One of these is the enchanting Piazza Spagnia, or the Spanish Steps. ‘Piazza’ is Italian for ‘square’, and at many places in Italy, particularly Rome, a maze of narrow streets suddenly opens out into magnificent, large squares.

This Piazza is particularly known for shops selling some of the costliest and most fashionable brands of Europe. From Gucci to Christian Dior to Giorgio Armani, Bvlgari to Prada… they are all here.

But even though half of Rome seemed to have turned out to enjoy the beautiful square, thanks to a long spell of rain giving way to the sun, a striking sight was that of the near-empty designer stores.

The effect of global economic downturn was quite evident here. Each store had a couple of nattily dressed male and female salespersons, but despite Christmas being so close, most of the visitors seemed content with window shopping. Except for the occasional Japanese tourist, who entered the stores and exited with small, but fashionable packages.

A friend who lives in Rome had this to say: “Oh, Japanese women are the smartest shoppers. They do their homework well, go on the Net, find out where the discounts are, and come here and buy the latest styles at a fraction of the price they would pay at home. After Christmas, when big discounts are announced, they’ll be here in huge numbers.

In Milan, one came across an interesting bit of information. At the internationally renowned, classy and grand Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II — which must be one of the world’s most elegantly designed shopping arcades — you can actually find a McDonald’s without its signature and rather loud yellow-and-red colours. Instead, wearing very elegant black and gold letters for its logo, it’s housed in a beautiful stone building with marble pillars and sculpted designs to match the décor and design of the magnificent Galleria. The colour scheme of the Galleria, built during 1865-77 by Giuseppe Mengoni, is black and gold; and all the designer labels that have put up shops in this covered arcade, as well as the cafes, sport and music shops, have to adhere to this colour code.

Unfortunately, the architect died before the arcade was inaugurated by King Vittorio Emanuele in the 19th century. Not surprisingly there are two versions of his death; our guide said he committed suicide because “he thought he had built something that the people of Milan might not appreciate”.

The other version is that two days before the inaugural, he slipped and fell while inspecting the details of the beautiful and elaborately decorated dome.

The grand scale and details of this structure take your breath away, but tourists would do well to keep away from its prohibitively expensive shops… but do indulge in a cappuccino at one of its cafes. Not once was I let down by the cappuccino in Italy; it was easily the best I have tasted… after all, aren’t the Italians the masters of blending?

But what really overwhelms you in Milan is the sheer magnificence of The Last Supper, the 15 ft x 29 ft mural that covers the back wall of the dining hall at Santa Maria delle Grazie. In this masterpiece Leonardo da Vinci interprets that poignant moment when Christ declares that one of the 12 apostles will betray him.

Over the years, unrestricted entry to this room, camera flashes and other careless acts had damaged this precious work. Renovation has been carried out and now people are allowed only in batches of 25, not allowed to speak except in whispers and no photography is allowed.

The next best was to get an image of the artist, on a street in Milan, standing tall under the shade of this tree as it changed its leaf colours to a brilliant ochre before shedding them.

More Stories on : International Travel | Tourism | Rasheeda Bhagat

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page