Milan Cathedral

If you ask the Milanese what to visit in Italy, they will not hesitate to name the
Milan Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Milano), built in honor of the Nativity of the
Blessed Virgin Mary and which is the symbol of the city. This monumental building
can simultaneously accommodate up to 40,000 people, which makes it one of the
largest Gothic temples in the world.
The laying of its foundation began in 1386 on the site of the demolished old
church of Santa Maria Maggiore. The great artist and designer Leonardo da Vinci
took part in the development of the project. But the construction was completed
only 427 years later by order of Napoleon Bonaparte. Although small changes in
the appearance of the facade and interior decoration continued to be made even
until the middle of the twentieth century. The cathedral took nearly six centuries
to complete.
The Duomo displays an inordinate amount of impressive architectural details both
in and outside of its walls. The exterior is dotted with thousands of intricately-
carved statues (2,300 to be exact) depicting both religious figures and stories
from the Bible, including Jesus' crucifixion. The cathedral is made of white marble
and is designed in the style of flaming Gothic. First, tourists see 135 marble spiers,
directed towards the heavens.
And its interiors are even more intricate. Inside you'll find a thousand more
statues, sky-high marble columns, gilded ceilings, striking stained glass windows
and loads of paintings scattered throughout. The detail even goes all the way
down to the floors, where you'll find geometric-patterned marble lined
throughout. There is also the 5-manual, 225-rank pipe-organ, which is currently
the largest organ in all of Italy. There are no real clocks with hands and dials in the
Milan Cathedral. Instead, there is a gilded brass strip on the floor along one of the
walls, separated by twelve zodiacal constellations. This is the midday meridian.
It is worth going to Milan and seeing everything with your own eyes. You will find
the Milan Cathedral in the city center, right off the Duomo metro stop.