Duomo di Milan

We saved the biggest and the best church for last. Thankfully we had pre-booked our tickets to go into the Duomo and to go to the rooftop, and once again we somehow managed to avoid the long lines and crowds.

I'm not sure there are words to actually describe the Duomo, and being one of the most famous in the world I don't know that I actually need to. This is the largest church in Italy (the larger St. Peter's Basilica is in the State of Vatican City) and the third largest in the world and took nearly six centuries to complete. Construction of the cathedral began in 1386 with the building process continuing until 1813. Up until 1965 finishing touches were still being added to the church. As the cathedral took so long to build it was influenced by a number of architectural styles but overall the general impression is of an elaborate Gothic design.

The cathedral is 157 meters long and can accommodate 40,000 people. The exterior, covered with marble, is topped with 135 spires and pinnacles bearing statues while the central spire is 109 meters from the ground. In all the building has 3159 statues of which 2245 are on the exterior. The Madonnina is the most famous of the cathedral statues, a copper figure which stands on the cathedral's central spire.

There was just so much to look at and admire and I was really disappointed that this was the day my camera had decided to no longer work and all I had was my iphone camera. Just not the same zoom power.

Going up to the rooftop was unbelievable. We were standing on the roof of the Milan Cathedral, and were up close and personal with a lot of the amazing statues, gargoyles, arches and facades. It was very impressive. Even more impressive was the interior, the stained glass windows, the alters, the columns, everywhere we turned we would utter another "wow". Yet again a place filled with history and beauty. I totally understand how this is one of the world's most famous cathedrals and would visit again if we returned to Milan.Read more