VITTORIO EMANUELE GALLERY, Walk-Through

The history of Milan over the last 150 years has often had the Gallery as a backdrop, as it is a meeting and reference point for the city's social, political, and cultural life as well as for sports events. The Gallery was home to the first headquarters of the most important Milanese newspaper, "Corriere della Sera", and if your visit to the city also includes an evening at La Scala, there's no better way to end it than with a risotto "alla milanese" in one of the Gallery's restaurants. The Gallery's larger project also included the building that is home to the large department store "La Rinascente", which is ideal for any and every type of shopping.

The sides of the Gallery are a series of shops: clothing, luxury items, and bookshops prevail. If you enter the gallery from Cathedral Square going towards La Scala, you'll see "Camparino" on the left just below the monumental entrance arch, which is a small bar where you can taste the most classic Milanese aperitif that's now famous around the world, and in the meantime you can admire the original furniture, as well as 1913 mosaics depicting exotic birds.

Moving on, you'll reach the central octagon that's overlooked by the store windows of the most prestigious high fashion brands. This is also the most richly decorated area: the symbols of the continents are depicted at the top, while the floor is a mosaic of colored coats of arms. The coat of arms of the city of Turin, with a bull over a blue background, has become famous for a very funny reason: no one knows why, but there is a widespread belief that it's good luck to put your heel on the bull's testicles and twirl around. So if you see groups of tourists oddly turning around, don't be surprised. You should get in line too... you never know!

If you go into the Prada store, among handbags and garments, don't forget to admire the now century-old furniture, which was flown in specially from England at the beginning of the twentieth century. Near the end of the Gallery, close to the Square of La Scala, you'll see the City's tourist information office on the left along with the entrance to a multimedia exhibition dedicated to the art and inventions of Leonardo da Vinci.

FUN FACT: of course, changes of ownership here are quite frequent, but the elegant appearance of what is considered as Milan's "parlor" requires a certain uniformity. If you take note, all the shop signs in the gallery are written in gold on a black background: the Municipality imposes this in its regulations.