The cathedral of Milan (il Duomo di Milano, in the original Italian) is not only one of the largest churches in Christianity. Plenty of scholars of architecture and art historians claim it is, by far, the most beautiful church in Italy – which is surely a lot to say, especially when considering the plethora of remarkable Renaissance or Baroque religious buildings found all over the Italic Peninsula.
The cathedral itself is, to a certain extent, an exceptional case of demi-Lombard architecture. That is, unlike most Italian churches, the Duomo di Milanois built in a radiant Gothic style, which makes it look like a typical French church instead. This should not come as a surprise, considering Milan is one of the northernmost cities in all of Italy. The cathedral’s famed double side aisles, for example, are extremely rare in Italian religious architecture.
With a nave about 150 meters in length, room for around 40,000 faithful and the highest choir windows in the world, the cathedral of Milan is one of those churches one must visit –even if virtually. The cathedral’s website offers a series of 360-degree photographs that allow us to admire the beauty of this exceptional work of 14th-century architecture.
Additionally, one of the Church’s greatest saints rests there, St. Charles Borromeo, who was the archbishop of Milan (1564 to 1584) and had his cathedral seat at the Duomo. In fact, after elements of construction that he oversaw, he consecrated the church in 1577. (Construction on it began in 1386, but elements were still being added in the 1960s!)
And today we celebrate...