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Photo: Lucalari84, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
One of the most renowned opera houses in the world. It first opened in 1778 and re-opened in 2004 after extensive renovation. It has seen performances by stars such as Maria Callas and Pavarotti. Since Italy is the birthplace of opera, The Teatro alla Scala would be one of the best places for one to have an introduction to the world of Italian opera. La Scala is also a venue for other classical music.
La Scala is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as il Nuovo Regio Ducale Teatro alla Scala. The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta.
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Museo Teatrale alla Scala
A museum dedicated to one of the world's most famous opera houses. All types of memorabilias like dresses and pictures are on display. This includes a view into the opera hall from one of the loges, which is a short and simple alternative to the official guided tour of the opera. (Note that third party tour operators of the opera are not showing anything other than this view from the museum.) Check the museum website for the practice schedule, which determines visibility of the opera hall.
The location of the Statue of Leonardo da Vinci and La Scala theatre. It is a small, but grand square flanked by fine palaces, such as the city hall and the commercial bank. Great place for a photograph and right next to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. Ticket office is underground in the Duomo Metropolitana stop.
Museo Poldi Pezzoli
A varied collection of art from the 14th to 19th century, including armour, clocks, porcelain and tapestries. It has been a museum since 1881. The house was bombed in 1943, resulting in a somewhat incoherent restoration, but the collection had been moved to safety.
A small, yet very impressive square, which hosts the magnificent neoclassical Belgiojoso Palace, built by Milanese noblemen in the late 1700s, and the House of Manzoni, where notable Italian writer and literary figure Alessandro Manzoni lived, and which today hosts a library and the Centro Nazionale di Studi Manzoniani (National Centre of Manzoni-related studies).
A central and busy square in Milan, right near the Duomo. It boasts some grand and beautiful late-19th-century architecture. Once, and to some extent still today, it was an economic hub of the city, with the headquarters of several companies, and big banks and postal offices.
A truly enchanting and tiny medieval square, hidden by the grand palaces in the central part of Milan. Here, in "Merchants' Square" you get lovely Gothic and Renaissance-porticoed houses, and a well right in the middle. At the one side of the square there is the Palazzo della Ragione (1233), the old town hall, aka Broletto Nuovo. At the other – Loggia degli Osii (1321) decorated with black and white marble, used to host judicial and notary offices. At Christmas time, the square fills up with markets selling local produce, including mouth-watering panettone, sweets, bonbons and souvenirs.