The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in the centre of Milan is four storeys high, two arcades each with a glass vaulted roof. Where the two arcades meet, they form an octagonal glass dome. The Galleria took 12 years to build, from 1865 to 1877, but the card is more recent, probably 1915-1920. Nowadays the shops sell luxury goods, plus some cafes and restaurants. McDonalds had been one of the tenants for 20 years but the city of Milan refused to renew its tenancy in 2012.
While on the subject of arches and places to buy things, here is a card from Lugano in Switzerland, the Portici (arcades) di Via Pessina. Again these date from the 19th century. Nowadays the road is entirely pedestrianised and the shops sell mainly crafts, jewellery, and delicatessen foodstuffs.
This is a post for Sepia Saturday. A click on the button will take you to the site.
What will they ever do without Ronald McDonald.
ReplyDeleteI think McDonald's doesn't fit into such a lovely setting!
ReplyDelete