5 things to do in Milan in spring in 2023

Through the green metro line - If you are in Milan in the next few weeks, you could be in the blink of an eye along the green metro line to taste the reasons that make the city the most dynamic on Italy. From the most dreamlike avant-garde of the twentieth century - Surrealism - you can go to the Triennale in a few stops and then, with the same line of the subway, arrive at BAM, the Library of the Trees Milan in Melchiorre Gioia street, and traveling along the "green" the destination could not be more relevant. Here, going up on Piazza Gae Aulenti and then descending towards Garibaldi, you arrive at the young Isola district, another point to be marked on the map if you happen upon the days of Design Week.

Surrealism on exhibition at Mudec - We start from Mudec, from the exhibition "Dalì, Magritte, Man Ray and Surrealism", opened until July 30. It exhibits 180 works including paintings, sculptures, drawings of the Boijmans Van Beuningen of Rotterdam, one of the most important Dutch museums but closed until 2029 for a long-term renovation that will allow it to exhibit the many masterpieces now sheltered in its huge warehouses. Set up by 24 ORE Cultura of the 24 ORE Group and promoted by the Municipality of MilanoCultura, the exhibition connects the most disparate images of Magritte’s pipes, the suggestions of Dalì, the glass tears of Man Ray and connected by the imagination of artists rather than logic, because as Magritte said: "Being surrealist means banishing from the mind the already seen and seek the unseen", in a contamination with different cultures, once defined as exotic but actually native and so close to our sensitivity today.

Va Sentiero, the trek to the Triennale - Left via Tortona, two steps and you’re at Porta Genova. Area of design studios, galleries and art labs, clubs and nightlife. In four stops the "green" leads to Cadorna and awaits us the Triennale with its lush gardens, proud to host an exhibition as "Va' Sentiero, A look along 8,000 kilometers" through the most authentic beauties of Italy. It's the journey of the adventures of seven young trekking enthusiasts, from north to south of Italy, from Friuli Venezia-Giulia to Sardinia to explore the mountains and refuges, meeting people, their works and the traditions that persist in our mountains. Set up by the Va' Sentiero Association with the contribution of Fondazione Cariplo, the exhibition will remain open until April 15 and exhibits 100 works, to compose a story in images of the Italian mountain range and 8,000 kilometers of trekking lived intensely.

The green lung of Porta Nuova - We remain in the perspective of nature with one of the new green lungs of Milan, the Library of Trees (BAM). It will be more and more so in the future when the herb plants give way to the large stems waiting to explode. Linked between the new buildings of Porta Nuova, where Stefano Boeri’s Vertical Forest stands out, and the most photographed pedestrian area of the last years (Piazza Gae Aulenti), the BAM is also becoming a cultural hub. Here, from March to November, a project by the Riccardo Catella Foundation, together with Volvo Studio Milano (which has its headquarters right in front of the entrance of the BAM), called as "Diachronic Visions" takes place, a series of four events dedicated to the environment and open to the public.

Helmut Newton at Palazzo Reale - Famous shots and unpublished photos, for the first time in Italy. Palazzo Reale hosts "Helmut Newton Legacy", one of the greatest photographers of the twentieth century, loved and desired by the stars but also discussed for the irreverent model poses. Today we know that those nude portraits that caused a sensation at the time actually opened the world of fashion to the contemporary art and style. Promoted by the City of MilanoCultura in collaboration with the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin, the exhibition brings together 250 shots, video interviews and famous magazines that hosted Newton’s art and will remain open until June 25.