Duomo and Haunted House 大教堂与金“鬼屋”
April 4, 2026
We visited the Milan Duomo this morning. The highlight of the visit was standing on the rooftop, where we enjoyed a panoramic view of the city and admired the cathedral’s magnificent Gothic architecture.
We also made several stops inside the cathedral, including St. Charles’ Crypt and the archaeological site. The remarkable Duomo showcases Italy’s rich history and extraordinary architectural beauty.
Near the Milan Cathedral, Panzerotti Luini is a famous long-established bakery best known for its panzerotti. Panzerotti is a Southern Italian stuffed and fried pastry. After visiting the cathedral, we stopped by the shop on our way. The line was very long, but fortunately the takeaway service moved fairly quickly. Holding the hot fried pastry in our hands, it did not look particularly impressive, yet the taste was surprisingly good — definitely worth waiting in line for that delicious bite.
In the afternoon, we took the subway to visit the Prada Museum. The museum does not display products related to Prada; instead, it combines a former distillery complex with new buildings, and the architecture itself is a major part of the experience.
We joined an English-language tour of the Torre, a tall concrete tower featuring modern art exhibitions. However, the staircase and panoramic elevator were even more striking than the artworks themselves. The elevator is integrated into the building’s diagonal external structure, with half of its interior lined in pink onyx and the other half made of floor-to-ceiling glass, blending the indoor and outdoor spaces together. The designer created two vertically parallel staircases, one of which serves as the emergency stairs. In the lobby, we saw what appeared to be two connected staircases, but when people walked down one of them, they seemed to disappear halfway, creating a fascinating illusion. The building has several floors, each displaying one or two pieces of modern art surrounded by a great deal of open space.
The main highlight of the museum for us was the Haunted House, a concrete building covered in gold leaf. Its interior is sparsely decorated, and even the elevator looks old. Again, each floor contains only one or two art exhibits, many of them extremely simple—sometimes just a window panel or a body part. The most intriguing work was on the top floor: a street drain with an illuminated heart inside. In a gold-coated, nearly empty house, there was still a living heart beating within a dirty drain, struggling to survive.
There were a few other exhibits as well, but unfortunately we missed Cao Fei’s new exhibition, which was scheduled to open one week after our visit. She is one of the most famous contemporary artists in China, and she was there working to set up the exhibition.
What a shocking contrast it was to experience the Gothic cathedral and the golden Haunted House on the same day.
At sunset, we returned to the Duomo and had dinner at a rooftop restaurant beside the cathedral. Bathed in the warm golden light of the fading day, the marble façade of the Duomo seemed to glow softly against the evening sky, its spires and statues standing out with even greater drama and beauty.
The night was still young. After dinner, we stopped by the illy café on the same floor, where each of us enjoyed a cup of espresso and a pastry roll while savoring the unforgettable view of the illuminated cathedral.
2026年4月4日
今天上午，我们参观了米兰大教堂。我们是早在几个月前就买好了快速通道的票，这样几乎不用排队，按规定时间直接坐电梯登上教堂阳台，在上面沿着教堂边走边看，近距离欣赏这座精美绝伦的哥特式风格建筑。最后来到教堂的屋顶，在那里俯瞰整座城市的全景。然后下到大教堂里面参观。我们买的快速通道票也包含了大教堂内部底下圣查尔斯地下墓室和考古遗址。这座令人惊叹的大教堂充分展现了意大利悠久的历史和非凡的建筑之美。
米兰大教堂旁边的Panzerotti Luini，是一家很有名的老字号烘焙店，以卖 panzerotti 最出名。Panzerotti 是一种意大利南部风味的夹馅炸面饼。参观完大教堂我们便顺路来到这家店，队排得很长，好在外买速度还算快。拿着热乎乎的炸面饼，看着不怎么样，但味道却很不错，值得排队吃上这一口。
下午，我们乘地铁前往普拉达（Prada)基金会博物馆参观。这里并不展示与普拉达品牌产品相关的内容，而是将一处旧酿酒厂建筑群与新建的建筑结合在一起，建筑本身就是参观体验中非常重要的一部分。
我们参加了一场英文导览，参观名为“Torre”的高大混凝土塔楼，里面陈列着现代艺术作品。然而，与这些展品相比，更令我们印象深刻的是楼里的楼梯和全景电梯。电梯被嵌入建筑外部斜向结构之中，一半内部使用粉色缟玛瑙装饰，另一半则是从天花板延伸到地面的整面玻璃窗，将室内与室外巧妙地融合在一起。设计师还设置了两组上下垂直平行的楼梯，其中一组作为紧急疏散楼梯使用。在大楼入口大厅里，我们能看到两段似乎彼此相连的楼梯，但当人从其中一段走下去时，却会在中间“消失”，形成一种奇妙的视觉错觉。整栋楼有好几层，每一层只展出一两件现代艺术作品，其余则留有大量空旷空间。
对我们来说，博物馆中最精彩的部分是“鬼屋”——一栋外部覆有金箔的混凝土建筑。它的内部装饰极其简朴，甚至连电梯都显得有些陈旧。同样地，每一层也只陈列一两件展品，而且更加简单，有时甚至只是一个窗板，或是一部分人体。最耐人寻味的一件作品位于顶层：房间中间一个街头排水口中嵌着一颗发光的心脏。在一座镀金却近乎空荡的房子里，竟有一颗依然鲜活跳动的心，藏在肮脏的排水口中顽强地生存着。
馆内还有其它一些展览，不过很遗憾，我们错过了曹斐的新展览，因为它将在我们参观后一周才正式开放。曹斐是中国最著名的当代艺术家之一，而她当时正在现场布置展览。
在同一天里，先感受哥特式大教堂的庄严辉煌，再走进这座金色“鬼屋”的冷峻空灵，这种对比实在令人震撼和思考。
黄昏时分，我们又回到了米兰大教堂广场，等着看太阳落山，并且在教堂旁边的屋顶餐厅享用了晚餐。落日余晖洒在大教堂的大理石外立面上，使整座建筑在暮色天空下泛着柔和而温暖的金色光辉。