The splendid Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Milan's much-admired indoor shopping mall, is rightly considered the very heart of the city. The present model is an anastatic reproduction of the one originally produced at the end of the 1800s, shortly after the gallery's completion. Abutting the main square alongside Milan's cathedral, once assembled the model is a faithful replica of the original building designed by the Bolognese architect Giuseppe Mengoni, and a fine memento of the city. Despite the age of the original kit, the number of the cards and separate details to cut out and piece together are all designed to ensure ease of assembly even for those without any prior inexperience. The instructions printed on the cards are all in the rather archaic style of the period (particularly cards 13 and 14), and are sometimes even amusing, so we have left them to be enjoyed one hundred years later, complete with their frequent advice about the correct use of glue. A proper transcription of assembly instructions is provided, however, in both English and Italian for those impatient to see the finished model, which measures 69.5 x 56 x 33 cm.