Porta Nuova neighbourhood is in Zone Two, just to the north of Porta Garibaldi FS station.
If you’re staying at the Hotel NH Porta Nuova (as my colleagues do), you should get a good view of the Torre Unicredit from your window. It was designed by architect César Pelli and completed in 2011. Thanks to the spire on the top, it’s currently the tallest building in Italy at 231 metres, beating the Allianz Tower (also in Milan) which is 209 metres.
Nearby is the star of the show, the two towers of the Bosco Verticale (Vertical Forest).
Designed by designed by Boeri Studio and inaugurated in 2014, they have a height of 111 metres (Torre E) and 76 metres (Torre D) respectively..
Together they contain around 900 trees, 5,000 shrubs and 11,000 perennial plants, which produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, thus helping to mitigate smog.
Boeri plans to build similar towers in Switzerland, the Netherlands, and China.
All the buildings mentioned are marked on my map.
Off to the canals of Navigli next!