An itinerary among the statues and sculptures of Milan
Walking through the streets of Milan, it is easy to come across one of the many sculptures that dot the city. Today, however, we would like to offer you a special itinerary, designed to introduce you to the most particular outdoor works of art, starting from your home in Milan: the Best Western Hotel City!
Let's start the journey at the Indro Montanelli Gardens, a ten-minute walk from the hotel. Here, just to the left of the Planetarium, the bronze monument dedicated to Ruggero Giuseppe Boscovich, a Croatian astronomer and physicist who lived and died in Milan, was inaugurated in 2017. Of imposing dimensions, the sculpture, created by Ivan Meštrović, depicts the scientist seated in a reflective attitude, with his left arm resting on a globe. Part Rodin's thinker, part Atlas from Greek mythology, the sculpture celebrates the astronomer's connection with his scientific discoveries. Boscovich was in fact the first to provide a procedure for calculating the orbit of a planet and was among the founders of the Brera astronomical observatory in Milan.
Let's move to Via Senato 10 where the famous statue by Joan Mirò, "Mère Ubu" from 1975, has just been relocated after its restoration. Of surrealist origin, the sculpture represents a zoomorphic figure with a bird's head, a concave belly similar to a cave, two massive legs and on the body, symbolic incisions that recall primitive art. Reconnecting to the character of Ubu, a manipulative, ambitious and cruel woman from the play Ubu Roi by Alfred Jarry, Mirò represents the antithesis of motherhood: a concave belly and breast-like protuberances that emerge in the opposite direction to those of the face and yet the arms that protrude as a sign of openness. With a highly symbolic and suggestive value, the work, with its contrasts, arouses strong impressions and stimulates openness and reflection.
Let's now go to the renowned artistic district of Brera, and in particular to the courtyard of the Academy, where we find the statue of Napoleon Bonaparte created by Antonio Canova. Sculpted between 1802 and 1806, it represents the emperor as Mars the peacemaker, naked and idealized according to the canons of classical art. The work was designed to exalt the heroic and divine figure of Napoleon, but the distance between the image and the real body did not make it pleasing to the emperor. The original marble is now in Apsley House in London, while a plaster copy and the bronze work made by Francesco Righetti are exhibited in Brera. Worth seeing as it is one of the greatest examples of Canova's neoclassicism.
Let's now approach the center and stop in Piazza Belgiojoso where the Monument to Cristina Trivulzio di Belgiojoso is located, created by Giuseppe Bergomi and inaugurated in 2021. It is the first public statue dedicated to a real woman in the city and depicts the patriot sitting on a bench in a dynamic and reflective pose at the same time. Cristina was a key figure of the Italian Risorgimento, involved in politics, journalism and social commitment. The work aims to restore visibility to the female role in the history of Italy.
A short distance away, the "Grande Disco" by Arnaldo Pomodoro, installed in 1980 in Piazza Meda in Milan, is a gilded bronze sculpture 4.5 meters in diameter. The work represents a disk, which in color and reflections recalls that of the sun, with incisions and slits that evoke rays and gears, symbolizing the contrast between nature and technology. Pomodoro was inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, ideally inscribing the human figure in the circle. Today it is an icon of contemporary art in Milan, integrated into the urban landscape and accessible to the public.
We arrive in a few minutes in Piazza della Scala, where the monument to Leonardo da Vinci is located, an imposing work created by the sculptor Pietro Magni and inaugurated in 1872. The central statue depicts Leonardo in a pensive pose, with his hands folded on his chest. At the base, on an octagonal pedestal, are the statues of four of his students. The Milanese jokingly nicknamed the monument “on liter in quater”, “one liter in four”, comparing it to a bottle of wine surrounded by four glasses. The base is decorated with bas-reliefs illustrating Leonardo as a painter, sculptor, architect and hydraulic engineer.
Let's now return to contemporary art with the sculpture L.O.V.E. by Maurizio Cattelan, commonly known as "Il Dito", located in Piazza Affari in Milan, in front of the headquarters of the Italian Stock Exchange. Made of Carrara marble, the 11-meter-high work represents a hand with all the fingers cut off, except the middle finger. The title L.O.V.E. creates an effective contrast with the provocative image and is an acronym for "Libertà, Odio, Vendetta, Eternità", words that evoke complex and ambiguous themes. Inaugurated in 2010, the work has sparked debates and various interpretations, but Cattelan has chosen not to provide a univocal reading, leaving room for the viewer's imagination.
Less known but very suggestive is the statue by Daniela Oliveri dedicated to Margherita Hack in Largo Richini right in front of the State University of Milan. Inaugurated in 2022, it is the first statue in Italy on public land dedicated to a woman of science. It depicts the famous astrophysicist emerging from a galactic vortex, with her golden hands raised towards the sky, as if to simulate looking from a telescope. Hence the title of the work "Physical Gaze".
Now with the help of the subway line 3 (Missori - Repubblica) we now arrive near the Central Station where the last two sculptures of the tour await us.
In Via Vittor Pisani, at the height of Via Felice Casati, we find the sculpture "Personaggio" by Rachele Bianchi, a monumental work in bronze, inaugurated in 2019. The sculpture represents a female figure wrapped in a pleated tunic that recalls the pages of a book. The woman here is the symbol of a femininity that combines the softness of the body's lines with the will and determination expressed by geometric shapes. It is a typical work of the artist's production, whose figures, initially wrapped in protective cloaks, progressively open up to the world, symbolizing a path of personal growth and openness to the outside.
We end our journey in Piazza Duca D'Aosta in front of the Central Station where the monumental sculpture by Michelangelo Pistoletto, "La Mela Reintegrata", stands 8 meters high and weighs 11 tons. The work, installed in 2016, represents a white apple, emblem of intact nature, with a sewn-up bite, symbol of humanity's detachment from nature and its reconciliation. The sculpture therefore becomes a starting point for reflection on the relationship between technological progress and environmental sustainability and hopes for a new planetary balance between these two worlds.
Here we are at the end of our entirely free itinerary for the open-air sculptures of Milan. In 10 minutes of walking you are back at the Best Western Hotel City to enjoy a well-deserved rest!
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