This morning we start on the other side of the Galleria, at one of Milan’s greatest treasures, the Teatro alla Scala, one of the world’s great opera houses. The Scala, which has been here for almost 250 years, has amazing acoustics and an amazing history. Today, I think most people associate it with Toscanini’s long career here and Maria Callas’ troubled relationship with the house (and of course with more recent greats like Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Muti) but the longer history is equally splendid: this is the theater where so many famous operas have premiered, such as Bellini’s Norma, Verdi’s Otello, and Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and Turandot! We visit the Scala museum this morning; our tour may even include a chance to look at the theater. After our tour of the Scala museum (and perhaps a coffee—we are in Italy, after all) we will take a tour around Milan’s arts and design district, the Brera neighborhood, around the Brera museum and its famous art school—a pleasant neighborhood of multi-colored 18th century buildings that now house design firms, art-related businesses, and cafés (but in the 19th century housed Milan’s major brothels!). You have a free afternoon, if you like, but we have scheduled a meeting with Milan's leading LGBTQ+ organization Arcigay, for those who are interested.

This evening, we will try to get tickets (not always easy!) to go to La Scala for real (as it were), to see the currant production, an evening of three short Brecht/Weill pieces, Die Sieben Todessünden (The Seven Deadly Sins), Happy End, and Mahagonny-Songspiel (The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny), directed by Riccardo Chailly. Let us know as soon as possible if you are interested!

 One of the amazing things about Italy is the number of beautiful, charming small cities. Who (outside of the area of Milan) had ever heard of Crema before Luca Guadagnino decided to set his movie of Call Me By Your Name in his home city? Today we go just an hour outside Milan into the countryside and explore the cities where Guadagnino filmed his move: Crema, Pandino, and Moscazzano. We will see the palace where Guadagnino lives, the church where casting calls were held, and the places where many iconic scenes from the movie were set, from the doorway where Armie Hammer tells Timothée Chalamet that he wishes he could kiss him to the World War I monument in Pandino where Timmy tells Armie (not very obliquely) that he is a virgin, to the pond where they finally start necking. And for lunch, we will go to a restaurant that specializes in tortelli cremaschi—the ravioli-like local specialty that Mafalda and her friend are making in the kitchen! We will learn how to make them ourselves and then have them for lunch! 

 Our last day in Milan is dedicated to perhaps the greatest of the many gay geniuses, Leonardo Da Vinci. We start our day at Milan’s castle, now a cultural center with several museums—though long a hated symbol of tyrants and foreign domination. In Leonardo’s time, however, it was the principal residence of his great patron, Lodovico il Moro, Duke of Milan, for whom (while working in his customary dilatory fashion on a perhaps unrealistically massive equestrian monument to the Duke’s father) Leonardo served as decorator and party-architect. From the castle we go to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana (the St Ambrose library, and art gallery) where we can see one of Leonardo’s best-preserved paintings, as well as a rotating exhibit from the museum’s astonishing collection of Leonardo’s drawings and manuscripts. After one last traditional Milanese lunch, we go to see one of Leonardo’s great masterpieces, the Last Supper that he painted in the refectory of the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. This painting, which astonished contemporaries with its realistic sense of space and its lively portrayal of complex emotions, initiated the High Renaissance; indeed, along with Leonardo’s Mona Lisa, it is one of the most influential paintings of all time. Along the way, we will learn the story of Leonardo’s life and of course of his love for the assistant he called “Salaì” (the devil)—whose face may have influenced the Mona Lisa! 

Today, after 5 days in Milan and Lombardy, we take off to the East, to the Veneto, the province of Venice. On the way, however, we stop at yet another one of the Italian lakes—and according to many, the most beautiful of them—the Lago di Garda, where we visit the so-called Grottoes of Catullus—the ruins of a Roman lakeside Villa connected with the bisexual rockstar poet of ancient Rome, Gaius Valerius Catullus—who probably didn’t live here, but did live on this peninsula (a word he invented to describe it!). And you have seen this area in Call Me By Your Name, because it is where Professor Perlman’s colleague has discovered an ancient statue in the lake. We then visit the charming town of Sirmione, where among many other celebrities over the years, Maria Callas (one of the ultimate gay icons, no?) lived with her husband Giovanni Meneghini, whom she abandoned for Ari Onassis. We have lunch in Sirmione and late in the afternoon drive to Verona.

Hotel (3 nights): Hotel Giberti, an elegant, modern hotel only 10 minutes walk from the ancient Roman arena and the historic center of Verona.

 Verona is mainly known for 2 things: the Roman amphitheater where the world’s most famous summer opera festival takes place and the story of Romeo and Juliet. Today we will learn about the story of Romeo and Juliet, which is of course a legend—but has many real connections to Verona. And we will visit the city, which is truly one of the most beautiful of northern Italy’s many beautiful cities, and in a superb area for food, wine, and cheese. Think of cheeses like Asiago (truly one of the greats) and wines like Valpolicella, Amarone, Bardolino, Soave, Lugana. So this is a big day for food! First we have a great lunch in a place right on the Piazza Erbe, Verona’s main square, with local specialties like bigoli (a pasta shape typical of the Veneto) and risotto all’Amarone—our first encounter with our second regional cuisine, the food of the Veneto. And then we take off for the countryside of the Valpolicella region for tastings of wine, cheese, prosciutto, and salame! 

Today we take an excursion to another (even more?) charming city in the area, Vicenza. Vicenza is mainly known as the home of the great architect Andrea Palladio, and the city is full of his works, as is the surrounding countryside. We will visit the city, especially Palladio’s Basilica and his lovely Teatro Olimpico, still with its 16th century sets for a production of Oedipus Rex. Then another truly spectacular lunch at a bistro known for its excellent baccalà and its fabulous cellar of local wines. After lunch, we visit two nearby country villas: first the most famous, the Villa La Rotonda, the model for Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, and then, just a few hundred meters away, a villa with many frescoes by Veronese (a nom de plume which just means “the man from Verona”), including, in a corner, a little gay/trans detail which will start off our discussion of Venice and sexuality….

Note btw that the famously handsome Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon is also from Vicenza, so let’s keep our eyes open when we’re there…. Maybe he’ll be sleeping in a park….

 Our tour ends with breakfast this morning, but please let us know if you would like help with further travel arrangements.