The Milan Cathedral, officially the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Milan and an Italian national monument. Symbol of the Lombard capital, and located in the square of the same name in the center of the metropolis, it is dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente. It is the largest church in Italy (the largest in the Italian Republic, since the basilica of San Pietro, which is larger, is in fact in the territory of the Vatican City; it is the second largest considering the whole Italian peninsula), the third in the world by surface area, the sixth by volume. It is the seat of the parish of Santa Tecla in the cathedral of Milan.
In the place where the cathedral stands, there were once the ancient
cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore, the winter cathedral, and the
basilica of Santa Tecla, the summer cathedral. After the collapse of the
bell tower (1386), Archbishop Antonio de' Saluzzi, supported by the
population, promoted the reconstruction of a new and larger cathedral
(May 12, 1386), which would rise on the site of the oldest religious
heart of the city. The construction of the cathedral was also dictated
by very specific political choices: with the new construction site, the
population of Milan intended to underline the centrality of Milan in the
eyes of Gian Galeazzo who, with a coup d'état, had recently deposed his
uncle Bernabò and reunified the Visconti domains, pre-eminence
questioned by the choice of the new lord to reside and maintain his
court, like his father Galeazzo II, in Pavia and not in Milan. For the
new building, both previous churches began to be demolished: Santa Maria
Maggiore was demolished first, Santa Tecla later, in 1461-1462
(partially rebuilt in 1489 and definitively demolished in 1548).
The new church, judging by the archaeological remains that have emerged
from the excavations in the sacristy, must have originally foreseen a
brick building according to the Lombard Gothic techniques. On 12 January
1387 the foundations of the pylons were laid, colossal works that had
already been designed from a design the previous year. During 1387 the
excavation of the foundations continued and the pylons continued. What
was done before 1386 was almost completely undone. During the year the
duke of Milan Gian Galeazzo Visconti assumed control of the works,
imposing a more ambitious project. The material chosen for the new
construction then became Candoglia marble (and to a much lesser extent
also Ornavasso marble) and the architectural forms those of the late
Gothic of Rhine-Bohemian inspiration. Indeed, Gian Galeazzo's desire was
to give the city a grandiose building in step with the most up-to-date
European trends, which symbolized the ambitions of his state, which, in
his plans, should have become the center of an Italian national monarchy
as it was success in France and England, thus inserting itself among the
great powers of the continent. Gian Galeazzo made the quarries available
and granted substantial subsidies and tax exemptions: each block
destined for the Cathedral was marked AUF (Ad usum fabricae), and
therefore exempt from any transit tax. As evidenced by the rich archive
preserved to this day, the first chief engineer was Simone d'Orsenigo,
flanked by other Lombard masters, who in 1388 began the perimeter walls.
In 1389-1390 the Frenchman Nicolas de Bonaventure was commissioned to
design the large windows.
French and German architects were
called to direct the construction site, such as Jean Mignot, Jacques
Coene or Enrico di Gmünd, who however remained in office for a very
short time, encountering open hostility from the Lombard workers,
accustomed to a different work practice. The factory then proceeded in a
climate of tension, with numerous revisions, which in spite of
everything gave rise to a work of unmistakable originality, both in the
Italian and European panorama.
Initially the foundations had been
prepared for a building with three naves, with square side chapels,
whose dividing walls could also act as buttresses. It was then decided
to do without the chapels, bringing the number of naves to five and on
19 July 1391 the enlargement of the four central pillars was approved.
However there was a growing concern for the stability of the entire
structure, due to insufficient inertial masses to oppose the action of
the thrusts. So in September of the same year the Piacenza mathematician
Gabriele Stornaloco was interrogated to define the cross section and the
elevation, through a precise geometric and cosmological diagram
(Stornaloco was also an astronomer and cosmographer). On May 1, 1392,
the shape of the progressively decreasing naves was chosen for a maximum
height of 76 arms.
However, relations between Gian Galeazzo and
the top management of the factory (chosen by the citizens of Milan) were
often tense: the lord (who had become duke of Milan in 1395) intended to
transform the cathedral into the dynastic pantheon of the Visconti,
inserting the funeral monument of his father Galeazzo II and this met
with strong opposition from both the factory and the Milanese, who
wanted to emphasize their autonomy. A clash arose, which forced Gian
Galeazzo to decide the foundation of a new construction site destined
exclusively for the Visconti dynasty: the Certosa di Pavia, to which,
without scruple, he repeatedly assigned many employees of the Duomo
factory, even of high level, such as Giacomo da Campione or Giovannino
de' Grassi.
In 1393 the first capital of the pillars was sculpted, based on a
design by Giovannino de' Grassi, who oversaw a new design for the large
windows and was general engineer until his death in 1398. The presence
of the capitals on the pillars clearly differentiates it from the Gothic
d' beyond the Alps, where the ribs of the pillars continue in the arches
giving greater vertical momentum to the construction. In 1400 he was
replaced by Filippino degli Organi, who supervised the construction of
the large apsidal windows. From 1407 to 1448 he was in charge of the
construction, which completed the apse and the cross foot, temporarily
closed by the recomposed facade of Santa Maria Maggiore.
On 16
October 1418 Pope Martin V consecrated the high altar, which was moved
to its definitive position in the center of the new cruise between 11
and 12 October. Up to that moment the altar had in fact remained in its
previous location in the old body of Santa Maria Maggiore, protected by
the remains of the old apse, demolished only on this occasion. The
ceremony was grandiose and had a huge popular participation, even if the
figures proposed by the chronicles of the time (80,000 and 100,000
people) must be considered improbable, probably corresponding to the
total population of the city at the time.
