Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – Milan, July 2009
The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a covered double arcade in Milan, formed of two glass-vaulted arcades at right angles to each other and intersecting in an octagon. The Galleria connects two of Milan’s most famous landmarks: the Duomo and the Teatro Alla Scala, but the Galleria is a landmark on its own right. More than 130 years after its inauguration, the graceful four-story arcade includes elegant shops selling most things from haute couture and jewellery to books and paintings, as well as restaurants, cafés, and bars. A year ago, I was in Italy, enjoying a glorious week of summer with my sister-in-law and my nephew. She and I were amazed at the architecture and the shops of the Galleria. All my 7-year-old nephew cared about, on the other hand, was that it was still light at 21h30 at night.
This is part of a series of non-food photographs that will be published every Saturday on CookSister – all previously featured photographs can be viewed on the Saturday Snapshots archive pages. All photos featured in Saturday Snapshots are available to buy as high-quality greeting cards or prints in my RedBubble store. They make gifts, for friends or for yourself!
What an amazing structure. A truly gorgeous photograph, I’ve never been to Milan
..Such a shame they had to put a McDonalds in the middle of it though 😉 I guess man’s need for terrible meat patties, trounces his love of beauty!
A LINK to the same place; Wikipedia photograph taken ca. 1880!
Then it was caffe ristorante Biffi; now it’s Mickey D’s. Some things don’t improve over time…
Don’t know if this software takes href links; try this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Brogi,_Giacomo_%281822-1881%29_-_n._4608_-_Milano_-_Ottagono_della_Galleria_Vittorio_Emanuele_ca._1880.jpg
This is such a beautiful arcade. And the glass dome..wow!!
@Rachel – it is terribly incongruous, isn’t it?? Guess it all comes down to money… But I see that they put severe limitations on the signage, which is good. Can’t comprehend how McDonalds survive in Italy, with all the other outstanding food available!
@Slagalla – thanks for the link – gorgeous historic picture. And yes, isn’t it sad that Ristorante Biffi has been replaced by Ristorante Mickey Dee’s 🙁