Duomo Rooftop

The interior of the Duomo is only accessed by purchasing a ticket. I looked up the prices and I saw that a two hour guided tour wasn’t too steep at €38, so I booked it.

After completing The Last Supper tour, I hopped onto the metro, ate a slice of pizza, and then made my way to meet up with Maria, our guide. Maria took us through security and then up to the roof by elevator. There, she pointed out various features, which included:
- the design of the roof.
- why there always is scaffolding at the Duomo: the marble used lasts 200 years and individual blocks have to be replaced. The old and new limestone also have different shades. Another interesting fact is that sponsoring organizations can have their names on marble blocks.
- various figures represented in the spires, including Adam and Eve which are on different parts of the rooftop, each with either Cain or Abel but not both.
- each of the 100+ gargoyles is unique, and one of them even inspired the dog and boy from The Neverending Story.

Because of the wind, it was a nice clear day and we could see the snow covered Alps in the far distance.

At one point, Maria told me she has observed a big surge in visitors from the US. She asked me if Americans were coming to Milan because airfares were cheap. I replied it was because Americans want to visit a functioning democracy (in the land that invented fascism, no less - I of course did not say this bit out loud). It sort of fell flat and I think my comment was lost on her, but, worse of all, I think her mic picked up my response and the other tour attendees heard it LOL.Read more