Shopping in the World’s Oldest Mall

Just to the left of Milan's Cathedral is a beautiful archway which leads to the worlds oldest shopping mall. Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is named after the first king of Italy and was built by Giuseppe Mengoni starting in 1865.

The structure is set up in a cross with a beautiful glass ceiling. Where the two sides meet is a glass dome and lots of stonework on the floor. What is represented is the Coat of Arms of the three capitals from the Kingdom of Italy (Florence, Torino and Rome) and also Milan’s.

You might notice people hovered around one of the mosaics turning in a circle. This tradition states that if you put your foot on the bull’s testicles in the mosaic of Torino and turn in a circle 3 times it will bring good luck! So many people have done this that there is a dent from the feet.

Outside one of the exits is the Piazza della Scala which houses the beautiful Teatro alla Scala.

Now, for us poor folk the mall is a beautiful place to walk through and window shop. It houses some very high end stores like Prada, Louis Vuitton and Gucci. Gucci even has its own café where an espresso will cost you 8 euros!