Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/604887
milan & noRtheRn italy Couture and glamour are inseparable from the city of Milan. Fall and Spring Fashion Weeks may be at the heart of this exhilarating world, but this stylish city's commercial ties are yearlong, with events, exhibits, and trade shows that wow for every season. However, modern design houses are far from the only venues from which comes incredible art. over 40 museums, 30 palaces and mansions, more than a dozen monuments, leonardo da Vinci's last Supper (displayed at Cenacolo Vinciano), and the city's Duomo—the country's most famous unfinished masterpiece, begun in 1386—are all testaments to Milan's long devotion to creativity. Musically, the Teatro alla Scala serves as another example, it's considered among the most significant opera houses in the world, with its own collection of costumes, letters from composers, musical instruments, and more. Beauty in all forms is deservedly elevated in a region so breathtaking that its landscape even includes natural pedestals. The Italian Alps provide a majestic background to lake Como, a destination made famous by first Napoleon Bonaparte, then George Clooney, men who felt right at home in the opulent, lavish villas that cling to its shores. lake Maggiore, part of lombardy's border lands near Switzerland, quietly competes with its more well-known neighbor with some of the most exquisite gardens in Italy. The names of these lakeside towns roll off the tongue—silk-producing Como, Tremezzo, medieval Menaggio, popular Varenna, and the "Pearl of lake Como," Bellagio—as their streets capture the heart with ease. 42 | Milan & Northern Italy