We arrived in Italy on March 31 by cruise ship and departed Milan by airplane on May 13. The map in our gallery shows the many sights in our nearly 8 weeks in Italy. We toured Milan on our final days with side trips to some fascinating sites.
The Shroud was placed back on public display (the 19th time in its history) in Turin from April 2015 until 24 June 2015. The Shroud of Turin is a centuries old linen cloth that bears the image of a crucified man. A man that millions believe to be Jesus of Nazareth. Is it really the cloth that wrapped his crucified body, or is it simply a medieval forgery, a hoax perpetrated by some clever artist? Modern science has completed hundreds of thousands of hours of detailed study and intense research on the Shroud. It is, in fact, the single most studied artifact in human history, and we know more about it today than we ever have before. And yet, the controversy still rages.
It was very cool to see this in person, it is one of those once in a lifetime events.
Few products in the world are distinguished enough to have their location built into their name, but Parmigiano is one of them. Parmigiano-Reggiano is a hard texture cheese, cooked but not pressed. The milk obtained, from cows on a strict regime diet of grass or hay, is exclusively from the territory of Parma, Italy. The cheese is made every day, therefore it has a variability which represents the fruit of nature. You will notice that with age comes perfection characterized by tiny white crystal grains, and this 18 – 24 or 36 months aged product. We were given a behind the scenes tour from the head of marketing who explained the strict process of turning, cleaning, flipping, X-raying and perfectly aging the cheese wheels to produce the perfect cheese.
Milan museum of science and technology is the only place in the world that maintains Leonardo Da Vinci’s original drawings. The museum took the drawings and created models they represent. The historic models built in the early 1950s, which are on display in the Leonardo Gallery, are the outcome of an interpretation work that translated and completed Leonardo Da Vinci’s drawings. We were most interested in his flying machines, and a chance to see genius at work.
The ultimate day trip was our 24 hour trip back to the states. Milan to Istanbul to New York and finally Phoenix with the rig in tow, we are off to the next adventure.
