imprimis travel design

Milan - Design Capital

Milan, where to start?

Being the city of birth of the Imprimis team, we hold a special place for Milan...

Like many other cities in Italy, Milano has a very long history: from its foundation at around 400 BC, Milan has had a very important role in the history of the Italian pensinsula; in fact, thanks to its central position in the north of Italy it was a fundamental trade city all throughout its history. In the last years Milan became known worldwide for being the capital of fashion and design: brands like D&G, Cavalli, Armani, Ferre', and Versace, only to mention a few, all have their main offices here. Milan has excelled in sport as well, having two world-class teams in Inter and AC Milan, and hosts the "design week" every year in April, which attracts literally millions of people. Even if we are native Milanese, we have toured the city many times, discovering hidden gems or visiting must see destinations, alone or most likely taking around visitors. Every visit to Milan starts with the Duomo.. it's the city's symbol, with the famous "golden madonna" at the very peak, overlooking the large piazza below.

The Duomo is the biggest cathedral in the world, brick by brick. Its size is immense, and the inside will impress anyone. Right of the Duomo there is the Vittorio Emanuele gallery, with famous restaurants and shops and another famous attraction: the bull on the ground ( the symbol of another Italian city, Turin) here legends says that if you stand on the bull's private parts and turn around three times, it will bring you good luck!! The galleria leads to the Scala of Milan, the most famous Opera theatre in the world.

The day in downtown Milan cannot end without a visit to the Castello Sforzesco, the castle of Milan. Built as a defensive fortress rather than a residence, it now hosts several museums and through the castle you will reach the Sempione Gardens, which in turn can lead you through a short walk to the Arco di Trionfo (Triumph Arch) the beautiful symbol of victory Napoleon built when he conquered the city.

Milan has much, much more to offer! on top of the mentioned "must see", without forgetting the world famous and breathtaking Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci, there is plenty of other sights in and around the city, and everyone visiting the city should always allow at least three full days.

But Milan has another side, the side of the "bella vita" (the enjoyable life) made of aperitivos (pre-dinner drinks), vernissages (drink at cultural functions) and catwalk shows followed by fashion parties.. But this side of Milan is often behind doors, and these doors need to be known!

the team at Imprimis Travel Design knows where to find events others wouldn't know, and where to send you in order to spend half the price when buying Italian brands!

Emilia Romagna.The Earthquake drama

The Imprimis Travel Design team feels the need to communicate to its customers the tragedy which hit one of the most beautiful regions in Italy: Emilia Romagna.

Region known for its culinary culture and an important artistic patrimony, mostly relevant to medieval and Renaissance periods, Emilia Romagna has been hit by a strong earthquake and more subsequent trembles leaving some area severely affected.

It is a dramatic event not just under the human and economic sense (this is a very rich area) but unfortunately also in the artistic sense, having hit some of the architectural patrimony, such as the beautiful Estense castle of Ferrara (see our blog post “following the river course”).

But we have, and can be optimistic: people, and government, are reacting fast. Unsafe buildings were demolished (included hundreds year old church towers unfortunately) but many others will be restored to their old prime. Then there are stories such the as a famous Parmigiano Reggiano producer who got all of is products compromised and had to sell it ASAP; in a few days, thanks to a quick word of mouth through the social media, almost all of the cheese of destruction was sold on the net and losses were contained!

But Emilia Romagna still has amazing towns to visit and mostly, some outstanding people. This is the people who gave the world Ferrari, Lamborghini, Ducati, the mentioned Parmigiano Reggiano, the world famous Barilla pasta, and the most delicious Prosciutto in Italy, both cotto and crudo ! (the renowned ham).

We are sure that the Emilia Romagna and its people will rise above difficulties and still provide the beauties and the hospitality it is famous for! like the people of Liguria completely restored to its original beauty the famous towns of the "Cinque Terre" in a matter of months after the devastating floods.

Following the Po river course..: Cremona, Mantova, Ferrara

Some time ago the Imprimis Travel Design team decided to fill up some voids it had on certain cities in North Italy.. We pride ourselves to know extremely well our country, and we do, but being such a variegated and diverse country, it is hard, almost impossible to know everything, and to do our job well we need to keep going around and getting to know well cities, areas, restaurants and hotels.

With this spirit we organized a trip to some nearby towns, because our time was limited, the winners were Mantova and Ferrara, with short stops at Cremona on the way there and Modena on the way back.

We stopped in Cremona for a quick visit to this small jewel, a lovely little town an hour or so from Milan, we parked and wondered around the pretty historical center, which is small and won’t take you very long… we wanted to reach Mantova in time for lunch so we only saw the architectural pearl of the “Chiesa di Sant Egidio e Sant Omobono”, in the center, and proceeded eastwards.