From 1452 to 1481
Giovanni Solari was in charge of the construction site, who for the
first two years was also assisted by Filarete, a Tuscan architect called
by Duke Francesco Sforza. Guiniforte Solari, Giovanni's son, and
Giovanni Antonio Amadeo followed, who with Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono built
the lantern in 1490. Upon Amadeo's death (1522) the successive masters
made various "Gothic" proposals, including that of Vincenzo Seregni di
flank the facade with two towers (about 1537), not built.
In 1567
the archbishop Carlo Borromeo imposed a diligent restart of the works,
putting Pellegrino Tibaldi in charge of the factory, who redesigned the
presbytery, which was solemnly reconsecrated in 1577, even if the church
was not yet finished.
As for the facade, Pellegrino Tibaldi drew up a project in 1580,
based on a two-story base enlivened by giant Corinthian columns and with
an aedicule in correspondence with the central nave, flanked by
obelisks. The death of Carlo Borromeo in 1584 meant the removal of his
protégé who left the city, while the construction site was taken over by
his rival Martino Bassi, who sent Gregory XIV, the Milanese pope, a new
facade project.
In the 17th century, the supervision of the works
saw the presence of the best city architects, such as Lelio Buzzi,
Francesco Maria Richini (until 1638), Carlo Buzzi (until 1658) and the
Quadrios. In the meantime, in 1628 the central portal had been completed
and in 1638 the work on the façade continued, with the aim of creating
an aedicule effect inspired by Santa Susanna in Rome. To this end, the
drawings by Luigi Vanvitelli (1745) and Bernardo Antonio Vittone (1746)
arrived in the 18th century.
Between 1765 and 1769 Francesco
Croce completed the crowning of the lantern and the main spire, on which
the gilded copper Madunina was raised five years later, destined to
become the symbol of the city. The scheme of Buzzi's façade was taken up
again at the end of the century by Luigi Cagnola, Carlo Felice Soave and
Leopoldo Pollack. The latter began the construction of the balcony and
the central window.
In 1805, at the direct request of Napoleon
Bonaparte, Giuseppe Zanoia started the works for the completion of the
facade, in anticipation of the Coronation of Napoleon King of Italy,
which took place on 6 May 1805. The project was finally concluded in
1813 by Carlo Amati. The addition of statues and the erection of the
spiers continued throughout the nineteenth century, by various
architects (Pestagalli, Vandoni, Cesa Bianchi), inspired by the
fifteenth-century spiers. Among the sculptors who worked there in the
early 19th century, Luigi Acquisti can be mentioned.
In 1866 the low bell tower that was located on the nave was
demolished and the bells were transferred to the tiburium, between the
double vaults. Throughout the 19th century the spiers and architectural
decorations were completed, until 1892. Restoration works also followed
throughout the century, aimed at replacing the materials damaged by
time.
During the Second World War, the Madonnina was covered in
rags, to prevent the reflections of light on its recently redone gilded
surface from being used as a reference point for Allied bombers flying
over the city, while the windows were previously removed and replaced by
rolls of cloth. Although it was not hit by high-potential bombs, the
cathedral was also damaged during aerial bombardments and its central
bronze door still shows some "wounds" from fragments of bombs that
exploded nearby. After the Second World War, following the damage
suffered by aerial bombardments, the Cathedral was largely restored,
subsequently the remaining wooden doors were replaced with others in
bronze, the work of the sculptors Arrigo Minerbi, Giannino Castiglioni
and Luciano Minguzzi.
The four central pillars that support the
tiburium were built in serizzo with only the external part in marble.
The two parts, internal and external, were held together with lime and
broken bricks. This lack of uniformity significantly diminished their
ability to sustain. Furthermore, the lantern and the spire of the
Madonnina were built on round arches, positioned above the pointed
arches. These arches stressed the piers unevenly, pushing them outward.
During the 19th century, fearing that they might collapse, there were
numerous restoration interventions which, rather than solving the
problems, concealed the signs. Towards the middle of the 20th century,
due to the increase in traffic (with consequent continuous vibrations)
and the lowering of the water table (which led the pylons to sink
slightly), the static situation of the Cathedral became critical.
In 1969, to avoid collapses (pieces of marble, even of large
dimensions, had already detached, falling into the aisles), the area
surrounding the Cathedral was closed to traffic and the slowdown of
trains on line 1 of the underground was ordered. The static restoration
of the pylons began in 1981 and was completed in 1986 on the occasion of
the six hundredth anniversary of the construction. Even today, the
maintenance of the cathedral is entrusted to the Veneranda Fabbrica del
Duomo di Milano, whose interventions are continuous, so as to give rise
to the Milanese expression Longh as the factory of Domm, to mean
something interminable.
