Not love at first sight

I didn't fall in love with Milan at first sight, for sure, unlike Rome, where I've always wanted to set foot. I still remember clearly the first time I was in the second largest city of Italy many years ago. Milan before that was just an impression of the Duomo square seen in pictures, or the football matches with the two biggest and most traditional football teams in Italy that brought joy and sadness to the fans at the San Siro stadium every week. Milan was noisy, bustling and had a fast pace of life like any city in Northern Europe. Milan of fashion, commerce, of everything that was completely opposite to ancient and peaceful Rome.

Việt Nam•12/05/2025

The bustling Duomo Square

It was a short business trip to the capital of Lombardy. I hadn't seen the Scala Theatre, nor had I experienced any of the romantic atmosphere of the bustling streets near my workplace. The meeting ended, and my first thought upon stepping out onto the street was to hail a taxi back to my small hotel on the outskirts of the city. But no, not a single taxi stopped by the sidewalk, so I boarded a tram, not knowing where it was going that afternoon.

That was a journey that changed my perspective and feelings about the city. Milan unfolded slowly, gently swaying as the train glided along the tracks. Streets, brightly lit shops, cafes, ancient churches, bare branches in the night, pedestrians with their collars pulled up slowly by. Lost in admiring the streets, suddenly a vast space opened up, and the Duomo cathedral loomed before me. The symbol of the city had actually been with me for many years through films, photographs, and postcards. But my first, direct view of the Duomo felt so familiar and endearing, as if Milan's cathedral, a massive structure that took centuries to complete, had already become a familiar place in my mind. Stepping onto the square and admiring the cathedral from afar, then approaching closer, gazing at it in the darkness illuminated by streetlights, I realized just how close and familiar this structure had become.

Exploring the city by tram is a popular choice for many tourists.

The next day, as the sun rose, Milan offered a completely different feeling—more familiar, more radiant—as I walked along the narrow streets back to the city center. The Duomo and its white stone facade seemed even more endearing. The La Scala Theatre, the "temple" of Italian classical music , was bustling with preparations for a new opera. The famous fashion street Via Montenapoleone was crowded with shoppers. The Navigli district, with its lively canals, was filled with joggers. The cafes were overflowing with laughter. The small park in the Brera district chirped with birds. I sat sipping a cappuccino in the Galleria Umberto, an elegant and historic covered shopping mall overlooking the Duomo, cherishing every moment of the morning. For me, Milan is now synonymous with more than just San Siro, the cathedral of Italian football, or the Santa Maria delle Grazie monastery, home to Leonardo da Vinci's immortal "Last Supper," a painting by the man who spent a part of his life in Milan in the late 15th century.

The banks of the Naviglio Canal are bustling.

After that trip, I returned to Milan many more times. Rome remained the place I spent the longest time in my Italian travels, but Milan had come to feel like "home," familiar and charming in every street corner. The hustle and bustle, even the traffic jams on the busy ring road into the city, didn't bother me at all.

So, first impressions of a city aren't always the final measure of its worth. Don't rush to close the doors of your heart or reject opportunities to return to a place. Because sometimes, seemingly small experiences can change your perspective.

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