Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

Nicknamed "il salotto di Milano" (Milan's drawing room), this arcade connects Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Scala. Built by Mengoni (1865-1878), its peculiarities are two glass-vaulted arcades intersecting in the centre to form an octagon. The Galleria is acknowledged as the world's oldest shopping mall, forerunner of the modern American ones: still today, under its vaults it hosts boutiques by some of the most famous Italian and international brands.