Today was another perfect day in Milan! With the good weather holding out, we started our day by going to Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, a university based in Milan.
We met with Dr. Francesca Romana Rinaldi, the author of The Responsible Company and a professor of the Milan Fashion Institute. In addition to teaching about sustainable fashion, she has spoken with the UN about the topic. We learned about the difference between luxury and fashion brands and the stock models they employ in order to compete with fast fashion. We also discussed sustainability in all areas of fashion, from cultivation to assembly. Fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world, so we discussed the importance of circular product design and how consumers impact this chain. I was surprised to learn about the business practice of Patagonia, that is committed to recycling polyester from waste products and old clothing that their consumers return to them to produce new clothing, creating “zero demand” for the production of brand new material. Dr. Rinaldi’s lecture certainly makes me want to make a greater commitment towards purchasing fair trade clothing to create a more sustainable fashion future!
After the class, we spent some time walking around Cattolica, enjoying the gardens and eating lunch with some of the students.
Cattolica has a replica grotto of the Grotto of Saint Bernadette. 
The Virgin Mary in the grotto. 
The pigeons are very friendly in Milan. They like to come up to your feet for snacks. 
Another friend!
After Cattolica, it was just a short walk to get to the Museo Nazionale della Scienza, or National Museum of Science. It is dedicated to Leonardo DaVinci, and we got to see even more unique visits as this year marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo DaVinci’s death. It was interesting learning about DaVinci’s focus on architecture and war machines for the Duke of Milan, and how his students copied his art style for their own works.
The courtyard. 
Leonardo’s spooky prototype for a diving suit and diving bell. 
The work of one of Leonardo’s students. They copied his beautiful sketches of people, and then drew some….ugly babies. 
Physical models of some of Leonardo’s sketches for a multi domed church.
We saw some more general exhibits as well.
A massive engine created to industrialize the silk making industry that flourished in Italy. 
This was the laboratory used to invent the modern compound we use for plastic! 
This Italian submarine was used during the Cold War to survey the waters between North Africa and Italy for Russian torpedoes and subs. 
The back of the stealth submarine!
My favorite thing I saw was the wind poweredstrandbeests of Theo Jansen. Because of the 500th anniversary event, Jansen’s works are being displayed in the museum as he truly represents a “modern DaVinci” with his work’s marriage between art, science, and biology. I love his work, so seeing the different “dream beasts” in person was amazing!
Every strandbeest is wind powered and some have “lived” on Holland’s beaches independently for years. 
One of his original beasts. 
This one reminded me of a slug. It is an example of one of his newer beasts that move by undulating like a worm. 
More slug. 
This one swivels its head with the wind, making it look like it “talks”. 
This design can dig itself into the sand if the wind blows hard enough, so it is not blown over.