"Big cities" in Italy are, in fact, not that big, so it was pretty easy to get in and out by car. Parking was easy to find, and would probably cost about 5Eu for the day.
I parked a bit away from the central historical district so I could walk in and see what was going on.
I ended up going through a park first, the Giardino Reale (Royal Gardens)
And then ended up at the castle in Piazza Castello.
Light crowds on a February Wednesday morning.
This is some gov't building next to the Palazzo Madama.
This is the duomo, which is actually one of the milder ones in Italy, and definitely overshadowed by all the other interesting things in the city.
My iPhone camera has this weird fisheyeing effect going on where a lot of tall buildings and towers all look warped. Strange.
There are little parks and courtyards everywhere here. Very old world feel.
And churches, of course, don't forget churches.
The only cops I saw in town were all hanging out next to their motorbikes trying to look cool for all the babes walking past.
This is the National Library.
Some other square I stumbled across as I wandered around.
Walked into a parking lot area and saw this. Cool.
I love this picture. Absolutely gorgeous.
All of the major downtown streets have these these covered walkways. One shudders to imagine how much they must have cost.
But they're totally awesome.
The pasty and sweets store never disappoints either.
Another little parking lot. Holy hell.
There was an outdoor market here, but I think I got there a bit too late; it was already shutting down.
I ended up back at the Palazzo Madama area by the end of the day
Palazzo Madama, I believe. I was exhausted. I hopped back in my car and headed back to Varese to crash. My legs were done!