Considering the fact that the Triceratops yesterday was everything Simeon had ever dreamed of and more, I think he handled the letdown of an art museum pretty well. We visited the Brera district, described in our Milan book as "Milan's traditional Bohemian quarter". I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I do know that I saw at least 6 different people carrying around giant rectangular parcels covered in bubble wrap, and one woman with a big tubular art-carrying bag strapped over her shoulders. We passed several outdoor cafes, an academy of art, and a theater, so it was a lively area with lots of narrow, winding, cobblestoned streets.
Apparently the palazzo that houses the actual gallery was originally built for the Jesuits in the 16th/17th centuries. Cameras aren't allowed 
inside, and I would have loved more time to amble and sit and look. Unfortunately, when we read before we went, the painting Simeon had his heart set on was the "Portrait of Moise Kisling" by Modigliani -- the modern looking face in the bottom center of the pamphlet above -- which is currently on loan to another museum and wasn't there. I don't know much about art or art history, but I know there were a ton of giant, old, absolutely beautiful paintings. My book says we saw "masterpieces by leading Italian artists ... including Raphael, Mantegna, Piero della Francesca and Caravaggio."One we read about and saw is called "Dead Christ", and it's really hard to believe it's painted on a flat square, because the perspective and the foreshortening are so amazing. (These are pictures of postcards...)
And my favorite was "The Marriage of the Virgin", but I can't say why. Maybe because it's a joyful picture, when so many of the others are either Mary and the infant Jesus, the Crucifixion, or some other martyr or saint being persecuted?
We had a great lunch of pizza, quiche, and little custard-fruit tarts at one of three tables in a standing-room-only bakery/grocery/cafe.
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