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Home > Italy Travel Guide > Milan Travel Guide > Duomo (Milan)

Duomo (Milan)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Introduction
History
Location

ATTRACTIONS

Pinnacles
Roof
Interior
Crypt
Main monuments and sights

INFORMATION

Useful information
Links

Introduction

The cathedral of Santa Maria Nascente, a cruciform basilica faced with white marble, is one of the world's largest and most magnificent churches. This cathedral looms mighty over the piazza named after it in the center of the city. The most outstanding example of Gothic-Lombard architecture. This imposing religious building, second only to St Peter's Cathedral in Rome, houses almost 3500 statues that are spread over an area of almost 12,000 square meters. Made of marble and incorporating a evolution of styles from Baroque to Gothic it's an interesting spectacle. The tallest spire, which has the famous “Madonnina” on top of it, is 108 meters high and is covered in 3900 pieces of gold leaf. To fully appreciate the interior it is recommended that you buy a detailed guide book, or pay for the 1 hour audio guides. Absolutely do not miss a trip to the roof! It is amazing. You can walk among statues, gargoyles, flying buttresses and the 14 foot gilded statue of the Madonna while taking in wonderful views of the city.

History

Commissioned in 1386, by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the Duomo was not finished until the early 1800s. The building began life as a Gothic cathedral, but over the centuries the designs went through several modifications, and the finished Duomo is a strange mixture of styles.

The street plan of Milan, with streets either radiating from the Duomo or circling it, indicates that the Duomo occupied the most important site in Roman Mediolanum.

Saint Ambrose's “New Basilica” was built on this site at the beginning of the 5th century, with an adjoining basilica added in 836. When fire damaged both buildings in 1075, they were rebuilt as the Duomo.

In 1386 the archbishop, Antonio da Saluzzo, began the new project in a rayonnant Late Gothic style that is more characteristic of France than Italy. Work proceeded for generations.

The main spire was topped off in 1762 with a polychrome statue of the Madonna, to whom the Duomo and its predecessor have always been consecrated.

Even now, some uncarved blocks remain to be completed as statuary. Gothic construction on the rest of the Duomo was largely complete in the 1880s.

The Duomo has been under major renovations and cleaning for several years, obscuring the glorious facade with scaffolding. Works should be completed sometime in 2007.

Location

Address: Piazza del Duomo, I-20100 Milan
Transit: Bus: Metro station Duomo (Metro lines 1 and 3)

Pinnacles

The roofline dissolves into openwork pinnacles that are punctuated by a grove of spires, topped with statues that overlook the city. The main spire is 109 meters high. These can all be investigated up close on a breathtaking walk on the roof.

Roof

The roof is open to tourists (for a fee), which allows many a close-up view of some really spectacular sculpture that would otherwise be unappreciated. On the roof the view is spectacular (elevators on the church's exterior northeast corner; stairs on the exterior north side), where you also get to wander amidst the Gothic pinnacles, saintly statues, and flying buttresses. You are joined high above Milan by the spire-top gold statue of Madonnina (the little Madonna), the city's beloved protectress.

Interior

The rather dark interior, in striking contrast to the brilliant and richly patterned exterior, nevertheless makes a powerful impression with its 52 gigantic pillars. The stained-glass windows in the nave (mostly 15th-16th centuries) are the largest in the world; the eight windows in the dome date from 1968. 15th century stained glass windows can be seen in the south aisle. In the north transept is a fine seven-branched bronze candelabrum by Nicholas of Verdun (c. 1200), and on the east wall of the south transept is a statue, by Marco Agrate (1562), of St Bartholomew Flayed. The poet Shelley used to sit and read Dante here amid monuments and the tombs of Giacomo de Medici, two Visconti, and many cardinals and archbishops.

Crypt

The crypt contains the remains of San Carlo Borromeo, one of the early cardinals of Milan, richly adorned with gold and jewels. A far more interesting descent is the one down the staircase to the right of the main entrance to the Battistero Paleocristiano, the ruins of a 4th-century baptistery believed to be where Saint Ambrose baptized Saint Augustine.

Main monuments and sights

The interior of the cathedral includes a huge quantity of monuments and artworks. These include:
The Archbishop Alberto da Intimiano's sarcophagus, which is overlooked by a Crucifix in copper laminae.
The sarcophagi of the archbishops Ottone Visconti and Giovanni Visconti, created by a Campionese master in the 14th century.
The sarcophagus of Marco Carelli, who donated 35,000 ducati to accelerate the construction of the cathedral.
The three magnificent altars by Pellegrino Pellegrini, which include the notable Federico Zuccari's Visit of St. Peter to St. Agatha jailed.
In the right transept, the monument to Gian Giacomo Medici di Marignano, called “Medeghino”, by Leone Leoni, and the adjacent Renaissance marble altar, decorated with gilt bronze statues.
In front of the former mausoleum is the most renowned work of art of the cathedral, the St. Bartholomew statue by Marco D'Agrate.
The presbitery is a late Renaissance masterpiece composing a choir, a Temple by Pellegrini, two pulpits with giant telamones covered in copper and bronze, and two large organs. Around the choir the two sacristies' portals, some frescoes and a fifteenth-century statue of Martin V by Jacopino da Tradate) can be seen.
The transepts house the Trivulzio Candelabrum, which is in two pieces. The base (attributed to Nicolas of Verdun, 12th century), charcterized by a fantastic ensemble of vines, vegetables and imaginary animals; and the stem, of the mid-16th century.
In the left aisle, the Arcimboldi monument by Alessi and Romanesque figures depicting the Apostles in red marble and the neo-Classic baptistry by Pellegrini.
A small red light bulb in the dome above the apse marks the spot where one of the nails from the Crucifixion of Christ has been placed.

Useful information

Telephone: +39 (02) 86463456
Open: Roof: daily 7am-7pm. Crypt: daily 9am-noon and 2:30-6pm. Baptistery: Tues-Sun 10am-noon and 3-5pm. Museum: Tues-Sun 9:30am-12:30pm and 3-6pm.
Disabled: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.

Links

Photos and details

Virtual model of Piazza del Duomo

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