January 27, 28 & 29, 2026

Milano, Italia

There is really nothing much to report. We have both been “under the weather” trying to relax and get better. Fortunately, we had antibiotics to help us get over the Pharaoh’s Revenge. So, we stayed in, played cards and too it easy.

We do go out to Hostaria La Baita near the train station, one of our favorite restaurants in Milano, for our traditional meal of Cotoletta alla Milanese. They offer it with French fries, we ask them to substitute Risotto alla Milanese, and they are happy to do so. It is a little more but that is ok. We enjoyed a ½ bottle of wine. It was a nice day out.

On the 29th we took another single trip out, this time to Eataly. We went to the largest Eataly and we believe the first one on Piazza XXV Aprile. They were in the process of redoing the exterior. Once we entered the store we realized they had completely redone the interior. Where they had five or six separate restaurants in side they have one replaced that with one which carries a variety of dished, rather than specialized ones. It was still very good. We took a taxi home feeling a little overwhelmed by the experience.

Other than that, we played cards and relaxed. I did find a place to go for my cappuccino and brioche in the morning. Pasticceria Gattullo in Piazzale di Porta Lodovico. Porta Lodovico, or Lodovico gate, was part of the city’s medieval walls. It was probably built sometime in the 15th century when stone walls replaced the wooden ones. The reason for the gate was to facilitate the flow of pilgrims which were occurring on their pilgrimage to the Santa Maria Presso San Celso sanctuary.

There was an inscription on the medieval gate which read: “Ludovico Maria Sforza opened this gate, named Lodovica after him, together with his wife Beatrice, so that the religious rushing up of his citizens to the house of Mary, Mother of God, by easier and shorter.” Ludovico Maria Sforza, also known as Ludovico il Moro, and called the "arbiter of Italy" by historian Francesco Guicciardini, was an Italian nobleman who ruled as the Duke of Milan from 1494 to 1499.

When the medieval walls were replaced by the Spanish walls, the old Porta Lodovica was demolished and the new one was built. In the late 19th century, when new districts developed in the periphery of Milan, several gates and several tracts of the city walls were demolished to make traffic easier. Porta Lodovica was demolished in 1905.

The district of Porta Lodovica marks the transition from the historic centre to the "Bastions", i.e., the part of the city that was enclosed by the Spanish walls. Major streets in the area include Via Col Di Lana, Viale Gian Galeazzo, Viale Beatrice d'Este, and Viale Bligny. The Bocconi University has its headquarters in this district. Thus why we are here, because that is where V is going to school.

Buonanotte e Ciao

Enrico & Maria