Milan Cathedral is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. Dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente, it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola. The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. I’ll be sharing several posts on the Duomo. My first photos will be of the front of the Duomo. My future posts on the Duomo will be from the interior, the roof and the rear.
The cathedral of Milan holds over six centuries of history and the entire building is made of pink-hued, white marble that comes from the quarries of Candoglia. Its construction began in 1386 on the area where the basilicas Santa Tecla and Santa Maria Maggiore stood and later became “encompassed” in the new cathedral. Architects, sculptors, artists and thousands of specialized workers became involved in the Fabbrica del Duomo (the construction of the cathedral) which, it can easily be said, has never stopped operating. Even today, in fact, work still continues on this extraordinary piece that is the symbol and heart of the city.
This was one of the highlights of Milan but it also has it’s downside. Tourists are bombarded by pickpockets here that work in tag teams trying to distract you while they try to steal your valuables or just con you out of your money. We enjoyed the views of the Duomo away from the crowds.
I am finally feeling well enough to get things done around here and to go out and about again. It was so good to be back in church this morning and to reconnect with friends. After our morning Palm Sunday service Josh and Laura picked us up for a belated birthday meal in Seattle. We had a great time together catching up and planning some future events together. Hope you had a good day!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 
What an incredibly beautiful building! The stone shines!
Wow. Breathtaking!
I have a special memory of the Duomo in Milan. Perhaps I’ll share it on a blog post – it’s not particularly sacred or beautiful, but it’s become a bit of family lore.
I’m glad you’re beginning to feel better!
That is spectacular…..a masterpiece. It’s breathtaking in the photos….I can imagine being there in person.
A beautiful building! Can you imagine how difficult it was to construct? My daughter went to Italy when she was in high school. They were told to carry their money in pouches under their clothes and to carry purses with long straps that could go over their heads….to avoid being robbed. A shame! Glad you are feeling better!
YOU’RE DOING A GREAT JOB. WHERE IS TOWER OF PISA?
Anthony, I was only in the area of Milan so I did not see the Tower of Pisa.
Imagine the time lines, work schedules that went into making these structures of such high priority. Wow, they are so beautiful and yet, what do they really offer the people? A place, a market, like you said…pickpocketers…not a place of refuge.
What beautiful and ornate buildings – can you imagine the cost to build such ornate works today? Lovely!
These pictures are amazing Ellen!!! What unspeakable beauty. I can’t wait to see the inside pics. So glad you are feeling better. Have a great week dear Ellen…
Wow. Absolutely beautiful.
When I learned how long it took to build the Cathedral I laughed…ever seen a church building committee in the heat of a building project? Imagine six CENTURIES of such meetings. Did anyone take notes??? And did anyone’s wife ever gripe “Another building committee meeting? Oh come on!”
Seriously, I truly regret not having had the time to take a full guided tour of this Cathedral. I still shudder at the statue of the flayed saint.
Jill, I couldn’t bring myself to take a photo of that saint.
That is one amazing structure. Six centuries to build it? I wonder if they had to reapply for building permits in between.
What a phenomenal structure! And wonderful photos, Ellen. What stories those walls could tell.
WOW! Enjoyed the historical snippets. It’s amazing how enduring art takes time and effort to materialize. I just swooned looking at those pictures… I am sure studying each detail will take more than a lifetime.
Missed this one…somehow thought you were still in Italy. I can’t imagine such blatant pickpockets. The Duomo is certainly beautiful inside and out.
It is sad news about the pickpockets! It used to be that the square in front of this cathedral was filled with pigeons–very much like St. Mark’s in Venice. Tourists would buy grain and have photo taken of the pigeons eating out of their hands. Is that still being done? I’ll have to look for my photos of myself doing that –my kids were aghast! lol!
Pat, Pigeon feeding is still being done…
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