Last Sunday we decided to face the afternoon heat (we are now in the 30s here) and head to the Giardini Pubblici to visit the new Butterfly Oasis next to the Natural History Museum. It’s a pavilion that hosts an exhibition of many species of butterflies, imported weekly from Africa, South America and Sout-East Asia. The 200 sqm area is divided in two sections. The first part explores the meaning of colours in nature, with loads of pictures and a few live animals. The second part is the true butterfly exhibit, where a tropical environment is recreated to showcase butterflies and cocoons in their habitual settings. The visitor can walk through plants and climbing orchids while butterflies fly all around him. The Butterfly Oasis is, at this stage, a temporary project open until the end of September but the administration says they will, by the end of the year, open a permanent butterfly house that will be four times bigger, making it the largest in Italy. We had a nice time, and although it is not as big and nice as the one in the London Zoo, I highly recommend it, especially if you or your kids have never seen a butterfly house!
Another positive effect: after standing in true tropical heat to look at the butterflies, even Milan weather is more bearable!

-Michela