Milan, unlike Instagram-ready Rome and Florence, is not a Great Beauty. But what it lacks in symmetry, Roman ruins, medieval castles and cobblestoned streets, it makes up for in sophistication, style and wit.


My first visit was to cover Fashion Week in 2008; I had a free day to explore, away from the madness of the Missoni and Giorgio Armani shows, and I chose to visit a number of contemporary galleries. At Spazio Rossana Orlandi in Via Matteo Bandello,Kicksokok.com, I came face-to-face with the owner and design doyenne Rossana Orlandi. At 5ft 3in and aged 71, she sashayed down the gallery’s courtyard, as if she were a 6ft runway model, in an all-black ensemble. With her saucer-sized white vintage sunglasses,cheap jordans for sale, red lips and snow-white hair pulled neatly into a bun, she personified Milan: stylish and witty, with a secret beauty within. The same could be said of many of the city’s best galleries, listed in my selection of 10 on the right. Some are hidden, while others – such as Pinacoteca di Brera and La Triennale di Milano – are better-known but, like the city itself,cheap jordans, are still full of surprises.

1. Fondazione Prada


Fondazione Prada has two galleries in Milan. The newest is Osservatorio Fondazione Prada, which sits alongside high-end stores in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. The gallery, which opened last year,http://users.atw.hu/hsy/index.php?site=forum_topic&topic=13665cheapjordanshoesfreeshipping.com/bolg, is dedicated to photography and “visual languages”. It’s not just the cutting-edge exhibitions that are worth seeing – the space has a 100ft window which offers sweeping views of the city. The second space,http://users.atw.hu/promotionscorp/index.php?site=forum_topic&topic=16675cheapjordanshoesfreeshipping.com/bolg, designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas,cheap authentic jordans, is on the outskirts of Milan and set in a converted 1910 distillery with retro flourishes including a funky bar with a Fifties and Sixties vibe decorated by Wes Anderson. Insider tip: admission to one gallery includes entrance to the other, if used within seven days of your first visit – so keep your original ticket.


Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and Largo Isarco 2 (0039 02 5666 2611; fondazioneprada.org)




2. La Vigna di Leonardo


Across the road from the Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie, home to Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, is La Vigna di Leonardo. Inside, it’s a secret garden with sprawling grounds and a 15th-century villa draped with climbers and frescoed with floral motifs. The vineyard was given to the artist in 1499 by his patron Ludovico Sforza, in exchange for The Last Supper. The plot has been restored and the original vines replanted. It’s open to the public along with the main house and gardens on a guided tour (?10/?9). Stay in one of the four apartments on the estate, all spacious and stylishly furnished (from ?150 per night).




Corso Magenta 65 (0039 02 481 6150; vignadileonardo.com)&nbsp,cheap air jordans;




3. Museo del Novecento


Housed in the Mussolini-era Palazzo dell’Arengario overlooking Piazza del Duomo, Milan’s museum of 20th-century art features Italian and international art, including futurist paintings. Built around a long glass-encased spiral ramp, citywide views culminate in a chic top-floor bar and restaurant. Interiors aside, the art shines too: Boccioni, De Chirico, Marinetti plus international artists including Picasso, Matisse and Klee.


Palazzo dell’Arengario, Via Guglielmo Marconi 1 (0039 02 8844 4061; museodelnovecento.org)


View more!



4. Galleria Carla Sozzani


Fashion concept store Corso Como 10 may have lost its original lustre but it’s still home to Galleria Carla Sozzani which, 27 years on, remains true to its original ethos: to raise the profile of photography talent, both new and established. Black-and-white photography, montage and nudes from greats Bruce Weber, Herb Ritts, Annie Leibovitz and many others line the gallery’s stark white walls. Carla Sozzani, a former fashion editor, is the brains behind the enterprise and her refined tastes aren’t confined to art. Next to the gallery, the bookshop features new and classic publications on art, architecture, design, graphics and fashion. You’ll also find a fashion boutique and a leafy courtyard café on the premises.


Corso Como 10, 20154 (0039 02 653531; galleriacarlasozzani.org)




5. Spazio Rossana Orlandi


Occupying a former tie factory, Spazio Rosanna Orlandi remains a Milan secret owing to its slightly out-of-the-way location and discreet entrance. After all these years of exploring, it is still my favourite gallery in Milan. It teems with life, from the buzzing courtyard café to the labyrinthine rooms in the 19,000ft design gallery filled to the brim with curios, objects and furniture – some functional, others just plain bonkers. The pièce de résistance is of course Rossana Orlandi herself, whom you might glimpse in the café or at Marta, the restaurant next door.


