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CATHEDRAL OF MILAN WIENER, Jacques: Italy, 1860, Bronze, 59 mm Milan, a major city in northern Italy and the capital of the province of Milano, is situated near the middle of the Lombard plain. It is the seat of an archbishop, the chief financial center of Italy and wealthiest manufacturing and commercial town in the country. The center of the city is dominated by the Piazza del Duomo, or cathedral square, at one end of which stands the Cathedral of Milan. Begun in 1386 from marble from the quarries which Gian Galeazzo Visconti gave in perpetuity to the cathedral chapter, it was then the largest church in existence, and now, after St. Peter's in Rome and the cathedral of Seville, it is the largest church in Europe. The style is essentially Gothic and elaborate in design, though somewhat eclectic because so many masters contributed to its architecture through several centuries, notably Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, who designed the octagonal cupola, and Pellegrino di Tibaldo de' Pellegrini, who laid the pavement and designed the baroque facade. The church is cruciform, with double aisles to the nave and aisles to the transepts. The roof is supported by 52 pillars with canopied niches for statues. In a crypt under the choir lies the body of the cardinal patron saint of Milan, Carlo Borromeo, who consecrated the cathedral in 1577. The body is contained in a rock-crystal shrine, encased in silver, and is vested in magnificent robes blazing with jewels. The roof of the cathedral is built of blocks of marble, and the various levels are reached by staircases carried up the buttresses. It is ornamented with a profusion of turrets, pinnacles and statues, of which there are at least 3300 of various styles and periods. As elsewhere in Italy, recent excavations have revealed ancient Roman ruins beneath the building. LINKS to the Piazza del Duomo and the Cathedral (from discountmilano) |
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