, transformed into a little boy. Unveiled on 19 May, 1956, this statue was designed to be an intriguing delight for children playing in the gardens. It was...
In the area of the traffic island at the centre of Piazza Missori are the remains of a Romanesque church. These comprise part of the apse of the Church of San Giovanni in Conca, founded in the fourth century and then rebuilt in the eleventh. In 1162, the...
As well as being one of the oldest churches in Milan and a building of fundamental significance to the history of the city, The Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio is also a rich source of legend and arcane fact. Outside is an immediately noticeable feature that is very unusual in Italy...
When you first turn into Via dei Piatti in Milan, it is difficult to believe that one of these rather characterless post-war buildings actually contains a real gem of Renaissance architecture, which has been attributed to Donato Bramante (1444-1514). At 4, Via dei Piatti you will find a fine...
In the Treasury, Castello Sforzesco, Milan you will find an absolute visual delight. Walking west from the courtyard of Las Rocchetta, you come to Torre Castellana, on the ground floor of which is a superb fresco of Argus that has survived unseen for 500 years, but nowadays is open to...
Welcome to my love affair with the food, wine, history and culture of the Mediterranean, past and present. Here you will find not only recipes, drinks and fabulous products, but the history of the food and culture of the Mediterranean.
My purpose is to get you to explore and experience new tastes and along the way to immerse yourself in the wonderful history of this diverse and wonderful region – from Venice to Istanbul, Rome to Dubrovnik, Athens to Crete and all places in between and in the surrounds. Be prepared to be surprised, delighted and enthralled as you take this trip with me.
