In 1969 all my friends in year 8 at Rosewood High had done their primary schooling at the local convent. I was the odd one out. Most Thursday afternoons we would head over to the Catholic church where Father Brown would hand out air-rifles to my friends to shoot the pigeons that nested under the eaves of his church. But not to me. Finally one afternoon he said ‘You’re Ted’s son?’ I nodded. Then he handed me a slug gun and said ‘Just shoot the Protestant pigeons son.’ It was wonderful for a 12yr old. But he never asked me to paint the church.

Louis asked Leo to do a bit of work on his churches in Milan, our last stop ’til Japan. In 1482 Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan, invited a young Leonardo da Vinci to Milan from his home town of Florence in response to a shower of letters sent by Leonardo to the Duke. The Duke invited him to decorate a convent and to help with the design of his cathedral. One became ‘The Last Supper’, the other became one of the most recognisable buildings in the world.

Being the great polymath that he was, he went on to work on a huge range of other projects for his sponsor in Milan. There were weapon designs, new, improved, water-powered wool looms, drawings, glorious art works, writings about flying machines and submarines. There were scientific and mathematical insights. There were sculptures and letters; all of these are now part of our precious Western heritage. Milan was special for Leonardo indeed.

We have only ever used this city as an airport, as a pause before heading elsewhere, but at each visit we feel a little more intrigued by its food, its people, and the unexpected (and expected) moments of beauty. Milan – we, like Leonardo did before us, feel a growing affinity towards you – an urge to design a church, a castle, or the like …. though nothing as grand as Rosewood’s Catholic Church of course. After all, some things are simply not able to be replicated – ever.

We have only one more day here to explore this city and its museums and art galleries before we head to Tokyo and the land of high tech toilets…..that is unless I’m offerred a slug gun to shoot pigeons at the cathedral. Only the Protestant pigeons of course!

F C-S

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The Duke’s front gate.

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If ever a deli had my name written all over it, this is it.

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Milan’s version of Harrods or KaDeWe

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Of course every capital city in the world (except Lima) has an Inca playing Andean tunes on a wooden flute beside a stuffed llama.