Yesterday when we went to see the Duomo, we could not see the inside because it was later in the day. Thankfully today the Duomo had Mass at 7:00 am. Being already tried from traveling, I was quite worried I would not wake up. Thankfully I did, 5 of us were present for mass. On the way to the Duomo, we got slightly lost on the metro and couldn’t find the entrance to the Duomo. Although we made it to mass on time. The inside of the cathedral was beautiful. They had stories high stain glass, numerous statues, and fantastic art. While it was an experience getting there, it was definitely worth it to see the inside.

Today was the first day of academic life. We visited Cattolica Universita which is translated Catholic University. This school is larger than Pitt with about 24,000 students on campus. They have twelve schools, but no Engineering school. They offer study abroad classes for foreign students and is the largest university in Europe. Here we heard a lecture about the fashion industry in Milan. After than we met with students and experienced the “Market Central dining hall of Milan.” Needless to say, Italy’s version of “Market” is much better than Pitt’s. At lunch we met with Italian students. Here I learned that students are about the same here. Their personalities were similar to those in the U.S.

After we met the students we travelled to a Museum dedicated to Leonardo di Vinchi. This museum was all about technology. There were technical drawings that Leonardo drew. There were things that modern scientists had constructed like space suits, and even a piece of the Moon. After that a few of us cut out to go and see a major church in the area. The Basilica of Saint Ambrose. Saint Ambrose was a 4 century bishop. His corpse was on display there. The Church was also filled with gold and amazing art.

The most useful thing I learned today was how to use he metro, or subway, because this will help me a ton to get around Italy in the future.

Other takeaways:

1. How to travel and get around Milan

2. That Italy is mostly focused on art

and less on engineering.

3. The food is still excellent.