Domain: Boundary in the Architectural World

Although it has been a little while since our trip to Milan, Italy over the weekend of April 5th through April 8th, since Milan is often referred to as the fashion capital of the world I thought it only fitting that this post should arrive to my blog fashionably late. The trip to Milan was the fourth and final school organized trip from this semester and I can now say that, as a whole, I was pleased with those four trips which led our class through the most notable cities in all of Italy. Being that Milan is currently mostly centered around the fashion market, there was not as much notable architecture to see in Milan as there was present in the other three cities visited throughout the semester in my Reading Cities class, but there were many notable pieces of artwork in Milan which we were able to see such as the Last Supper painting by Leonardo da Vinci and the Rondanini Pieta by Michelangelo, his final finished work, and some relevant architectural work to see as well.

Some of the notable places we did visit include the Padiglione Arte Contemporanea, which was the first dedicated contemporary arts pavilion in all of Italy, the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is the premier shopping district in all of Milan housing some of the most prestigious brands and restaurants Milan has to offer and is also an important connection between two of the main public spaces in Milan, Piazza del Duomo and Piazza Scala. Teatro alla Scala sits just off of Piazza Scala and is still today regarded as being one of the top theaters in the world, and the Milan Cathedral sits within Piazza del Duomo demonstrating the importance of the connection the Galleria creates between the two. On Saturday we visited the Cenacolo Vinciano, the location of the Last Supper, and the Castello Sforzesco's Ancient Art Museum which is where the Rondanini Pieta is housed. The remainder of the day Saturday was spent visiting the architecture office of one of the studio professors at Kent State Florence who works out of Milan [Professor Alberto Francini and Metrogramma] and walking around through the vast shopping district of Milan. On Sunday we visited La Triennale di Milano, a design museum in Milan currently housing an exhibition titled "The Syndrome of Influence" which focuses on the past, present and future of design in Milan and Italy. We then took the metro to see the Inter Milan soccer stadium, although we were unable to enter the stadium for a tour, and then went to visit Santa Maria Presso San Satiro, one of the premier designs completed by the Renaissance master Donato Bramante which has a phenomenal perspective painting on the back wall that manages to give the church, with merely a small niche on the back wall, the effect of having a full Greek cross plan.

As always, the photos to follow document the trip. Enjoy.

Padiglione Arte Contemporanae
Contemporary Arts Pavilion - Garden Facade

Interior of Church

Triumphal Arch Entry to Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Triumphal Arch Entry to Galleria

Interior of the Galleria

Central Dome of Galleria

Vaulting of the Galleria

Interior of the Galleria

Louis Vuitton Store in the Galleria

Galleria

First Prada Store - Inside the Galleria

Piazza Scala

Teatro alla Scala

Piazza Scala

The Milan Cathedral

Interior of the Milan Cathedral
[not the best photo but they weren't allowed
so I had to do the best I could quickly]

Picasso - Inside the XX Century Museum

Inside the XX Century Museum

Panoramic Area of XX Century Museum

Andy Warhol Exhibition - XX Century Museum
Representing Pittsburgh

Rondanini Pieta - Castello Sforzesco

The Syndrome of Influence Exhibition
[La Triennale di Milano]

Inter Milan Soccer Stadium

Me at the Inter MIlan Soccer Stadium
[wearing my new Inter Milan jacket]

Santa Maria Presso San Satiro

I know it may seem odd to many of you that we would have a spring break when it seems as though my entire semester is a break for traveling, but we were still given a week off of school and decided to take advantage of that time to travel to Paris for a five day extended trip. We departed to Paris on Friday, March 22nd from the Pisa airport and landed at Paris Orly airport. From there we purchased both the Paris Visite pass [a 5 day metro pass to allow us to get all around the city] and a 4 day museum pass which got us entrance to nearly everything we wanted to do in Paris as well as line jumping priority.

Upon arriving to Paris on Friday we decided to attempt to acclimate ourselves with the city and its vast metro system. This consisted of us walking down the Champs-Elysees [the major shopping district of downtown Paris] to the Arc de Triomphe, and then to the Eiffel Tower from there. We also went to the Basilica of Sacre Couer upon returning to our hostel for the night because we were only about a ten minute walk away from the basilica.

Awesome Looking Mercedes inside Mercedes Store
on the Champs-Elysees

Looking Up at the Arc de Triomphe

The Eiffel Tower

Looking Up at the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower

The Government Building through
a Monument Near the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower through the Monument

Sacre Couer

On Saturday we traveled out to the Palace of Versailles [the royal chateau started by King Louis XIV], then to Sainte Chapelle, then we attempted to visit Notre Dame but there was an 850th anniversary ceremony going on with the ringing of new bells for the church and we were not able to get anywhere near the church that day. So instead of climbing the towers of Notre Dame and visiting the interior of the church as was originally planned, we instead went to the Pompidou museum [one of the best modern art museums in all of Europe].