Simone da Orsenigo, general engineer from 1387 to 1391;
Giacomo da
Campione, engineer from 1388 to 1398;
Marco da Campione, engineer
from 1388 to 1390;
Nicola da Bonaventis of France, engineer from 1389
to 1390;
Giovanni Annex from Freiburg, engineer in 1391;
Marco da
Carona, engineer from 1391 to 1405;
Giovannino de' Grassi, engineer
from 1391 to 1398;
Ulrich Fussingen from Ulm, engineer in 1394;
Jean Mignot of Paris, engineer from 1399 to 1400;
Filippino degli
Organi, engineer from 1400 to 1448;
Antonio di Pietro Averulino,
known as Filarete, engineer from 1452 to 1454;
Giovanni Solari,
engineer from 1451 to 1463;
Guiniforte Solari da Carona, engineer
from 1459 to 1480;
Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, architect from 1490 to
1522;
Leonardo da Vinci, consultant for the lantern from 1487 to
1488;
Luca Fancelli, consultant for the cupola from 1487 to 1491;
Bramante, consultant for the lantern in 1490;
Gian Giacomo
Dolcebuono, engineer from 1490 to 1503;
Andrea Fusina, architect from
1506 to 1527;
Cristoforo Solari, architect from 1501;
Bernardo
Zenale da Treviglio, engineer from 1520 to 1527;
Giulio Romano,
consultant for Porta in Compito;
Vincenzo Seregni, architect from
1547 to 1567;
Pellegrino Tibaldi, architect from 1567 to 1585;
Martino Bassi da Seregno, architect from 1587 to 1591;
Fabio Mangone,
engineer from 1617 to 1629;
Francesco Maria Richini, architect from
1631 to 1638;
Carlo Buzzi, from 1638 to 1658;
Gian Lorenzo
Bernini, consultant for the façade in 1656;
Gerolamo Quadrio, from
1658 to 1679;
Andrea Biffi, from 1679 to 1686;
Gianbattista
Quadrio, from 1686 to 1723;
Antonio Quadrio, 1723 to 1743;
Bartolomeo Bolla, from 1743 to 1761;
Luigi Vanvitelli, facade
consultant from 1745 to 1751;
Francesco Croce, from 1760 to 1773;
Carlo Felice Soave, from 1795 to 1803;
Giovanni Antonio Antolini,
from 1801 to 1802;
Leopold Pollack, from 1806 to 1836;
Giuseppe
Zanoia, in 1806;
Carlo Amati, from 1806 to 1813;
Pietro
Pestagalli, from 1813 to 1853
«The Duomo, symbol par excellence of Milan, is the first thing you
look for when you get up in the morning and the last thing your gaze
rests on in the evening. It is said that the Milan Cathedral comes only
after St. Peter's in the Vatican. I cannot understand how it can be
second to any other work done by the hand of man"
(Mark Twain)
In ancient times, the Cathedral was surrounded by the dense medieval
urban fabric which, as around other large French and German cathedrals,
created sudden and majestic views of the mammoth building, which looked
like a marble mountain emerging from a network of minute brick
buildings. The ancient aspect of the area is testified today by ancient
views and a series of photographs from the mid-nineteenth century. With
the opening of the square by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1873, the
facade of the Cathedral could become a grandiose scenographic
background, but, as the numerous controversies did not fail to point
out, banal.
The left side remains visible almost only
foreshortened, due to the proximity of the surrounding buildings, while
the entrance to via Vittorio Emanuele II allows you to observe the
articulation of the volumes of the apse, the transept and the lantern,
up to the main spire of the Madonna. Other interesting glimpses are
visible from Piazza Fontana, from the glimpse of the Verziere, from the
small square of the Royal Palace or from the terrace on the first floor
of the Arengario.
The style of the Cathedral, being the result of centuries-old works,
does not respond to a precise movement, but rather follows an idea of
mammoth and phantasmagorical "Gothic" gradually reinterpreted. Despite
this, and despite the stylistic contradictions in the architecture, the
Cathedral presents itself as a unitary organism. In fact, the gigantic
stone machine fascinates and attracts the popular imagination, also by
virtue of its ambiguity, made up of afterthoughts, discontinuities and,
sometimes, makeshifts. Even the concept of Gothic "authenticity", when
one thinks of how in reality most of the visible structures date back to
the neo-Gothic period, not to mention the frequent replacements, is
actually a distortion of the very essence of the monument, which should
instead be seen as a architectural organism always in continuous and
necessary reconstruction.
The cathedral has a Latin cross plan,
with a cross-foot with five naves and a three-nave transept, with a deep
presbytery surrounded by an ambulatory with a polygonal apse. At the
intersection of the arms, the tiburium rises as usual. The whole has a
notable vertical thrust, a transalpine rather than an Italian
characteristic, but this is partly attenuated by the horizontal
expansion of the space and by the slight difference in height between
the naves, typical of Lombard Gothic.
The load-bearing structure
is made up of pillars and perimeter walls reinforced by buttresses at
the height of the pillars themselves. This is a feature that
differentiates the Milanese cathedral from the transalpine cathedrals,
limiting, with respect to traditional Gothic, the opening of the large
windows (long and narrow) and giving the whole (with the exception of
the apse) a predominantly "closed" form, where the wall is above all an
element of strong demarcation, also underlined by the high plinth of the
Lombard tradition. Thus the free upward momentum is lost. This is
evident even if one considers that spiers and pinnacles have no
load-bearing function, in fact they were added sporadically over the
centuries, until the crowning was completed in the 19th century.
The buttresses have the shape of triangles and serve to contain the
lateral thrusts of the arches. The base is in masonry, as are the
internal parts of the walls and other elements, while a core of serizzo
was used in the pillars; even the sails of the vaults are in brick. The
exposed facing, which also has a load-bearing role, not only as a
covering, is instead in pinkish white Candoglia marble with gray veins:
the quarry, since the time of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, is still owned by
the Fabbrica del Duomo.
The external walls are enlivened by a
thick mass of polystyle semi-pillars which are crowned above, below the
terraces, by an embroidery of polylobed arches surmounted by cusps. The
pointed arch windows are rather narrow, since, as has been said, the
walls have a load-bearing function.
The terraced roof (also in
marble) is unique in Gothic architecture, and is supported by a double
crossed order of minor vaults. In correspondence with the pillars there
is a "forest" of pinnacles, connected to each other by flying
buttresses. In this case the pinnacles have no structural function, in
fact almost all date back to the first half of the 19th century. In the
ancient drawings and in the large model of 1519 by Bernardo Zenale
(Grande Museo del Duomo di Milano) we see a central crest which was to
highlight even more the triangular shape, both along the nave and the
transept, connecting to the lantern, and which was excluded from the
project in 1836.
The part completed first is the apse, pierced by large windows, where
the coat of arms of Gian Galeazzo Visconti appears. The statues,
buttresses, gargoyles and spiers generally date from the time of his
successor, Filippo Maria Visconti, up to the 19th century. The
fifteenth-century Carelli spire was the first to be built.