Via Matteo Bandello 14/16 (00 39 02 467 4471; rossanaorlandi.com)

6. Villa Necchi Campiglio


Built for a sewing-machine industrialist in the Thirties, this patrician palazzo is an exercise in Milanese modernism. The Villa Necchi Campiglio is all straight lines and no-nonsense layouts, and served as the location for the 2009 film I Am Love, starring Tilda Swinton. Works on show include a Canaletto, plus early 20th-century art by Sironi, Martini and de Chirico,cheap wholesale jordans, but it’s the everyday objects that steal the show: monogrammed hairbrushes, malachite ashtrays and silk evening gowns.


Via Mozart 14 (00 39 02 76340121; visitfai.it/villanecchi)

7. Pinacoteca di Brera


The Pinacoteca started out as a study collection of drawings and plaster casts for students of the Accademia di Belle Arti. It is now considered one of Lombardy’s finest collections, containing works from Caravaggio to Bramante. The space may be modest but the collection within is impressive, with works by major Italian artists from the 13th to the 20th centuries. Highlights include Piero della Francesca’s The Virgin with Child, Angels and Saints and Gentile Bellini’s St Mark Preaching in Alexandria.




Via Brera, 28 (0039 02 722 63 264 229; pinacotecabrera.org)









Pinacoteca di Brera has one of Italy's finest collections





8. La Triennale di Milano


La Triennale is a design and art museum set among the greenery of Parco Sempione. The space hosts exhibitions and events on contemporary Italian design, architecture and urban planning, highlighting the relationship between art and industry. Not to miss is de Chirico’s Fontana dei Bagni Misteriosi (Fountain of Mysterious Baths) in the museum’s garden.


Viale Emilio Alemagna 6 (0039 02 724341; triennale.org)

9. Pirelli HangarBicocca


HangarBicocca is a former industrial plant converted into a space for contemporary art. Exhibits change frequently, though German artist Anselm Kiefer’s large-scale installation The Seven Heavenly Palaces is on permanent display. Its seven giant towers made of reinforced concrete trace a journey of spiritual initiation, alluding to the myth of creation in ancient Jewish texts. The museum sits on Milan’s periphery, but there’s a restaurant serving charcuterie and cheeses and Italian wines for the peckish.


Via Chiese 2 (0039 02 66 11 15 73; hangarbicocca.org/en)




10. Galleria Massimo De Carlo


Massimo De Carlo is one of Italy’s most prominent art dealers. For more than 30 years, he has helped forge relationships between artists and arts institutions around the world. Many of the artists he represents have achieved international recognition, including Maurizio Cattelan, the sculptor famous for his taxidermied horses, and George Condo, who designs album covers for Kanye West. De Carlo’s second gallery in Milan is housed in Palazzo Belgioioso, which is currently showcasing an exhibition by Ai Weiwei (until Nov 1. The third forthcoming Milan gallery should be equally fabulous.


Ventura: Via Giovanni Ventura 5 (00 39 02 7000 3987; massimodecarlo.com); Belgioioso: Piazza Belgioioso 2 (00 39 02 366 36 990; massimodecarlo.com)&nbsp,http://users.atw.hu/team-axone/index.php?site=forum_topic&topic=13900cheapjordanshoesfreeshipping.com/bolg;





A plane ended up sat on its haunches after a cooking oil spillage in the hold meant that all its cargo slipped to the back of the aircraft, raising its nose into the air.


The mishap took place at Wamena Airport in Papua, Indonesia, as the Tri-MG plane that had arrived from Timika was being unloaded. Among its cargo was a shipment of Indonesian Bimoli oil which was somehow breached, allowing its contents to grease the floor of the fuselage. Thanks to the shifting balance of weight, the aircraft see-sawed on its wheels, only coming to a stop when its tail was touching the tarmac.





“During the unloading, the cooking oil in the centre part of the cabin spilled out, causing the base of the plane to become slippery,” head of Wamena Airport, Rasburhani, told the Jakarta Post,jordans for cheap.


“It caused the rest of the cargo to slump to the rear of the plane, lifting the front part approximately two metres from the surface of the apron.”


A video shared on social media showed the moment the imbalance was redressed and the aircraft became level again,cheap jordans online.





“The aircraft has returned to its normal condition. We are waiting for the results of the investigation from the Transportation Ministry’s directorate of operations and airworthiness maintenance,” added Rasburhani.


The aircraft escaped with only scratches and was fully unloaded in 40 minutes.




View more!