Italy – Day 2a– Milan Duomo

Milan Cathedral (19 February 2018)

Out the door of the hotel…down the stairs to the Metro and out into the Duomo Square. We pick up tickets that include the elevator (vs. the stairs) to the roof and proceed to the line that gets us into the great Milan Cathedral. Uniformed military are there to check bags and control the entrances.

While claims of size can be tricky (height, area, volume, etc.), the Cathedral is among the largest Christian churches in the world and the largest in Italy (trivia trick – The larger St. Peters in Rome is really in the State of Vatican City).

Central Nave, Milan Cathedral (17 February 2018)

3,400 statues, 135 gargoyles and 700 additional figures. No other church I know is so festooned…so insistent on placing statuary in every possible place.

Fifty-two massive pillars create a space that is much wider than many Gothic churches from this time period and can accommodate 40,000 people. Begun in 1386, the cathedral took over 600 years to complete.

St. Bartholomew Flayed, Milan Cathedral (17 February 2018)

Bartholomew was one of Jesus’ 12 Apostles and was said to have been skinned alive. Only John lived to die peacefully while all the rest were martyred in one gruesome way or another. Sculpted by Marco d’Agrate in 1562, the Saint is shown with his skin wrapped around him like a stole.

Madonnina del Duomo, Milan Cathedral (17 February 2018)

At the rear of the church, behind the altar, are three magnificent stained-glass windows, each with over a hundred colorful panels. In front of the windows is a replica of the Madonnina, the gold figure that tops the highest spire above the church.

From the Roof of the Milan Cathedral

(17 February 2018)

It was not a clear, pleasant day but at least it wasn’t raining. From the passages that lead to the roof, you could see many flying buttresses and gargoyles up close…and hordes of tourists taking selfies with buttresses and gargoyles as their backdrop. The picture here shows part of one corner of the cathedral. One can imagine the effort it took. Look closely and everything you see is ornately carved out of stone.

The Sacred and the Secular, Milan Cathedral (17 February 2018)

Among the hundreds of statues that look outward from the Duomo, the special ones sit atop tall, narrow spires. They stand, ever-watchful over the modern Milan. The saying is, ‘For every church in Rome, there is a bank in Milan.’

This first full day in Milan was too packed and interesting for one, long post. Stay tuned for two more illustrated stories.