Starting from the apse, which dates back to the 14th century, the sides
gradually become later as they approach the facade, until the 17th
century. The external buttresses are crowned with spiers and linked to
the base by several horizontal bands. At the top is a frame with
polylobed arches on corbels with anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures.
Between the buttresses, high up, are the windows that illuminate the
aisles.
The apse is polygonal and framed by the bodies of the two
sacristies, which are crowned by the more ancient spiers. The apse is
illuminated by three enormous large windows with marble ribs that draw
the rose windows (by Filippo degli Organi, beginning of the 15th
century) in the ogive. The central window, with the manta of the
Viscontis, is dedicated to the Incarnation of Christ.
The facade in itself bears witness to the complex building history of
the Duomo complex, with the sedimentation of centuries of Italian
architecture and sculpture.
Five backgrounds suggest the presence
of the naves, with six buttresses (double at the ends and around the
central portal) surmounted by spiers. The construction of the facade
began in 1590, under the direction of the architect Pellegrini, in late
Mannerist style, then continuing in the first half of the seventeenth
century under the direction of Richini and Carlo Buzzi. The five portals
and part of the windows above, crowned with a broken tympanum, date back
to that period. The bas-relief decoration of the portals was sculpted in
the times of Archbishop Federico Borromeo based on drawings by Cerano.
The bases of the central buttresses are decorated with
seventeenth-century reliefs, with telamons designed by Carlo Buzzi. The
reliefs on the bases of the side buttresses are instead from the 18th
and 19th centuries. In fact, starting from the mid-seventeenth century
the works proceeded slowly due to the heated debate on the choice of the
project to adopt. The conclusion, in neo-Gothic style, took place
starting from 1805 on Napoleon's orders. The three neo-Gothic windows,
built on a project by Soave and then by Amati, belong to this period.
The statues of Apostles and Prophets on the shelves are all from the
19th century. From the first decade of the 19th century are the two
neoclassical statues that decorate the balustrade of the central window,
the Mosaic Law by Acquisti and the New Law by Camillo Pacetti. Some
scholars argue that this statue was one of the main sources of
inspiration for the creation of the New York Statue of Liberty. The last
act of completion consists of the twentieth-century bronze doors. The
central one, with light neo-Gothic lines, dates from 1906, while the
other four were built after the war.
They range from the Late
Renaissance of Tibaldi, to the Baroque of Francesco Maria Richini, to
the Napoleonic neo-Gothic of Acquisti. In 1886 the 'Grande Fabbrica'
announced an international competition for a complete reconstruction of
the facade in Gothic style and in October 1888 the jury chose Giuseppe
Brentano as the winner, a young pupil of Boito. The project, conceived
as a model for French cathedrals, is still visible in the right aisle of
the Cathedral. Although the marbles had already been ordered and the
works had been prepared, also due to the premature death of Brentano,
the realization of the project was frozen. Subsequently, the strong
controversies that arose at the time of the dismantling of the Baroque
portals ended up blocking it completely. The only part of the project
completed, the bronze portal by Lodovico Pogliaghi, was adapted with an
addition to the seventeenth-century frame.
The distinctive feature of the Milan Cathedral, in addition to the
form of compromise between Gothic verticality and traditional Lombard
horizontality, is the extraordinary abundance of sculptures. Masters
from different backgrounds dedicated themselves to what is an
incomparable sample of statuary from the 14th to the 20th century,
especially at the beginning, with examples ranging from Campione masters
to the dry ways of Giovannino de' Grassi, to then move on to the soft
and cosmopolitan style by the Bohemian and Rhenish masters and by
Michelino da Besozzo himself, up to the examples of Renaissance, Baroque
and Neoclassical sculpture, with even some Art Deco works from the 1920s
and 1930s.
The other grandiose decorative cycle concerns the
stained glass windows. The cathedral contains, with its fifty-five
monumental stained glass windows, an extraordinary testimony to the
history of glass art from the beginning of the fifteenth century to the
end of the twentieth century. Over the centuries, master glassmakers of
the Italian, Flemish and German schools collaborated in their
production, often in collaboration with important painters who supplied
the cartoons for the stained glass windows, such as Giuseppe Arcimboldo,
Pellegrino Tibaldi and others.
Gate of the Edict of Constantine
On the facade, starting from the
external base on the left, the reliefs portray:
Death of Absalom
Samson removes the gates of Gaza
Samson eats the lion
Cain's
sacrifice
Abel's sacrifice
The tympanum of the left portal is
decorated with reliefs of Esther ad Assuero based on a design by
Giovanni Battista Crespi known as il Cerano, while the Door of the Edict
of Constantine dates back to 1948 and is the work of Arrigo Minerbi. It
was begun by the sculptor in 1937 but only inaugurated after the war. In
fact, Minerbi had been removed due to racial laws, being of a Jewish
family. The door is made up of twelve rectangular panels, in addition to
the upper pediment in the middle of which stands the figure of
Constantine I. At the bottom are portraits of the six bishops of Milan
preceding the edict of Constantine, among whom are recognized Saint
Anatalone and Saint Calimero. Going up, you can see the tortures and
persecutions suffered by the Christian martyrs before the edict. In the
center are therefore the tables of the edict, promulgated in Milan in
313 AD, and above it the liberation of the Christians and their
exultation. At the top, the apotheosis of Constantine.
Gate of
Sant'Ambrogio
The second base has reliefs of:
Noah's sacrifice
David with the head of Goliath
Babel tower
The frieze above
the portal shows Sisara and Jael, also designed by Cerano and the bronze
door with reliefs on the Life of Sant'Ambrogio is by Giannino
Castiglioni (1950).
