Not to miss

Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio

Founded in the 4th century by Milan's patron saint Ambroggio, this church has been repaired, rebuilt and restored many times and is a hotchpotch of styles. The shorter of the two bell towers dates to the 9th century as does the canopy over the altar inside. The saint himself is buried in the crypt and his body can be viewed in spooky desiccated form.

Ambroggio rose to power rather suddenly, graduating from public servant to bishop in about a week after rowdy Milanese crowds demanded his appointment. Sant'Ambroggio proved to be a quick study and unusually gutsy, a staunch defender of the poor and opponent of Arianism, Lombardy's main religion at the time. For all his successful politicking, he wouldn't sacrifice principle for diplomacy - he demanded that Emperor Theodosius repent for the massacre of 7,000 people at Thessolonica under threat of excommunication.

The church itself is a fitting legacy: the solid brick structure is well grounded, and its purposeful simplicity is truly uplifting. Once inside, your eye may be caught by the shimmering altar mosaics and AD 835 gilt altarpiece telling Sant'Abroggio's life story - but wait until you see the 4th-6th century mosaics inside the Sacello San Vittore in Ciel d'Oro.

Duomo

Milan's Duomo is the world's fourth-largest church. This late-Gothic wonder features a forest of spires and statuary, marble pinnacles and pillars, all woven together with a web of flying buttresses. Gian Galeazzo Visconti had grand designs on the city in 1387, and rallied support for the massive new Duomo. The view from the roof is the city's finest.

To win over naysayers, Visconti agreed to cover the cost of the lavish pinkish-grey Candoglia marble. Yet, as the edifice went up, engineers denounced the massive structure as unscientific and unconstructable. The marble was nice, but how could the largest slabs be transported through the narrow streets to the centre?

As always in Milan, there was also the matter of style. By the time the cathedral began taking shape, the rest of Italy had moved on from French-inspired Gothic. But rather than stripping away Gothic ornament, Milan piled it on, literally taking Gothic to the next level with spires capped by thousands of sculptures in a fusion International High Gothic style.

Don't be surprised if some of its splendours are under wraps when you visit - like certain ladies who lunch in the Quadrilatero d'Oro, the Duomo gets a little work done to its face and backside on a regular basis.

Museo Teatrale alla Scala

'Untutored hands may not touch me', are the words of a true diva, inscribed here on an 18th-century spinette (piano). Harlequino costumes and playing cards left at La Scala also hint at centuries of Milanese musical drama. Portraits show Rossini chatting up patrons, while Verdi seems troubled by mixed reviews, and Callas a goddess towering above critique.