 |
| Sforzesco Castle |
 |
| Piazza Castello |
As I walked across the Piazza Castello, or the outer courtyard, toward the Sforzesco Castle my eyes drifted up to the outline of the fortified castle walls against the skyline. No modern skyscrapers in view, just a view as seen through the ages. Stunning. One of the main landmarks of Milan originally built in 1358 by the Visconti (one of the two important Italian noble dynasties of the Middle Ages).
By now, those who follow my blog know that I love the history behind my travels. And this recent stay in Milan proved to be one of those magical trips where I could dive headlong into the history of the place.
 |
| Duke's Courtyard |
 |
| Ducal Courtyard |
One of the surprising things I learned in studying the history of Milan is that it was originally founded by Celts around 600 BC. Wait, what? I always associate Celts with Ireland, but Celts were originally the people of Medieval Europe (around 1200 BC) who spoke Celtic language and had cultural similarities. It wasn't until roughly 450 BC that the Celts migrated north to the British Isles. The Romans showed up around 222 BC, ambushed the Celts, took over and renamed the city Mediolanum (Milan). And thus founded the Northern Roman capital city.
 |
| Sempione Park |
The castle was a highlight of our stay in Milan. We spent 2 full days exploring it, walking through the many courtyards, looking at the sculpture, stonework, tile work ... you name it, this place has it. The walkway ceilings surrounding the Ducal Courtyard looked like something you'd see in the Game of Thrones in the Kingdom of Dorne. And I loved the reflecting pool in the Duke's Courtyard, an oasis in the middle of Milan.
Another wonderful discovery was the massive city park just outside the castle. One of the back gates is a drawbridge that lets out onto the expanse of Sempione Park, a 95 acre park of rolling hills, lakes and walkways.
Our weather for this trip was unbelievable. Everyone kept telling us it was 'unseasonably warm.' Just our luck! We wandered through the park on a gorgeous 80-degree day with a bit of a breeze. You could not ask for better weather. We spent the afternoon just watching the world go by. There was too much to see in this ancient city for one trip. We will return, of that I have no doubt.
Karen announced another UFO hop, and like many of my bloggy friends we're all in. The motivation to work through all those half finished pieces on the bead table is strong.
Many of us have stared down these UFOs for years shifting the piece this way and that trying to capture a glimpse of what the piece might look like finished. Myself included. I know I, for one, want to see these pieces come to life and move off my bead table once and for all!
The process is slow trying to work through my collection of UFOs, but I have finished another piece. This one actually includes two UFOs into one (score!). I paired a bezeled glass cab with a small bit of grey, beaded herringbone to create a 'bib fringe.' Not sure if a bib fringe is a real thing, but hey I'm in to fringe these days and I'm trying all kinds of variations. I liked how it looked together, so I went for it in this piece.
The problem was that I could tell that once I tried to include a backstrap it was going to twist and turn. So I mounted it (aka glued it) on a heavy gauge piece of silver that I had hammered. This created the perfect anchor for the focal and an easy way to attach some leather. Not sure why this final UFO was such a struggle with so many starts and stops, but it is finally in the finished pile. Now I'm trying to decide what might be next to tackle from this pile of UFOs.
Be sure to check out everyone else's finally finished UFOs: Karen, Francie, Christine, Therese, Bobbie, Kim, Liz, Liz E, Amy, Hope, Christi and Margo
