On our way back to Viterbo we stopped for a night in Milano. Our students LOVE Milan. Me, not so much. Amy and I visited many years ago on one of our sweeps across Italy. I remember it as a gritty, dirty city without much to offer beyond the Duomo. It turns out there is a bit more, but not much. I like it somewhat better after a second trip, but it is still way, way down toward the bottom of my least favorite destinations in Italy.
The Duomo di Milano is the cathedral for the city of Milan. It is the 5th largest cathedral in the world and the largest in Italy. Remember, St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome is in the Vatican, a separate country which is not part of Italy. It is built on the site of what is likely the original Roman center of town near what must have been the forum. Construction on the current cathedral was begun in 1386. It was built in the Gothic style: huge and grand to convey the power of God, toweringly tall to draw the eyes upward to heaven. The façade was completed in 1812 under orders issued by Napoleon Bonaparte as he was about to be crowned King of Italy.
The final gate of the cathedral was completed in 1965, bringing to a close almost 600 years of construction. Even now the building is under a near steady state of construction as work is continuing on preservation of the building which is suffering severe damage from pollution. The details are remarkable, from the figures “holding up” the building to the massive copper doors. Apparently, it is good luck to rub the calf of the man who whipped Christ, even better luck than to rub Christ’s knee.
The interior is more of the same on a grand scale.
I was impressed by the stained glass installation in the apse. The scale of this picture is deceptive. Each of these panels is more than 4 feet tall, making the entire presentation close to 60 feet – and there are 3 such banks of windows!
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