We are back in Milan as we are departing on a 6 day wine tour of Northern Italy tomorrow, September 20th. We booked a guided tour of the Duomo di Milano while we were here last time, as the tickets were all sold out previously.
We truly lucked out on weather, as it dumped all night last night, and cleared up by daybreak. We met our guide and entered the Duomo via the fast-track line (although the regular line out front didn’t look too bad to be honest). The first thing that hits you is just how massive this place is.
They advertise this place as the 5th largest church in the world. It was started in 1386, and wasn’t finished until 1965. We were fortunate to be here on a Sunday during mass, as they were playing the massive organ and had the men’s choir singing. They were also swinging around some sort of special pollution creating contraption and holding up a book of some sort. Not sure what that was all about? At least they were wearing masks to protect them from the pollution they were creating.
The music really gave the place some ambiance, and gave us a feel for the acoustics of the building. Just inside the door is the most famous statue inside the Duomo, Saint Bartholomew Flayed. Sounds like the name for a rapper!
This sculpture was created in 1562 by Marco D’Agrate, who was apparently dropped frequently as a child. Saint Bart was one of 12 Apostles of Jesus, who traveled to Armenia after Christ’s ascension and had the audacity to convert the Armenian King to Christianity. As punishment, the locals flayed and beheaded him, unfortunately in that order. Nice guys these Armenians! Remind me to write that one off my bucket list.
It looks like the statue of Bart is simply a skeletal man wearing a robe, but that robe is supposed to be his flayed skin. Wouldn’t you hold yours up for all to see? The detail of the human anatomy under that skin is quite remarkable. I can’t imagine what people thought in 1562, when PG-13 didn’t exist!
One of the many beautiful stained windows throughout the church. When you are #5 in the world, there are a lot of them!
Our guide pointed out that what appears to be carvings in the ceiling are actually just paint.
The next photo shows what it looks like with the paint removed. They had to remove it due to humidity issues. The church is constantly in a state of refurbishment due to the elements.
From the western end of the church looking back, our guide pointed out a small red light on the eastern wall. This red light signifies where they keep a nail that is supposedly one of the actual nails used to affix Jesus to the cross.
Here is a picture of the actual nail.
I don’t know about you, but that looks a lot more like one of those magical metal contraptions you have to figure out how to seperate than a nail. What were they working with 2021 years ago??
They bring the nail down once a year, on September 13th, and put it on display for three days, so we just missed it. Our guide showed us a picture of the vehicle that they use to bring the nail down.
I think Walt Disney rejected this as the first concept vehicle for It’s A Small World!
Our guide then took us down into the Archeological Area just adjacent to the Duomo. This was a church that was demolished to make way for the Duomo, and was only discovered when they were excavating for the new subway system. The area in the below photo was the baptistry. Apparently this is also where the Italians like to throw away their pennies!
They also found several tombs in this area. I’m not entirely sure why they removed the bodies if they intended to immortalize the area. They appeared to be sealed up tight to make sure nothing else gets out.
Here is a shot of one of the bodies before they were removed. They didn’t exactly “Handle with Care” back then! I’m curious what brand of blender was used?
When we were back up in the Duomo, our guide showed us a long line that goes across the floor from one side of the church to the other, and it has the signs of the zodiac in various places along that line. This is their version of a sundial, and a hole in the ceiling of the church lights up this line at Local Apparent Noon each day (she called it something else, but I have a degree in Navigation, so trust me, it’s called Local Apparent Noon, or LAN). The below shot is the hole in the ceiling.
Here is the line on the floor.
Here is a photo of what it looks like when the light hits the floor at LAN. Very Dan Brownesque!!
A couple of popular religious guys are actually buried in crypts at ground level. Now I know where the Blue Man Group got their idea! I think the Duomo should sue for copyright violations. Is blue far enough from silver?
We then took the elevator up onto the roof, and I was so worried that the potential for rain would shut that down, but we got very lucky. Look at that blue sky!
Our guide pointed out that this statue was damaged during WWII (those damn allies bombing religious sites!), and had to be replaced with a new copy.
Here is the original repaired version in the Duomo Museum. Not sure why they couldn’t just stick this one back up there. It looked fine to me.
The intracacy of the spires is quite amazing. There’s a reason it took nearly 600 years to build this church!
Kim last visited the Duomo in 1985. She’s barely aged since then…even the Duomo has had more parts replaced since 1985!
The Flying Buttresses are amazing! Reminds me of visiting Notre Dame!
Gargoyles are everywhere.
I saw a face on one of the buttresses, and thought it looked like Abraham Lincoln. I told Kim, and almost immediately thereafter the guide mentioned it. Apparently one of the artists wanted to memorialize him on the Duomo. Remember, they just finished this plae in 1965.
The Virgin Mary is at the top of the Duomo. There is a rule in Milan that any new building that is taller than the Duomo must have a smaller version of this Virgin Mary on the top.
Here you can see evidence of the constant refurbishment work being done on the Duomo.
Here we are on the uppermost roof section.
After lunch we visited the Duomo Museum, which houses items that were once in the Duomo or copied from the Duomo. I found this particular gargoyle, with hands, interesting.
This is a replica of the Virgin Mary from the top of the Duomo. It’s much larger than expected.
This is a model of the Duomo that was built in 1891. You can see how few spires are on this model, versus the final product, that is covered with spires throughout.
Enough about the Duomo….but I must say it was a very worthwhile visit! I highly suggest the guided tour as well, and do all parts, not just the cathedral.
On our way to dinner we walked by Bosco Verticale, a condo complex with a few potted plants on the terraces.
A night view. I can only imagine how weird their Home Owners Association rules must be! Cool spot though.