Mary's Gate
The third basement has:
Brazen Serpent
Solomon's bed
symbolic figures
The central
portal has pilasters richly decorated with motifs of flowers, fruit and
animals, and a tympanum with the Creation of Eve, designed by Cerano.
The bronze door is by Lodovico Pogliaghi and presents Stories from the
life of Mary among floral reliefs. It was the first to be built and was
inaugurated in 1906. It had been carried out as part of the project to
renovate the facade designed by Brentano. When the project was
abandoned, it was adapted to the ancient seventeenth-century portal with
the addition of the upper gable, pierced, with the coronation of Mary
among angelic choirs. The door represents, on the right wing, the
painful episodes, with the Pietà in the centre, while on the left, the
joyful episodes, with the Assumption in the centre. The episode of the
Annunciation still bears the signs of war damage caused in 1943 by an
air raid on the city.
Gate of the battle of Legnano
In the
fourth base, the marble frieze crowning the portal portrays Judith
beheading Holofernes, designed by Cerano, while the bronze portal from
1950 was begun by Franco Lombardi and completed by Virginio Pessina,
with panels depicting the history of Milan from the destruction of
Barbarossa to the victory of Legnano.
The reliefs of the fourth
base portray:
Tower of David
Moses causes the waters to flow
Dream of Jacob
Door of the History of the Cathedral
The frieze
of the portal shows Solomon and the Queen of Sheba by Gaspare Vismara,
based on a design by Cerano. The bronze door with Episodes from the
history of the Cathedral is by Luciano Minguzzi (1965).
The sixth
base, external to the right, has reliefs of
Burning bush
Expulsion
from Paradise on Earth
Cluster of the Promised Land
Moses saved
from the waters
Raphael and Tobias
Higher up, the large
statues relating to the Old Testament by Luigi Acquisti stand out.
The whole exterior is decorated with a very rich sculptural kit.
Statues and busts are found on the corbels of the window splays, on the
buttresses statues covered by marble canopies (below) and 96 "giants"
(above), on which gargoyles figured as monstrous creatures soar. Other
statues are found on the spiers, both crowning and in the niches. The
complex of sculptures is an extraordinary art gallery in Milan between
the fourteenth and neoclassicism, in the creation of which Lombard,
German, Bohemian, French (including Burgundian), Tuscan, Venetian and
Campione masters took part.
Among the most important statues are:
Right side
From the right side, second buttress below
Sant'Ambrogio by Carlo Simonetta (1649).
On the third buttress above
David by Gian Andrea Biffi (1597) and in the center Male figure by
Cristoforo Solari.
On the seventh, above, Bishop, attributed to
Angelo Marini
In the right transept, in the openings between the
tenth and fourteenth windows, there are a series of half-figures of
saints from the end of the fourteenth century.
On the eighth
buttress, above, Costantino by Angelo Marini and in the center a
remarkable Magdalene by Andrea Fusina
On the thirteenth window Santa
Caterina d'Alessandria (above) and San Paolo (below) both from the
Bambaia school
On the fifteenth buttress, above, St. Peter the Martyr
of the school of Jacopino da Tradate, and in the center St. Stephen by
Walter Monich.
On the seventeenth, on the right end of the cross,
David and Abigael of Biagio Vairone above
Apse
On the
nineteenth buttress, on the apse, in the centre, St. John the Baptist by
Francesco Briosco (1514) and on the right, David also by Biagio Vairone
In the sidewalls of the middle window below Isachab and Joachim of the
Bambaia school, in the center two Seraphim by Pieter Monich (1403) and
above two Angels attributed to Matteo Raverti and Niccolò da Venezia
(1403). At the center of the rose window is the "race", coat of arms of
Gian Galeazzo Visconti, flanked on the sides by the figures of the
Annunciation, designed by Isacco Imbonate and Paolino da Montorfano
(1402)
On the buttress winds in the center Judas Maccabeus by Fusina
(1420) and at the top Male Nude by Jacopino da Tradate (1404), the Horn
Player by Giorgio Solari (1404) and the remarkable Giant by Matteo
Raverti (1404)
On the twenty-first window, above, the
fifteenth-century statues of Adam, Abel, Cain and Eve.
On the
twenty-first buttress below Tobias, attributed to the end of the
15th-beginning of the 16th century.
Left side
In the left end
of the cross, on the twenty-second window, a Cumanan Sibyl from the 16th
century.
On the twenty-second buttress, below the Carelli spire, a
Prophet above (16th century) and Solomon in the center (1508)
On the
twenty-third window a fifteenth-century Adam above and a
sixteenth-century Constantine below
On the twenty-fifth window, in
the left transept, a San Rocco (16th century), San Galdino, Alexander V,
the latter from the school of Jacopino da Tradate, and a San Francesco
d'Assisi (1438)
On the twenty-sixth window are some half figures of
Saints from the Burgundian school and a Saint Redegonda attributed to
Niccolò da Venezia (1399).
On the twenty-sixth San Bernardino from
the second half of the sixteenth century.
On the twenty-seventh
buttress a Santa Rosalia by Carlo Francesco Mellone (1695)
On the
twenty-ninth window are the fifteenth-century statues of the Magdalene,
a holy monk and San Nazario.
On the thirtieth St. Bartholomew from
the school of Jacopino da Tradate and half figures of saints from the
14th and 15th centuries.
On the thirty-first, below, Apostle with
book, from the workshop of Cristoforo Solari (second half of the 15th
century)
On the left side of the pedestal, thirty-third window, San
Rocco from the first half of the 16th century
On the thirty-fifth San
Sebastiano from the mid-fifteenth century
On the thirty-seventh
buttress, above, Judith attributed to Antonio Rizzo
On the
thirty-eighth window a Prophet from the end of the 16th century.
The interior is divided into five naves, and the transept into three.
