Light dining in Milan around duomo

But what do you mean by "light dining?" Salads? Only one or two courses? Pizza (at night)?

We are from California and like our spring greens- fresh spinach - romaine
The salads we have had come
With iceberg lettuce and cooked spinach
The anchovies - olives - tomatoes and other vegetables are awesome- Cooked egg or eggplant on salad is good too

The nicoise salads we have had in France are not the same here - neither are the Cesar salads we are accustomed to
Caesar salad we have had come with iceberg lettuce - tomatoes and olives ( no anchovies or Cesar dresssing or romaine lettuce or croutons!)

I think we are too American to have salads we are used to here in Italy

I think you are right about the salads. You have the best in California; salads in Italy..not so much. Cooked spinach in the salad....hmmmm!!

But what do you want to eat? I'm not sure what you mean when you say "light."

I mean, you could go to almost any restaurant and just order, maybe, an antipasti and a pasta course...but that might not be as light as you are looking for....
Remember you can usually order a half portion of pasta in Italy.

This looks interesting; open from 6pm:

https://mareamilano.it

Panini:

https://www.cesarinomilano.it/index.php/menu/

We like the antipastos
Not a.money issue
Pizza seems lighter than Pasta

Of course we save room for dessert

https://www.obica.com/ristoranti/milano-duomo

in the Rinascente shopping mall, so not really cheap what looks like what you are looking for

Salad, like you might have in California, isn’t really a thing in Italy snd depends on the city and region. A salad can be just tomatoes, cucumbers with oil. It can be served in many ways. It sounds like you’ve been eating in touristic restaurants. In a true Italian restaurant or trattoria, there wouldn’t be lettuce in a salad. Want to eat better? Avoid restaurants aimed at tourists.

Merci Lachera and OP for the question. We'll be in Milan for a night and Obika's grilled vegies and veal in tuna sauce is my choice .

I’ve given up on anything called Cesar in France. Cesars weren't always good in the US either.

BTW iceberg is exotic here in Europe, so they think they are serving you something special. It’s not available everywhere and not all the time.

Eat local. Thanks again Lachera.

Not to be supremely picky, but puntarelle is a lettuce, or at least it is if chicory is a form of lettuce. I know its not the season, but...

remember that with Pasta, many various types, the sauce is paired with the shape of the pasta, like a fine wine, and the pasta is taken to the sauce and introduced, they shake hands, and are served. The sauce should not be piled up on the pasta - it will be overwhelmed....

Look for "insalata mista" under side dishes, often toward the back of a menu. This may have cheese, nuts, olives as well as greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots. The ones I had tended to be considerably larger bowls than you would typically get as a side salad in lthe U.S. Many places have this on the menu if you search. In Milan, I had a nice salad along with a shrimp pasta dish at Osteria Italiano across the street from Hotel Garda near the Centrale station (not near the duomo) but you should be able to find them many places.

Look in the “contorno” section of the menu — they should have grilled vegetables, sauteed greens, etc.

A vegetarian place not far from your hotel is La Vecchia Latteria. Looking at the menus posted on Google, I see vegetables offered as side dishes.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/La+Vecchia+Latteria/@45.4623535,9.1871876,18z/data=!4m17!1m10!3m9!1s0x4786c6ac9a03a56f:0xeca73a23e90bb361!2sHotel+Gran+Duca+di+York!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d45.4636629!4d9.1853126!16s%2Fg%2F1tr8kfwj!3m5!1s0x4786c6ab9217754f:0xf3c1a3a6cebda47c!8m2!3d45.4623426!4d9.1871154!16s%2Fg%2F1thhjcyv?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDUyOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D