CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF WHERE - Where Milan

WHERE NOW MilanFOCUSTips fromFriendsEach month Milanesefriends of Where sharetheir favourite hauntswith our readers.Be sure to check outthis insider informationSanta Maria delle GrazieTeatro StrehlerFrom PupiSolari,a Legendof EleganceWe asked Pupi Solari,Pupi Solari boutiques.whose name has beenPiazza Tommaseo, 2. Map C4a legend of understatedMilanese elegance since 1969, when she established her first store, to suggest an itineraryfor a hypothetical tour of Milan by friends from abroad. Here are her suggestions.To begin the day, a visit to the Quadrilatero della Moda with a stop-over at the PalazzoMorando-Attendolo-Bolognini museum in via Sant’Andrea 6, which always hostsextremely interesting exhibitions. Now that it has opened, she wouldalso definitely suggest a visit to the Museo del Novecento at PalazzoArengario, one of the city’s newest assets.For lunch, “my suggestion is Buttero in via Montenapoleone, whereguests are welcomed by the Maccanti family, a husband, wife anddaughter team who are absolutely “adorable”. From the courtyard ofthe restaurant you can see the windows of Aspesi boutique – a famousItalian clothing brand – which I patronize on a regular basis.”“After this relaxing stopover, I would head to the refectory of the Churchof Santa Maria delle Grazie to see “Leonardo’s Last Supper”. Visitorsneed to book ahead for a guided tour, lasting 20 minutes, at set times. It’sadvisable to ask the concierge of their hotel to arrange this”.“In front of the church, in corso Magenta, one of my favourite haunts is the Libreria degliAtellani, specializing in art books but also offering a vast selection of novels and magazinesin English. It now also houses a delicious sushi restaurant”“If I were accompanying the tourists and because I am lucky enough to know the ownersof the establishment, I would ask them to show us “Gli orti di Leonardo”, the gardenwhere in XV century this genius drew inspiration for the creation of his famous fresco andhis scientific discoveries.” The courtyard of Casa Atellani, designed by Portaluppi, acts as abackdrop to this magical place.Pupi then would suggest a cup of tea and pastries at Leonardo, a “cosy, atmospheric” coffeeshop, located just a short distance from corso Magenta, in via Aurelio Saffi, named after thefamous artist and inventor. Our visitors would come in a few steps to piazza Tommaseo,onto which face the shops, selling men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, that are ownedby Pupi herself. The eleven wonderfully lavish window displays have been defined as “theexpression of understated, minimalist creativity”.“To end this event-filled day I would suggest a visit to Corso Como which – in addition tohosting a first-rate restaurant – is also a cosmopolitan meeting place for the lovers of fashionand culture”.Carla Nobili, a 75-year-old full-blooded Milanese, and proud of it!“My family is 100 percent Milanese even though, seventy-five years ago when I was born, my parentslived in Sardinia, where my father was in charge of opening a branch of La Rinascente. I moved backto Milan as an adult, and I absolutely love it. My favorite spots in the city include: the indoor marketin piazza Wagner (Map B4), renowned for the freshness of its produce; the Conservatorio (in viaConservatorio 12, San Babila area, Map H5), of which I am a season ticket holder; Teatro Strehler (largoGreppi, Map E3), famous for the quality of its productions (see photo above). I usually try to fit in at leastone performance a month. A tip? Do as I do, tour Milan on foot: it’s also a great way to stay fit!12 WHERE MILAN I JANUARY 2011