The presbytery is deep and surrounded by an ambulatory, next to which
the two sacristies open. The central nave is twice as wide as the
lateral ones, which are of slightly decreasing height, so as to allow
the opening of small pointed arch windows in the clerestory, above the
arches of the vaults, which illuminate the interior in a diffused and
soft way . The triforium is missing.
The fifty-two polystyle
pillars divide the naves and support the ribbed vaults painted with a
Gothic tracery. This decoration was begun in the apse (mid-fifteenth
century), continued in the lantern (1501) and again in the seventeenth,
up to the additions and remakes by Achille Alberti and Alessandro
Sanquirico (from 1823). It has not been reinstated since 1964.
Very original are the monumental capitals in niches and spires with
statues, which decorate the pillars along the central nave, the transept
and the apse. Some capitals are double-registered, with statues of
saints in the niches surmounted by statues of prophets in the cusps. The
other pillars have plant motif decorations.
There is no trace of the original medieval floor but according to the
famous architect Beltrami, who later carried out an important renovation
between 1914 and 1920, the current geometric decoration, originally
commissioned from Tibaldi in 1567, would be influenced by the design
previous lost: in fact the geometric layout, with the exception of the
rosettes and bells that stand in the way of the geometric lines, recall
a motif typical of the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century. In
fact, Beltrami recognizes in the decoration of the floor of the
Cathedral a great resemblance to that typically late fourteenth century
that covers the back wall of the loggia of the castle of Pandino near
Cremona.
The design of the current floor was commissioned on 24
July 1567 to Tibaldi (1527-1596) following the provisions issued by San
Carlo for the decoration of the Cathedral, but the works began in 1584,
ending, with variations, only between 1914 and 1940. It is a complex mix
of light and dark marbles, including black from Varenna, white and pink
from Candoglia, and red from Arzo (originally, now almost completely
replaced by red from Verona). Tibaldi also defined the side altars, the
mausoleums, the choir and the presbytery (rearranged in 1986), following
the requests of Cardinal Borromeo. The interior today has an aspect that
is mainly influenced by this era, linked to the period of the
Counter-Reformation. In the 18th century some monuments were transferred
to the bays towards the facade, recently completed.
Squares of San Carlo
In November, the period dedicated to San
Carlo Borromeo (celebrated on November 4), the so-called "Quadroni di
San Carlo" are exhibited in the Cathedral, a cycle of fifty-six large
canvases that celebrate the life and miracles of the patron saint of
Milan. Made during the seventeenth century, they constitute the most
important pictorial cycle of the Lombard Baroque.
The first cycle
was commissioned between 1602 and 1604 by the Fabbrica del Duomo, just
eighteen years after the saint's death, to some of the most successful
painters of Milan at the time: Cerano (four paintings), Duchino (7) ,
the Fiammenghino (5), Carlo Buzzi (2), Carlo Francesco Procaccini (1),
and others. This cycle includes the 28 largest canvases (6 meters by
4.75), which narrate the facts of the life of Blessed Charles. To this
was added the second cycle, the Miracles of San Carlo, of as many
paintings concerning his miracles and healings. These paintings are
smaller than the first series and measure approximately 2.4×4.4 metres.
They were built between December 1609 and November 1610, when St.
Charles was canonised. The executors of the first cycle were joined by
Giulio Cesare Procaccini, author, with Cerano, of the canvases most
appreciated by the critics.
In addition to this series of teleri,
two other large cycles were painted in the Baroque era: the cycle of the
Finding of the true cross, which was exhibited on the occasion of the
feast of the Sacred Nail, and the cycle of the SS. Sacramento, narrating
wonders and miracles of the SS. Sacrament. The custom of exhibiting them
ceased with the Second World War and they are currently housed in the
diocesan museum in Sant'Eustorgio.
The median portal, on the counter-façade, was designed by Fabio Mangone at the beginning of the 17th century, but only built in 1820. The crowning features the statues of Sant'Ambrogio and San Carlo, by Pompeo Marchesi and Gaetano Monti respectively. On the attic a plaque commemorates the two consecrations, of 1418 and 1577. The stained glass windows of the classical windows of the first level are from the 19th century, made by the Bertini brothers, with Saint Charles, Saint Ambrose and Saint Michael, while it is by Mauro Conconi Saint Thecla. Those of the neo-Gothic windows are from the fifties of the twentieth century, made by the Hungarian Hajnal, recovering the bright colors of the medieval tradition[10]. On the sides they represent the Church and the Synagogue, while in the center the Trinity with an unusual iconography. The Assumption in the central window was made from cartoons by Luigi Sabatelli.
Near the entrance to the Cathedral is the
sundial with the Capricorn symbol, made up of a brass strip set into the
floor which crosses the nave and which rises three meters up the left
(north) wall. In the south-facing wall, at a height of almost 24 meters
above the floor, a hole is made through which, at solar noon, a ray of
light is projected onto the floor strip. To prevent the light entrance
hole from falling into shadow on certain days of the year, the marble
arch is missing on the south side of the church. Marble slabs are
installed on the sides of the metal line indicating the signs of the
zodiac with the dates of entry of the sun.
The instrument was
made in 1786 by the Brera astronomers, restored several times and
modified in 1827 following the reconstruction of the floor of the
Cathedral.
funerary monuments
In the
first bay of the external right nave is the sarcophagus of Archbishop
Ariberto da Intimiano (1045 m), who ruled the fate of the Municipality
of Milan from 1018 to 1045 by uniting the temporal and episcopal power
over the city. The tomb, in simple rough serizzo stone without
ornaments, is surmounted by a copy of the famous crucifix in gilded
copper foil, now in the Cathedral Museum, originally donated by Ariberto
to the monastery of San Dionigi. The cross, a valuable proto-Romanesque
work, bears an iconic image of Christ still in the Byzantine style. On
the top of the cross, in the two tondos, are the personifications of the
Sun and the Moon. At the end of the trefoil arms of the cross are the
figures of Mary and John, while at the feet of Christ is an image of
Ariberto himself who brings the convent of San Dionigi as a gift.
