Tag Archives: Duomo

D is for Duomo!

It’s time for ABC Wednesday and our letter this week is D.

Thank you Denise, Roger, Leslie and the rest of the crew for keeping this meme going!

In March of 2013 I had the privilege to travel with my husband on his business trip to Milan, Italy.

The Duomo, 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.

This is one of the Duomo’s doors.

The Duomo is decorated with an amazing number of beautifully sculpted statues and spires. There are more statues on this building than any other in the world, 3159 in total. 2245 Of these are on the exterior together with 96 gargoyles and 135 spires.

I have extensive posts on the Duomo that you can find here (Duomo) here (Within the Duomo) and here (On Top of Old Duomo).

On Wednesday February 5th my daughter and I are going to brave the crowds and head to downtown Seattle to view the Super Bowl Parade. They are predicting quite the crowds to cheer on and congratulate the Seattle Seahawks in their first ever Super Bowl victory. The city of Seattle has been excited for 2 solid weeks and it will be a fun atmosphere to be a part of tomorrow. If I’m a little late getting around to your posts for the letter D you’ll know why…

Duomo Milan

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!