One of the things that I've started doing since living in Italy is peeping into courtyards, (not quite bordering on trespassing although I do fantasize about that, how adventurous :p) I will be doing some posts specifically on the many extravagant courtyards that you will find in Milan and area. On the way to one of the exhibitions as we came across this palazzo building, the portone was wide open and I was immediately taken aback by the lush greenery and mighty trees quite unseemingly for this time of year. We took a few steps towards the garden not wanting to intrude and turned back at the cancello but we were seen by a group of 3 stout little grandpa-like men. One of them was extremely friendly and waved at us to come up on in.
What we discovered was that the courtyard was in fact a large garden with mulchy grounds just the right amount of unkemptedness to make it look all the more wild and dramatic.
The garden we were told belonged to an ex kindergarten named after General Garibaldi. Indeed we were taken to school because it turned out that these friendly nonni are retired servicemen of the Bersaglieri Brigade. And that they have since transformed the kindergarten into a little museum dedicated to the legacy of the Bersaglieri. They were so kind to offer us this very unexpected tour of the museum. I, having studied very little Italian modern war history saw many historical artefacts from the eagle plumed helments, to bycicles used by messengers, and bits and bobs in between. Grazie mille to the Casa Museo dei Bersaglieri!