According to tradition, the cross was believed to be the one carried on
the Carroccio during the battle of Legnano in 1176 against the emperor
Federico Barbarossa.
On the left, a small seventeenth-century
marble bears an inscription that recalls
«The beginning of the Domo
of Milan was in the year 1386.»
The stained glass window is
decorated with Stories of St. John the Evangelist, taken from Jacopo da
Varazze's Legenda Aurea, recomposed and restored here in the 1960s. The
stained glass window was commissioned by the College of Notaries to
Cristoforo de' Mottis who created it in the period 1473-1477. It is one
of the most beautiful stained glass windows of the full Renaissance
preserved in the cathedral. The humanist taste that pervades the
episodes of the saint's life is manifested in the elegant
fifteenth-century costumes and in the splendid architectures of
classical taste rendered with rigorous perspective.
In the second
bay follow the sarcophagus of the archbishop Ottone Visconti, considered
the founder of the Lordship of the Visconti, which began with the battle
of Desio in 1277 in which the archbishop defeated the powerful Torriani
family. Subsequently, Giovanni Visconti, a descendant of Ottone,
archbishop of Milan from 1342 to 1354, was also buried in the same
sepulcher. Santa Tecla.
The stained glass window is decorated
with Stories from the Old Testament by Lombard and Flemish masters
dating back to the mid-16th century, and glass depicting the passion of
Christ inspired by Albrecht Dürer's engravings. They come from the large
apsidal windows, rebuilt during the 19th century.
In the third
bay there is the list of the archbishops of Milan and a stained glass
window with other Stories from the Old Testament, by Lombard
(Arcimboldi), Rhenish and Flemish masters (mid-sixteenth century).
The fourth bay features the sarcophagus of Marco Carelli, a patron
of the arts who at the end of the 14th century donated thirty-five
thousand ducats to the Fabbrica del Duomo to speed up the construction
work. The monument, designed by Filippino degli Organi in 1406, is a
masterpiece of late Gothic sculpture. The lid depicts the deceased in a
recumbent position according to the custom of the time, while on the
sides there are eight statues representing the evangelists and doctors
of the Church, sculpted by Jacopino da Tradate within elegant aedicules
divided by pinnacles.
The fourth window collects episodes from
the Old Testament, created by Lombard craftsmen in the 16th century.
The fifth shows a plaque with Giuseppe Brentano's late 19th-century
project for the facade, never realized due to the opposition encountered
to the demolition of the present facade which the project represented
was supposed to replace.
Following on the left is the Renaissance
tomb of Gian Andrea Vimercati, who died in 1548, decorated with a Pietà
and two busts of Bambaia (first half of the 16th century).
The
fifth "foppesca" window (even if it is not the direct work of Vincenzo
Foppa), is decorated with Stories from the New Testament (1470-1475) by
Lombard masters who were inspired by the works of the famous painter
with influences from the Ferrara school. It develops, starting from the
Annunciation at the bottom up to the Crucifixion at the top, the Story
of the life of Christ, and is considered one of the most beautiful and
best preserved Renaissance stained glass windows in the Cathedral. In it
the grisaille technique is particularly evident, with which the ancient
executors transferred onto the glass the drawing that the painters made
on the cartoons that served as a model.
In
the sixth span there is an altar called Sant'Agata composed of composite
columns and a pediment, the work of Pellegrino Tibaldi, where there is
the altarpiece by Federico Zuccari with San Pietro visita in Sant'Agata
prison (1597).
The sixth window is among the few from the
Renaissance period to have been fully preserved. It tells the stories of
Saint Eligius, patron saint of goldsmiths. It was in fact commissioned
by the Collegio degli Orafi to Niccolò da Varallo, who executed it
between 1480 and 1489). Each episode has a title in Latin at the bottom.
The depictions are characterized by simple and familiar tones, many of
which show scenes of daily life from the 15th century.
In the
seventh bay is the Altar of the Sacred Heart, also designed by
Pellegrini, with a marble altarpiece by Edoardo Rubino, placed in 1957.
The stained glass window, designed in 1958 by János Hajnal, commemorates
the blessed cardinals Schuster and Ferrari, both archbishops of Milan.
The eighth span presents the Altar of the Madonna, also designed by
Pellegrini, with the marble altarpiece of the Virgo Potens, the work of
a Rhenish author perhaps from 1393, called di Jacomolo, from the name of
the donor. The stained glass window with Stories of Sant'Agnese and
Santa Tecla is the work of Pompeo and Guido Bertini from 1897-1905.
Under the table of this altar is the body of Blessed Cardinal Alfredo
Ildefonso Schuster, archbishop of Milan from 1929 to 1954.
In the first bay of the external left nave are the sundial and the
stained glass window with the Stories of David by Aldo Carpi (1939).
The second bay houses the baptistery, the work of Pellegrini, which
is made up of a small temple with a square base, supported by four
Corinthian columns, with trabeation and tympanums on the four sides. In
the center is the tub, made up of a Roman porphyry sarcophagus. On the
wall are two marble slabs in Verona red, with reliefs of the Apostles,
probably the work of Campione masters from the end of the 12th century,
from Santa Maria Maggiore. The stained glass window was reassembled with
fragments from the 16th century and illustrates events from the New
Testament, which are part of the cycle of the Passion of Christ, coming
from the apse window dedicated to the New Testament which was redone in
the 19th century.
