When we were kids, our parents used to take us out at least once every Christmas season to look at the lights in various neighborhoods of St. Paul, Minnesota. We so looked forward to those drives, wondering if the house on Snelling Avenue had the Santa, sleigh and reindeer up again this year (very special in the late 1950s/early 1960s) and marveling at the “rich people’s” houses where there were so many lights you knew they did not have any concerns about electrical bills. Our house always had a few strings of lights, but somehow the other neighborhoods seemed more exotic.
Ahhh, the Milano Duomo and its magnificent tree!
When my son was small I’d do the same thing with him although eventually these viewings became what he called forced marches through neighborhoods in Omaha and Portland as we took to our feet instead of the car. Ric and I have continued the tradition everywhere we’ve lived and traveled, with fond memories of wandering down Peacock Lane & strolling through the Grotto in Portland. In Italy the private dwellings are not the focus, it is the public lighting.
Wednesday night we traveled through Milano, stopping for one night on our way to Paris, and made a point of taking a Christmas Lights Walk. Subtle, like Roma, nothing really garish, but people were out in droves enjoying a crisp-but-not-cold night, taking the kids to see Santa, shopping, and gawking at the tree in Piazza del Duomo.
Adding to the festiveness, a live orchestra was performing in a building overlooking the Piazza del Duomo. Christmas songs done in a swing style with a proper chanteuse singing in slightly accented English (‘Ave you-self a merrrrry little Chris-mas.…) blared out through open windows and over a magnificent sound system. People were paying rapt attention even though one could not see the musicians. It truly was festive!
Click on any photo for a slide show.
Babbo Natale takes his break at a cafe, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.
The lighting in the dome in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is almost painfully blue.
Swarovski’s tree dominates the center of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele.
The mob in the street outside La Rinascente, Milano. There is a nice Christmas market in the streets around the Duomo area.
Figure skater with apple, Piazza del Duomo.
Tree in a bar in Milano. Molto elegante!
Presepe in the window at Dolce and Gabbana, Milano. This is 1/2 of the giant Neapoletan-style creche.
Porta Venezia lights. Origins go back to Roman times, but this sructure is from the 19th century.
Milano has a theme called “Yellow Christmas” near Porta Venezia. Un po’ strano.
Holiday lights in public garden, Milano Porta Venezia.
Children’s Christmas village in Milano near Porta Venezia.
Babbo Natale receives kids in a very low-key style in Milano Christmas Village. Note the parents taking their own photos!
I am looking forward to the French experience in Paris where I understand the lighting is far less subtle.
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