
Halloween is coming up. The scariest holiday of the year is returning. How many of you are planning for some fancy dress parties? Traditional family trick-or-treating? A trip out of town perhaps? How about a city tour of Milan’s most mysterious places?
Don’t think of the usual tour, Duomo, Brera, etc. But stops that go to those places, maybe less known, but curious, a bit scary, with stories and legends to discover behind them. Perfect given the period we are going into!
Table Of Contents
- The church wallpapered with human skulls and bones
- The Devil's Column.
- The scariest street in the city
- The wandering soul of Bernardina Visconti
- Monumental Cemetery
- The former Slaughterhouse
- Madonna with horns
- The ghost town
- The House of the Omenoni
- The Crypt of San Giovanni in Conca
- The Acerbi Palace (Ca' del Diavol).
- The Alley of the Washerwomen
- Villa Invernizzi and the Pink Flamingos.
The church wallpapered with human skulls and bones
San Bernardino alle Ossa is a stop on your visit. Among the most mysterious places in Milan, perhaps this is the most fascinating. A space all carpeted with human skulls. A bit macabre but if you are a fan of the genre you will be amazed. Bones probably part of an ossuary that existed centuries ago and was later destroyed. Several structures have succeeded each other here. Where the church and charnel house stand here, there used to be a hospital, shortly afterwards there was a cemetery to bury the dead. A chamber was erected beside it to collect the bones exhumed from the cemetery. In short, a curious story that needs to be investigated.
đź“ŤWhere: Piazza Santa Stefano, Milan. Open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Weekends from 9:30 a.m.
The Devil’s Column.
Near the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio of stands a column with two holes. Here legend has it that during a confrontation between the devil and St. Ambrose, the latter got the better of it, jamming the devil’s horns on the column. Of the deed remain the two holes about halfway up the torso, still visible today. This is a column from the old Roman imperial palace in Milan, built by Emperor Maximian in the late 3rd century, at the time when the city became the capital of the Western Roman Empire.
The scariest street in the city
Right in the center of the city, a few steps from the Duomo, is Milan’s scariest street, Via Bagnera, the street where Milan’s first serial killer, Antonio Boggia, once lived and hid and murdered his victims here. To this day it is still a narrow and somewhat creepy street. Plus its walls still resonate with the old terrors of yesteryear.
The wandering soul of Bernardina Visconti
It seems that the soul of Bernarda Visconti, the illegitimate daughter of Bernabò Visconti, wanders in Piazza Cavour. Forced into a marriage she did not want, the daughter within a few years secretly became involved with a courtier. Her father, after discovering his daughter’s affair, sentenced him to be hanged, and she imprisoned her in one of the towers that formed the Rocchetta di Porta Nuova (where the arches of Piazza Cavour are today, at the entrance to Via Manzoni). Here she died, alone and of starvation. Legend has it that in winter the woman’s ghost wanders about, invoking the name of her beloved. Be careful passing under the arches of the structure.
Monumental Cemetery
As beautiful and evocative as this place is, it has something macabre about it for sure. A true open-air museum with the graves of upper middle-class families as well as Italian greats such as Alessandro Manzoni. Worth discovering are the statues above almost every tomb, from children, to angels of death, to beautiful maidens. Real works of art full of charm and bleak desolation.
The former Slaughterhouse
And if, on the other hand, you are a fan of abandoned places, you can drop by the Former Slaughterhouse. A huge, completely empty space where nature has taken over. They often throw killer parties there. Have you ever been?
Madonna with horns
Among the mysterious places in Milan this one deserves mention. In the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio, the oldest in Milan, stands a very special painting. It depicts a Madonna with horns carrying a baby Jesus, also with horns. That’s right you understand, we are not swearing. It is a work of religious art inside one of Milan’s most historic churches. It is located inside the Portinari Chapel of the Basilica. It is the work of Vincenzo Foppa, entitled The Miracle of the False Madonna. Take it for a spin and find out. But why the horns? Is it about blasphemy? No. It is a legend related to the figure of St. Peter of Verona.
We report what we read in Milano Today: according to tradition, while celebrating Mass in Sant’Eustorgio, St. Peter of Verona noticed that the devil had penetrated an icon of Mary placed above the altar. He immediately cast out the demon, along with a heretical magician portrayed on the right, holding a consecrated host between his fingers. Once her exorcism was performed, however, according to legend in the painting Our Lady was left with Lucifer’s horns.
đź“ŤWhere: Piazza Sant’Eustorgio
The ghost town
Outside Milan but equally worthy is the “Las Vegas” of Lombardy, Consonno. A town that became a kind of toyland in the mid-20th century with lots of attractions. Only to fall into oblivion in a short time. Now it is a real ghost town. Empty and eerie. Perfect to include among the stops of Milan’s mysterious places, even if it is not quite in the city but an hour and a quarter away…
đź“ŤWhere: Consonno
The House of the Omenoni
In the heart of Brera, this 16th-century mansion welcomes you with eight giant telamons (large men) with eerie grimaces. Their tormented expressions are said to be the result of a curse cast by an envious sculptor. You can admire these stone giants from the outside at any time, but the real thrill will come during the rare openings to the public, when whispers of centuries past seem to echo through the walls.
đź“ŤWhere: 3 Omenoni Street.
The Crypt of San Giovanni in Conca
Hidden below street level, this Romanesque crypt is what remains of an ancient church. Legends speak of occult rituals and ghostly apparitions among its columns. Accessible for free during the day, it is at dusk that the atmosphere becomes denser and more mysterious, when shadows seem to dance on the ancient stones, evoking presences of another time.
đź“ŤWhere: Piazza Missori, corner of Via Albricci. Admission is free but the Crypt is open only during special days. Upcoming ones are:
- Oct. 16 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Oct. 19 from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m.
- October 26 from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
To be sure, we recommend that you visit the official website of the Milan Archaeological Museum.
The Acerbi Palace (Ca’ del Diavol).
This 17th-century building is known as the “House of the Devil” for a reason: the devil himself is said to have signed pacts with his soul here. Why this belief? Well, you should know that this Baroque-style palace turned out to be immune to the terrible plague that decimated Milan in 1630: its inhabitants and guests at the lavish parties of Marquis Ludovico Acerbi never fell ill. Rumors then began to circulate that Acerbi had made a pact with dark forces to protect his mansion, and that the souls of the dead roamed its corridors. Today Palazzo Acerbi is a symbol of curse and mystery, which can be visited from the outside, but its true atmosphere can be felt at nightfall, especially on full moon nights when, it is said, the masks come to life.
đź“ŤWhere: Corso di Porta Romana, 3.
The Alley of the Washerwomen
This picturesque corner of the Naviglio Grande hides a macabre story. It is said that in the waters of the “ditch” used by the washerwomen hide the ghosts of betrayed and murdered lovers. Visit the alley at sunset, when the lights reflect on the water creating eerie shadow plays. Listen carefully: you may hear ghostly wails mingling with the gurgling of the water.
đź“ŤWhere: Alzaia Naviglio Grande, 14.
Villa Invernizzi and the Pink Flamingos.
In the Quadrilatero del Silenzio is the famous neo-classical style villa that hides a garden populated by pink flamingos. Legend has it that they are the reincarnated souls of Milanese nobles, condemned to wander for eternity. Observable from the gratings outside, these birds take on an eerie appearance at dusk, when their sinuous movements seem to follow a macabre dance, guided by music that only they can hear.
đź“ŤWhere: 7 Capuchin Street.