This week I’m taking you on a short walk in Milan. Just an hour’s walk, and then an hour of artistic education.

We start out close to the awe-inspiring Cathedral.

After the massive downpour that had greeted me the day before, I wasn’t at all sure what the sky had planned for me. There was a hopeful hint of blue up there, but I still warmed up with a cup of coffee at a cafe alongside the square, before meeting up with my guides Juliana & Federico.

This charming couple are steeped in the history and architecture of this city, and took me on such an interesting walk that I took hardly any photos. That in itself is a miracle!

They unravelled the long history of the building of the cathedral, versus the short and speedy construction of the nearby glitzy Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

The guided walk took us to some less well known corners of the city and ended at Sforza Castle (Castello Sforzesco), an amazing site that I hadn’t discovered before. We settled down over an espresso, in a cafe with huge windows that gave us a perfect view onto the courtyard. With caffeine to boost my concentration, the lesson started.

This walk is entitled “Urban Sketching” and Federico now moved on to give me a fascinating lesson on how to do architectural drawing. My artistic abilities with anything other than my camera are extremely limited, but Federico is a great teacher and the skills required have a fair amount of logic and geometry incorporated.

The sun had appeared by the time we were adding details and light and shadow was as important as they are with the lens; as are angles and perspective.

And the biggest surprise of all, was that I was pleased with what I drew.

I thoroughly recommend this walk. Milan is a great city and a walk with Juliana & Federico is a great reason to visit. They are both qualified architects, excellent teachers and are full of charm. I had two new friends by the time the lesson was complete.
Head over here to book your own artistic walk.

And pop over to here to see me in action, pen in hand!

Copyright Debbie Smyth, 6 January 2020

Posted as part of Jo’s Monday Walks