Mantova is a bigger town, but yet as with Cremona it didn’t pose a challenge to find parking close to the historical center and walk inside. We always suggest to park, if driving, at the edges of the historical center, which often charges ludicrous hour rates, and walk; it is often a good way to find hidden gems or corners you wouldn’t see otherwise. In Mantova our first stop was the “Osteria dell’Oca”, one of the restaurants with the best reviews, and we were driven to see if that was true.. and indeed it was! What a restaurant. (full review by Imprimis in our profile on www.tripadvisor.com) Then we wondered around the center going to such sightseeing as Palazzo Della Ragione, Palazzo Te, La Casa del Mercante and the grand Palazzo Ducale with its Castle (Castello di San Giorgio, home of the Gonzaga family) and the lovely archeological museum inside. By the end of the afternoon we saw it all, and proceeded to Ferrara, less than a hundred kilometers down the Po river course..

Ferrara is bigger than Mantova, we found a very good safe parking right at the edge of the historical center and at good nightly rates, which was also very close to our hotel. (Hotel Corte Estense, a good option. See full review on tripadvisor)

We walked thru the main “piazza” looking for our restaurant, another highly anticipated one, having a glimpse of the Duomo of Ferrara, lighted in the night. The restaurant (Il Mandolino, good but slightly below expectation) offered a good position in a lively street in town, where we had an aperitivo waiting for dinner time.

The following morning was taken by sightseeing, which is very easy to do considering most of them are located in walking distance to each other: The mighty Duomo, which we saw the previous evening, was now explored inside, the Palazzo di Ludovico il Moro, the Monastero di Sant’Antonio in Polesine, the magnificent Castello Estense and the Jewish quarter and its museum were all done in one morning, included the museum inside the castle which took us some time, all of it within the “Mura di Ferrara”, the historical walls which protected the town (now the town center) which are a sight themselves.

Happy with our “sightseeing tour the force” and the consequent purchase of guides and collection of info brochures and books to better assist our clientele, we went back to the parking lot, paid the fare and left on our way to Milan.

Slightly out of our way lied the small town of Modena, famous mostly for the Ferrari legacy.. and its superb culinary standards. This is why we thought going to the center and looking for a restaurant was a brilliant idea! This time we didn’t look for reviewed restaurants, but wondered and looked for one we didn’t know what to expect from. We ended up going to a small trattoria called “La Bonissima” which offered the real Modenese deal at great value, had lovely wine, purchase some for us and left highly satisfied and with a full stomach. (review still on www.tripadvisor.com) We wondered around the city center for about an hour, had a coffee and then got back on our way to Milan, which took us less than two hours.

This is what Italy can offer, with the right expertise and knowledge, for those who do not have too much time but want to experience as much as they can, may be going to destinations out of the mainstream of mass-tourism. In two full days spending only one night out, we visited four towns in a range of 250 kilometers using a big hub as Milan as the base, see the things we had to, and ate at restaurants which offered local cuisine, using user- generated reviews or our own luck to find the best options we can in turn offer to you.

Come to www.imprimistraveldesign.com and see what we are capable of!

Tommaso & Matteo

Walking in Cremona

Pretty Cremona

Corner in Mantova

Mantova Overview

Rotonda of S.Lorenzo

"House of the Merchant"

Clock Tower (next to Palazzo della Ragione)

pretty interiors, Mantova.

The Castle of S.George

lovely corner in the castle.

Duomo of Ferrara by night

Palazzo Ducale

the great Estense Castle

the Imprimis Travel Design team, inside the castle.

Modena historical centre

more Modena

The Riviera:Cervia & Milano Marittima

Cervia and Milano Marittima:

This is a small reality on the typical shores on the “Riviera romagnola”, which will guarantee the right balance between fun and relax.

Cervia is lies in the heart of the nightlife of this area, which reaches its highlight during the summer months, attracting a considerable number of people from all over Italy.

This small town enjoys a strategic position, close by the main destinations for the “movida” such as Milano Marittima, Rimini and Riccione, but which offers little for the lovers of tranquillity and good cuisine.

Cervia in fact does not have fashionable clubs, or busy lounges. It possesses mostly a family feeling, which around midnight slowly ends leaving a quite scenario.

Do not think now Cervia is a dead city! On the contrary, the municipality is very dynamic and promotes continuous happenings and events, as well as traditional markets for the enjoyment of local products.

Attracting an aware tourism, the city has improved its techniques for accommodating people in the course of the years and right now offers the biggest and best structured beaches of all the coastal town of Romagna, and a fantastic cousine which can be tasted in the lovely little restaurants in the old town.

Dividing Cervia from Milano Marittima is only a small canal, which ends in a modest little port, directly on the sea. “MiMa”, as it is called from the locals, is the opposite from its neighbour: here lounges and clubs opened until early morning and fashion dominates the local scene.

Surely we cannot say it is the right place for those seeking tranquillity, given the fact that the evening it is hard to walk in the streets for the amount of people, and the various bars and lounges offers loud music.

Nonetheless the chaos, MiMa has a particular character, and fun is assured!