Chateau Near Versailles

Statue Outside Versailles

Heading into Versailles

The Gates at Versailles

The Front of Versailles

Inside the Gates of Versailles

The Front of Versailles Chateau

Detailing Outside of Versailles

Balcony at Versailles

Inside Versailles

Door Detailing at Versailles

Inside Versailles

Lions Head inside Versailles

Inside Versailles

Chandelier inside Versailles

Bed inside Versailles

Hall of Mirrors inside Versailles

Me inside the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

Ceiling inside Versailles

Inside Versailles

Staircase inside Versailles

Inside Versailles

Ceiling Detailing inside Versailles

Inside Versailles

Gardens at Versailles

The Gardens at Versailles

Statue and Lake at Versailles

Petit Trianon

Gate Detailing at Grande Trianon

Loggia at Grande Trianon

Gardens Behind the Grande Trianon

Pool Table inside the Grande Trianon

Grande Trianon

The Back of the Grande Trianon from the Gardens

Panorama of Grande Trianon

Gate Detailing

Grande Trianon

Gardens at Versailles

Small Fountain with Reflection

Gardens at Versailles

Petit Trianon

Inside the Petit Trianon

Looking back at the Palace of Versailles

My Lunch at Versailles
Baked Potato with Chili

Guimard Metro Entrance

Notre Dame

Palace of Justice

Gates to the Palace of Justice

Sainte Chapelle Exterior

First Level of Sainte Chapelle

Second Level of Sainte Chapelle

Signage

Second Level of Sainte Chapelle

Outside of Sainte Chapelle

Gates

Paris Lamp Post

Guimard Metro Entrance

Notre Dame

Behind Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Memorial

Bridge with Locks

Notre Dame

Clock on Exterior of Building

Guimard Metro Entrance

Lamborghini in the Streets of Paris

Du Schwarma!!!!

Art Inside Pompidou Museum

Pompidou Museum Exterior

Art Inside Pompidou Museum

Pompidou Museum Exterior

Our Hostel Room

On Sunday morning we decided to make the trek out to Poissy, France to visit Le Corbusier's famous Villa Savoye. After returning to Paris we then visited the Museum d'Orsay, one of the premier museums in Paris and then we were thrown for another loop by the wonderful civilians of Paris who were holding a protest against gay marriage on the Champs-Elysees. We were attempting to get up to the Arc de Triomphe for the best view of Paris at night but instead were diverted to the Eiffel Tower which we decided to take the stairs to the second platform level and then take the elevator lift to the top, standing at a towering 320 meters. The view from the top of the Eiffel tower and the experience of climbing it was certainly one I will never forget.

Waiting for the Subway

Interior of Villa Savoye

Villa Savoye

Me at Villa Savoye

Villa Savoye Plaque

Musee d'Orsay

Obelisk

Gold Dome

Cactus Looking Lamp Post

Anti-Gay Marriage Demonstration

Eiffel Tower

Me Near the Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower

Me From the Top of the Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower

Brad and Wes "Gargoyling Across Europe"

Paris From the top of the Eiffel Tower

On Monday we decided to get up a little on the early side and get to the Louvre Museum. Luckily, by doing so, we were able to beat the mad rush to see the Mona Lisa and avoided the large crowds for most of the visit there. After the Louvre we decided to go back to the Eiffel Tower to photograph it in the daylight because it was the nicest day outside since we had been there, and then head back over to Notre Dame to see the interior and climb the tower to the top of it. We then had intentions of going to climb the Arc de Triomphe, but did not arrive there in time and it was closed for the night so we instead went to the Grand Arch monument of defense which is located in the business district of Paris.

Inside the Louvre

Ms. Lisa Herself

Mona Lisa

Inside the Louvre

Seated Scribe
Inside the Louvre

Inside the Louvre

The Louvre Entrance

Inside the Louvre

Trajan
Inside the Louvre

Inside the Louvre

Michalangelo Statue
Inside the Louvre

Inside the Louvre

Caryatid Columns
Inside the Louvre

Inside the Louvre

Louvre Lobby

Entrance to the Louvre

Me Outside the Louvre

Entrance to the Louvre

Paris

Eiffel Tower and Monument

Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower Structure

Eiffel Tower

Notre Dame

Gargoyle at Notre Dame

Paris from the Tower of Notre Dame

Top of Notre Dame

Paris from the Tower of Notre Dame

Top of Notre Dame and Beyond

Notre Dame

Panorama from Notre Dame Tower

Interior of Notre Dame

850 Year Anniversary Sign

Notre Dame

Arc de Triomphe

RER Metro Station

The Grand Arch of Defense

Paris Business District

Behind the Paris Business District

The Grand Arch of Defense

On Tuesday we decided to visit as many possible things remaining on our list of things to do as possible. In this effort we were able to see the military museum, Napoleon's mausoleum, the Conciergerie, the crypte of Notre Dame, the Paris opera house, the Science Museum, and then met up with Brad and Courtney, who went to Disneyland Paris for the day, at the Disney Village.