Remember when I mentioned I hadn’t done my research for this trip? Well, this is the Arco della Pace (“Arch of Peace”) at Porta Sempione, which is the city gate that marks the road from Milan through the Alps to Paris. Because apparently at one point, the Duchy of Milan was taken from the Hapsburg of Austria by Napoleon?
Oh, and I also stumbled on this place: Castello Sforzesco. Apparently, the House of Sforza ruled the Duchy of Milan before it reverted to King Philip II of Spain, for some reason, and remained in the hands of the Hapsburg of Spain until the War of Spanish Succession when it was invaded by the Hapsburg of Austria.
I hadn’t realized how poor my grasp of Continental history was before, say, World War I. Normally, I would have this all straight in my head before visiting a place. Genuinely embarrassed of myself.