WORDS & PICTURES: Jane Fletcher
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Milan, Italy, a hub of commerce, fashion, culture and design, and home to approximately 1.4 million people, is a city of many different faces. The first face of Milan I got to see was many years ago, as a student traveller with my partner at the time; we were on a romantic trip to visit Lombardy and the lakes before whizzing back to finish up my finals in the UK. My relationship with Milan began as a brief but passionate affair; spinning through the city on a Campari Spritz-fuelled adventure, served by waistcoated ‘camerieri’ in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and then sipping on the most generously-poured gin tonics from chisel-jawed young cocktail makers at one of the many bars stretched out along the canals of the Navigli.
Milan had just won the league, and the city was ablaze with locals shouting, dancing, kissing, and celebrating through the streets, the Duomo lit up by the flares and fireworks hurled into the night. It was a wild and hazy whirlwind and these were the visions that stayed with me for a long time of this wild and beautiful city with locals spilling out of the bars and cafes, full of light, fireworks, and passion.
The romance with this particular gentleman faded away, but my love affair with Italy – and Milan in particular – had only just begun. Switch to ten years later and Milan is my home; I’m sat in a small café in the Brera district of the Centro Storico. It’s summer and the streets are humming with tourists looking to find a bargain from one of the many artisanal market stands set up along the streets. Immaculately dressed Brera natives drive past in their Jags and Bentleys, or totter over the cobblestones in their skyscraper heels. I don’t think I know another place in the world more perfect for a cool Spritz and a late afternoon of people-watching from my little table, tucked away at the edge of the square.
Italy is one of the most passionate and beautiful countries I know, and Milan lies at the crossroads where all this food, art, beauty, and passion come together in a melting pot of design, fashion, and business. Milan is probably the most international and multicultural of all the Italian cities, and it has the potent mix of Italian and Northern European cultures woven into the tapestry of its streets. Milan, like all Italian cities, has had a wild and varied history, being governed by France, Austria and Spain in its time; this is reflected in the beautiful architecture found across the city – and also in the mentality of its locals.
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Another of my favourite faces of Milan can be found northwest of the centre in a little area called Bovisa: it’s a small, industrial, rather run-down area of the city, and the grey streets are home to old warehouses and a few disused factories. I remember the first time I visited here: it was a cool autumn night and this particular street was completely empty. We parked the car and I checked the address again on my phone. It was correct but I was doubtful – it seemed an odd choice for a place to spend a Saturday night in Milan.
I checked my lipstick in the mirror, smoothed down my dress, and we headed off in search of the Spirit de Milan. After a few paces, I could hear the faint sound of jazz coming from somewhere to our right, relieved, we made for the music, and the jazz grew louder. We entered through the expansive industrial archway of an old factory; the music was heavenly, but there was still no one in sight. Rounding the corner, we walked through the small doorway and bam! The music hit me like a wave.
A huge dance floor laid out before me, the jazz band blowing and singing and drumming their hearts out. Ladies in beautiful dresses were spinning in the arms of their handsome partners, waiters carrying huge platters of food to the heaving tables of diners, laughing and shouting with drinks in hand. We’d stepped into the 1930s, and I was in heaven. I loved every second of it. I danced and danced my way through the night and collapsed content and exhausted early that morning, my heading buzzing with the music and visions of that beautiful evening.
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All of these different sides to Milan, Italy, make it such a special, vibrant city. But now, the world is in lockdown, and this city feels unrecognisable some days. The quiet streets and the immaculately-curated storefronts are left without a gaze. In these strange days and months, I have moments of feeling strong, of feeling hopeful, and other days where I miss Milan. Even when I’m right here. I miss dancing to the jazz bands playing all night at the Spirit and coming home shattered, feet destroyed and ecstatic. I miss getting lost in NoLo and dipping into a little place to get away from the rain, only to find the most delicious wine and food, and vinyls playing from an old record player.
Sometimes, it all just gets too much. But, sometimes, if you stay still and calm for a moment, you can feel the buzz, the faint throb of the heartbeat of Milan; it’s there, waiting for us to slowly take back these beautiful streets, bars, cafés, museums, galleries, and fill them with all the life and love and adventures that they were made for.
See you soon, Milan. Ti penso e ti amo.
