Galleria Vittorio Emanuele Shopping Center

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is the major shopping center of Milan, Italy. The Galleria is placed along two intersecting streets making a cruciform plane with a domed octagon in the center of intersection conecting Piazza della Scala on the north to the spiritual Piazza della Duomo on the south. It consists of a glass-roofed arcade with shops and cafes, located directly next to the Duomo of Milan. At the core of the shopping mall sits three high-end designer shops including Prada and Louis Vuitton; ironically, Mcdonalds completes the fourth component of this central intersection.

The Galleria was originally designed in 1861 by Giuseppe Mengoni and built from 1865 until 1877. Neo-classical, approaching Baroque would best describe the style of this early formal coverd street. In 1877, a triumphal arch was added to the southern end of the gallery, thereby terminating the previous link between the opera house and the cathedral.The dome of the Galleria sits at 164 feet above the ground, while the arcade is raised 96 feet.