Friday, April 19, 2019

A BEAUTIFUL Tuesday in Milano!


Tuesday, 16 April, 2019

Today offered us a ton of photo-ops as we ventured into Milano via train.

First though, let's take a look at more photos from last Saturday's 35-12 Skorpions win over the Desio Hammers that were posted today by ace team photographer Edvin and others.

HERE COME THE SKORPIONS!

HAMMER TIME!

Captains Out

WR Matteo Mozzanica

RB Dylan Auriema

RB Dylan Auriema

Michael Contreras kneeling with
LB/K/P Stefano Granelli

RB Ema Della Bosca

Dying Cockroach double team block
by OG Gabriele "Capo" Di Stefano and
C Marco "Nali" Fortunali

WR Matteo Mozzanica

Extra Point Team

Extra Point team TE Davide Vuolo
for two points

LB Stefano Granelli tackling a
scrambling Hammers QB

Punter Stefano Granelli about to lower
the boom at the end of a successful
20 yard run on a fake punt

Life in The Pit

NG Raffaele Nardi

QB Giacomo "Jack" Micheli

What an amazing job he has done so far this season, a great leader.

FS Manuel "Biondo" Bulgheroni

LB Fabio Stoppa

RB Ema Della Bosca

DE Tomas Pedotti
2 1/2 QB Sacks and a Fumble Recovery

CB Andrea Mora
If it moves, HIT IT!

CB Federico Zanetta battling
along the sidelines

 WR Matteo Mozzanica

DE Tomas Pedotti's Fumble Recovery

Happy Post-Game Skorpions!

Now we can go on to today's Milanese activities.

Mike with Chiesa Santa Maria delle Grazie
in the background

Mike's first stop today would be in the former dining hall attached to this church that houses Leonardo da Vinci's famous and now controversial, thanks to author Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code, fresco known as The Last Supper.

Mike just before entering to see
the Cenacolo Vinciano as the fresco
is called in Italian

Laurie and I had seen this masterpiece last Spring and with tickets hard to get, Mike went in alone to be wowed by one of Western Civilization's greatest works of art.

I think he enjoyed his viewing.

I had about a half hour to kill while Mike was inside the dining hall, so I took some photos.

Fresh drinking water abounds

I stepped into the
Chiesa Santa Maria delle Grazie
for another look

Great woodworking

Santa Clara shadow

Ornate ceilings are a MUST
in these churches

Mike rejoined me after his viewing of The Last Supper and we proceeded to walk into the core of Milano's historic area.

Our next stop was at the IXth-century San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore to see their famed Bernardo Luini frescoes that have earned this church the sobriquet The Sistine Chapel of Lombardia.

The guy holding the boulder
overhead is, I've been told,
without sin

St. John the Baptist's head,
I presume

Mike in the first of two
fabulously frescoed rooms

Mary is down again

Great shield art

Catania's Patron Saint
Sant'Agata

The term
"I've got a splitting headache"
originated here

Ornate

Noah's Ark

Lowering Jesus off the cross

This is going to be a long weekend

Nice looking pet

Mike in the Hall of Nuns

After all of this art viewing, we needed a café.

There was really only one place for this in the area, the iconic Pasticceria Marchesi, a Milano landmark since 1824.

Mike and a cappuccino

Me with my cappuccino at
the crowded Marchesi bar

Mike in front of the Milano
Stock Exchange building

He often teaches Economics to Seniors at Newbury Park High School in California.

In front of Milano's Duomo

After the sad news of the fire at Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral this week, you appreciate this grand Gothic church that took over 600 years to complete even more.

Show-offs

Stomach Ulcer

They used to love lopping
off heads back in the day

Of course we had to check out
what was in stock at this all-teams
calcio store behind the Duomo

Such ornate details

Cool hat

Mike and his favorite saint,
Padre Pio

We were now in the Chiesa San Bernardino to see the Ossuary.

Bones . . .

. . . LOTS of bones

These bones are mostly the remains of medieval plague victims.

Speaking of death . . .

. . . historian Mike wanted to visit
Piazza Loreto where Italy's
Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini
was strung up at the end of WWII

The site of the former gas station where this happened on Piazza Loreto now houses a large building with a McDonalds' McCafe on the ground level.

We headed back into the heart of Milano as we had a lunch date.

But first Mike had to check out
the AC Milan store

AC Milan is Mike's favorite Italian Serie A calcio team.

The impressive, newer Chiesa
San Carlo near the AC Milan store

Lunch with our cousin
Maria Clara who works in Milan

Delightful as always.

One more stop before heading
back to Varese at the
Museo del Risorgimento Nazionale

This museum illustrates the historical events in the struggle that led to the Italian Unification in 1861.

Good looking uniforms were
part of that struggle

Emperor Napoleon's 1796 invasion
of Italy kindled the fires
of Italian nationalism

Napoleonic Symbols of Power

The Royal Seal

Beautiful pageantry and . . .

. . . bludgeoning tools go
hand in hand apparently

I think that this might be
Giuseppe Garibaldi's
Victory Vest

Giuseppe Garibaldi's likeness
reflected in the glass protecting
the red shirts that his soldiers famously
wore in the 1850s

An early Riddell helmet
prototype, I believe

The battle for Unification inspired many an artist, here is some of their fascinating work.

Dying Officer

GREAT mustache!

It's all Pomp and Circumstance . . .

. . . until the bullets start flying!

Another officer down

It's OVER and he made it
home in one piece

Peace

Families reuniting

Death of a family in Rome

Good looking feathered hats

A Venice scene

We were about to leave this fine museum when we noticed a room with a special exhibit that definitely had nothing to do with Garibaldi's time.

Italy's Fascist Movement
from 1919-1926

The lead Fascist
Benito Mussolini

Taking over of the Free Press

Hmmmm . . .

It's ALL about Benito

Hmmmm . . .

Socialists and Fascists working
together for a better Italy

Hmmmm . . .

When in doubt, use a club!

The Fascist symbol known as a Fasces
with Milan's Duomo superimposed

We were back on Milano's #1 tram line
to start our trip back to Varese
and a night of American football

Coach Bumba holding during
U16 tackle team kicker tryouts

Women's Flag team in action

Giorgio Nardi coaching up
the Women's Flag squad

The original Varese Skorpions logo

Pre-practice Prima Squadra meeting

We had to review the Hammers game one last time, set out the goals for our bye week and start getting ready for another tough opponent in two weeks, the 3-2 Brescia Bengals.

We currently share third place with the Bengals in the nine team DII Group A standings.

Defensive Coordinator Dani Donati
going over his strategies for the
Bengals game

Mike was a HUGE help tonight
at practice coaching up both
the WRs and DBs

GRAZIE Mike for another wonderful day in Lombardia!

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