Gallaria Emmanuele, Milan

I went running through this Galleria once as a short cut and didn’t even realize where I was. This was during one of my first trips to Milan. The Galleria Vittorio Emmanuele II is one of the world’s oldest shopping malls. Housed within a four-story double arcade in central Milano.

the Galleria is named after Vittorio Emmanuele, the first king of the Italy. It was designed in 1861 and built by Guiseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877.

The Galleria is often nicknamed il salotto di Milano (Milan’s drawing room), due to its numerous shops and importance as a common Milanese meeting and dining place.

As of 2013, the arcade principally contains luxury retailers selling jewelry, paintings, clothes. Also there are cafe’s in the Gallaria. A nice place to stop and get recharged, while enjoying the beautiful structure.