Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Galleria is a cross of two arcaded streets under glass barrel vaults, meeting at an octagon crowned by a dome forty-seven metres up. The light inside is why photographers love it: the glass roof turns any sky into a giant softbox, so the mosaics glow, the shopfronts gleam and faces are evenly lit at any hour — it is the wet-weather insurance for every Milan session, and a first-choice location in its own right.

The centre of the octagon, shooting straight up the axis with the dome overhead, is the signature frame. The floor mosaics work as foregrounds; the famous bull of the Turin coat of arms, worn down by visitors spinning on their heels for luck, is the light-hearted candid every couple ends up doing anyway. For scale, shoot along the main axis from the Piazza del Duomo entrance — the arch frames the Duomo's facade at the far end.

The Galleria is a public thoroughfare and never truly empty; it is quietest soon after dawn, before the shops open, when you can hold the middle of the floor without a stream of commuters crossing the frame. Discreet handheld shooting draws no attention; visibly commercial setups with lighting can.