The Ancient & The Modern
I don’t want to look like an obsess of monuments & co, so I will try to enlarge the scope by adding some modern content in this post.
I know you’re not coming here to visit modern buildings, but I think the contrast between old and modern that you encounter in some corners are strange… not to say weird.
One of the surroundings in which you can find this mixture, is around “Corso Italia” or “Corso di Porta Romana”. The city suffered some bombings in that area during WWII, so you may observe a mix of new and ancient buildings put together somewhat frequently.
I leave it to you finding the ways to visit the places around. If you look for “Corso di Porta Romana” – literally Roman Door’s Street, a street that starts from Piazza Missori and runs outwards from city center towards Rome – there are good chances you will turn left in via Santa Sofia. You have the tiny San Calimero church. It’s in a pedestrian alley, sideways to traffic. Not so easy to find.
This is the entrance. First foundations go back to Vth – yes, fifth century:
…and then, this is what you see some hundred meters away by walking in via Santa Sofia:
Surprised? I never got to know what sort of experiment do they conduct in those buildings, …but perhaps it’s just some innocent banking business…. or I guess so. If not, please leave me believing in that..
While you are hanging around wandering on the purpose of such things, there are some chances you will stumble upon “Sant’Eufemia”, a church on “Corso Italia”. …Again a church founded in Vth century and rebuilt in the XVth one. All surrounded by modern buildings:
I know you are confused about whether to look at the church walls, or at those nice apartments (no I am not in a real estate business, relax)… But that’s not uncommon here in Milan.
Want to really see that small church? Here it is:
You might think these two are sole survivors in modern times… …but there are others like that. We will check them at sometime, in the upcoming posts. Stay tuned.
PS: is it evening or do you want a nice restaurant in the surroundings? “Buone cose Bistrot”, via San Martino 8. …Truly speaking you are close to Parco delle Basiliche and Colonne di San Lorenzo. But that’s another story.