Strange sort of empathy

It became apparent today that John and I tend to notice the same, strange things when we are together. It’s a strange sort of empathy. Take this morning, for instance. We were walking to Bristot, the place where we get breakfast and our morning espresso and we witnessed a strange event which we both wondered about.

Two men emerged from a pair of big wooden doors and a small, black car emerged. Then two, very well dressed woman quickly came out and got into the car which then sped off. There followed from within a second, much bigger black car with impenetrable tinted windows.

At this point we noticed two things. Firstly the two men looked suspiciously like some sort of special forces security detail and the big black car almost ran over an old Italian granny. It was the old Italian granny which grabbed our attention as she barely avoided being squished by the big black car.

All was fine and she survived but, as John and I discussed later, it could have been a distraction technique and, while we were gawping at granny, they were doing something nefarious.

Later, on the way back to the flat we checked out the entrance from which they’d emerged but there was nothing to see other than what you’d expect. All very mysterious.

We also watched a garbage collector with a very ernest expression, holding up traffic as he collected wheelie bins from along the road and emptied them into his truck. When he turned and saw us watching from the window of the cafe, he gave us both a big smile.

Not that those two events had anything to do with our day today. Rather, our final Milan day involved a bit of a walking tour of ancient Milan with John as our tour guide.

And what a tour guide. He showed us some pretty amazing stuff. First up, a bit of ruin in the middle of a triangular roundabout.

This is the remains of a church that was almost completely demolished except for this bit above ground marking, sort of, the crypt underneath. And, apparently, it was built on top of a Roman villa. The crypt can be accessed and has some interesting stuff in it but, sadly, it doesn’t reopen until next week so we missed out.

Incidentally, the yellow bag in the photo has nothing to do with the church and was put there by the man sittig on the wall. Obviously I wasn’t going to tell him to move it because, firstly I’m not a wanky influencer who needs things just so and, secondly, because that is how it was in real life.

Anyway, we left the church and headed further down the Roman Road (you know they all lead there, right?) to our next destination which, you’ll never guess…was a church.

This one was a bit more complete. It is the amazingly amazing Basilica di San Nazaro in Brolo, founded, once more, by our old friend St Ambrose.

Yes, from the above photo it all looks very simple but it is far from it. You need to consider that this was one of the early Christian churches following Constantine’s declaration that Christianity would be the new religion. It is the first Latin Cross church and was meant to symbolise Christ’s crucifixion.

It was built between 382 and 386 and there are little hints about the place, showing how closely linked the early churches were. The Greeks, for instance and, of course, a bit of pagan.

Most extraordinary is that the road outside the church was one long portico in Roman times. It is a very straight road with a tram line trunning up it these days but it would have been something when it was all portico.

There is also little nooks and crannies dottewd about the church, filled with amazing stuff like funerary remains with explanations, a crypt with bits of wall in it showing the original construction and, unexpectedly in a Mary Chapel, a Judith holding the head of Holofernes.

Lindy hadn’t heard the story and I took great delight in reciting it. Such a pity it didn’t make the cut and get into the Bible. And she wasn’t the only Judith we saw. There was another in the next church we visited, the equally amazing, Basilica di Sant Eustorgio.

It was here, in the 4th century AD that two oxen dragged a stone crypt from Constantinople, dying of exhaustion when they reached Milan. Within the crypt were the remains of the Magi. You know, the three kings who visited baby Jesus and gave him some pretty useless presents. For a baby, I mean.

The crypt itself was a bit of a present from the emporer of Constantinople to St Eustorgio who, in honour of this great gift, built a church on top of the dead oxen posthaste. The big stone crypt is in the church, proudly displayed. The oxen are merely a footnote.

The story of the Magi does not end there, though, because in 1164, during the siege of Milan by Frederick Barbarossa, fearing that he would do something with the remains, the devotees took them and hid them in another church. Archbishop Rainald von Dassel discovered this ploy, however, and stole them from the other church.

The remains wound up in Cologne where they are still, today. Though not all of them.

In 1903, a cardinal asked really, really nicely to have them returned. A few fragments arrived in a box and put back in the crypt. Pity I didn’t know this when I visited the Cathedral at Cologne.

The church has some amazing stuff in it including this strange two faced woman.

She is one of the figures on a massive marble sarcophagus dedicated to St Peter of Verona. She is one of the virtues. John reckons she could be Prudence. All the names were in Latin and a bit obscure given the age – it was carved back in 1339.

There is so much to tell about the monument, I could go on for ages. But, fear not, I will not.

It was about time for lunch so we strolled down to the canal – yes there is a canal in Milan – and chose one of the 327 restaurants along the bank, each with their own touts, trying to charm people in to sit and eat and/or drink.

It was a delightful lunch we had, watching people and eating Italian.

Then we found the good old Metro and headed back to the flat for our afternoon rest before dinner.

We had booked to dine in the same place we went to on Tuesday, the Osteria Nuovo Convento. When we turned up, the guy in charge treated us like family, welcoming us in, happy to see us. It was fantastic. As was the food. Again In particular my beef and artichoke. It was splendid.

And that was it for Milan. Tomorrow morning we head for Naples where we will meet up with Anthea and Sarah. As I said over dinner, I’m going to miss Milan.

Before I go, I have included my latest Letter from Sweden, which I recorded before I left. Here it is: