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Treasures of the Church- Holy Sites |
Cathedral of milan
by SCTJM
An
exceptionally large and elaborate Gothic
cathedral is located on the main square of
Milan. The Milan Cathedral, or the Duomo di
Milano, is the Cathedral Church of Milan,
located in northern Italy. It is described as
one of the greatest Churches in the world, and
one of the most famous buildings in Europe. 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 the ancient Roman city. It is
the largest Gothic cathedral, and the second
largest Catholic cathedral in the world, second
only to the Sevilleis Cathedral.
Construction began on the building in 1386, and
wasn’t fully completed until 1965. The huge
building is of brick construction, faced with
marble. The style of the Cathedral began as
Gothic, but then as the years passed it became
more Renaissance in style. The Cathedral has a
capacity of 40,000 and its dome height measures
65.5 meters. The roof is renowned for the forest
of openwork pinnacles and spires, sitting upon
delicate flying buttresses. By 1402, almost half
of the cathedral was complete, but work was
halted due to both lack of money and ideas. In
1805, Napolean Bonaparte did a lot to finance
the construction of the building, and much was
accomplished. For example, many of the missing
arches and spires were constructed. More of the
statues were also finished. In the years between
1829-1858 new stained glass windows replaced the
old ones. The main spire is topped with a
polychrome statue of the Madonna, to whom it has
always been dedicated. The completion of the
last details of the cathedral were only finished
recently, in 1965. This date is considered the
very end of a process which had proceeded for
generations.
The interior of the Cathedral has a great number
of monuments and artworks. A small red bulb in
the dome above the apse marks the spot where the nails from the crucifixion of Christ has
been placed. The windows of the apse portray St.
John the Evangelist, by Cristoforo de' Mottis,
and Saint Eligius and San John of Damascus, both
by Niccolò da Varallo. The great windows of the
choir are reputed to be the largest in the
world. There are three magnificent altars by
Pellegrino Pellegrini, which include the notable
Federico Zuccari’s Visit of St. Peter to St.
Agatha jailed. One may also walk high on the
roofs of the huge Gothic cathedral. In the crypt
is the tomb of Cardinal Borromeo, as well as
Pope Martin V (1424). There is also the
sixteenth century marble tomb of Giacomo de
Medici. Additionally, in the crypt is the
Cathedral Treasury. It also houses the Museo
d'Arte Contomporanea of many artworks.
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