Once upon a time, Milano used to be a busy city, constantly on the run, always late for your next…read moredaily routine. Being Italy's commercial, financial, fashion capital, it just made sense to ONLY reserve a tiny spot for pedestrians to stroll around (young generations prefer to refere to such a past time as "fare una vasca"... which literally means to swim from one end to the next of a pool). Corso Vittorio Emanuele has seen it all... from the opening of McDonald's in the (distant) 80s, to the competition (Burger King) taking over the Duomo location. From an historic landmark (an old cinema called ASTRA) being converted into a store (Zara)...
It has hosted many a street performance (break dancing, rapping & freestyle sessions).
It has been the go-to place for younger generations that wanted to spend a funny afternoon together (a few cinemas, lots of shopping stores, a few decent food joints).
It brings pedestrians from the Duomo square to the San Babila square (from which one can find Via Montenapoleone for some (window) shopping).
Though now there are other pedestrian sites along the line (Via Dante and the streets around Sforza Castle, hopefully not limited to the duration of the Expo). When i think of THE pedestrian street of Milan. .. this is what comes to mind.