In the third bay is the monument to the
archbishops Giovanni, Guidantonio and Giovannangelo Arcimboldi,
attributed to Galeazzo Alessi or Cristoforo Lombardo (1599). The stained
glass window portrays the Battle between the Archangel Michael and the
devil and is by Giovanni Domenico Buffa (1939). Unique among all the
large windows, it portrays a single episode along its 17 meters of
height. It is characterized by tones of heated expressionism, with which
the assault with which the Archangels, represented above under the
guidance of Michael on a dazzling white steed, is precipitating the
demons into the flames of the 'hell.
In the fourth bay, the
stained glass window with the Stories of the Four Crowned Saints is
interesting, a Mannerist work carried out to a design by Pellegrino
Tibaldi in 1567. The cartoons by Pellegrini's hand, which Corrado Mochis
transposed onto glass, are still kept in the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. In
the theatrical pose of the vigorous figures that animate the episodes
from the life of the saints, the Roman derivation of Tibaldi's style is
clearly manifested, and in particular the Michelangelo ancestry of the
powerful representations. From below, the Miracle of the chisels, the
Baptism in prison of the four converted sculptors, The four saints at
work, the Judgment of the four saints, the Martyrdom before the emperor
Diocletian are shown.
The fifth conserves the 1832 reconstruction
of the aedicule of the Tarchetta dell'Amadeo, the original fragments of
which are now in the Castello Sforzesco. The sixteenth-century stained
glass window is dedicated to the Glories of the Virgin. It was created
by Pietro Angelo Sesini and Corrado de' Mochis on cartoons by Giovanni
da Monte, a pupil of Titian. One of the episodes still bears the
artist's signature (G.M.F., Giovanni da Monte fecit). Like other
Mannerist windows executed during the episcopate of Carlo Borromeo, it
expands the episodes represented on several panels, increasing their
monumentality. Chiara is the derivation from Titian in many scenes, such
as the famous Assunta dei Frari. The Pentecost, the Transitus and the
Assumption (1565-1566) are depicted from below.
As in the right aisle, the last three bays of the left aisle are also
occupied by three late Mannerist altars designed by Pellegrino Tibaldi,
from the time of San Carlo.
In the sixth bay is the Altar of the
Crucifix of San Carlo, which contains the famous wooden crucifix that
Carlo Borromeo carried in procession during the plague of 1576, as
remembered by the inscription:
«Crucem hanc S.Carolus grassante lue
per urbe circumtulit MDLXXVI»
The decoration of the altar is
completed by two nineteenth-century statues of saints in the niches
between the black marble columns, while the statuary crowning the
tympanum dates back to the sixteenth century. The remains of Cardinal
Carlo Maria Martini now rest under this altar, as requested by him to
Monsignor Luigi Manganini (Archpriest of the Cathedral).
The
stained glass window is decorated with the Stories of Saint Helena, by
Rainoldo da Umbria and Perfundavalle (1574), narrating the discovery of
the Cross. The stained glass window is divided into only three large
episodes, which narrate the story of Constantine's mother, who,
according to tradition, found the Cross of Christ during a pilgrimage to
Jerusalem. The first episode below shows Saint Helena freeing the
prisoners; The scene of the Finding of the Cross follows further up, and
at the top the Miracle performed by the Holy Cross.
In the seventh bay, the altar and the stained glass window are dedicated to Saint Joseph. Framed by two caryatids, is the sixteenth-century altarpiece of the Marriage of the Virgin by Enea Salmeggia known as Talpino, a painter from Bergamo who was a pupil of Peterzano. On the sides, the statues of Aaron and David by Francesco Somaini which can be dated after 1830. The statues of the Prophets that surmount the tympanum, on the other hand, are from the late Mannerist period, as is the stained glass window with the Stories of Saint Joseph by Valerio Perfundavalle from Louvain, author of both the cartoons than the transposition on glass. Commissioned by St. Charles, it is divided into four scenes: it depicts the Annunciation from below, visible among the statues, the Visitation, the Nativity and the Flight into Egypt. It is the last of the stained glass windows from the Mannerist period preserved in the Cathedral, made in 1576. Under the table of this altar is the body of Saint Mona, the third-century archbishop of Milan, while in the pavement in front of the altar is the tomb of Cardinal Giuseppe Pozzobonelli, archbishop of Milan from 1743 to 1783.
The last bay houses the Altar of Sant'Ambrogio, also by Pellegrini, with the altarpiece of Sant'Ambrogio imposing penance on Theodosius by the Urbino painter Federico Barocci (1603). It shows the emperor Theodosius kneeling in front of Saint Ambrose, his scepter and crown placed on the ground. It refers to the penance that the bishop of Milan, then the capital of the empire, imposed on the emperor for having ordered a massacre among the population of Thessalonica. The episode, frequently represented, was intended as a metaphor for the subordination of imperial power to papal power. Above the broken tympanum of the altar, supported by polychrome marble columns with bronze capitals, are statues of Bishops. On the stained glass window, rebuilt in the 19th century, are the Stories of Sant'Ambrogio by Pompeo Bertini. Compared to the previous ones from the Renaissance period, the stained glass window is characterized by the use of duller colors and lighter shades, among which the red of Ambrogio's tunic stands out in each episode. All the scenes show, both in the costumes and in the architecture in the background, a particular attention in the historical reconstruction of the events set in late imperial Milan and a rigorous perspective construction. Under the table of this altar is the body of San Dionigi, archbishop of Milan from the 4th century.
Medeghino's funeral monument
Noteworthy in the right transept is
the funeral monument to Gian Giacomo Medici known as the Medeghino, the
work of Leone Leoni from 1560-1563. It was commissioned by Pope Pius IV
Medici, brother of the leader. It is composed of a backdrop of Carrara
marble, with a base where two Tuscan columns in red breccia d'Arzo rest,
which support an entablature so as to create an aedicule. