Ach, Italy! Rome, Florence, Venice! Verona, Naples, Siena! Holidaymakers from Germany already know pretty well what they expect from the country of their dreams. And Italy delivers: Roman ruins, medieval city centers, Renaissance elegance, summer evening on the piazza romance. But Milan? The country’s second largest city is not charming, but rather busy, pragmatic, matter-of-fact, and, well, even seems somewhat un-Italian. It’s not monuments that come to mind, nothing solid, but business, fashion, design – and that captures the essence of the city pretty well. Milan is on the move, changing, building new things. There is a desire to experiment there. And big plans for the future.
So let’s get an overview first.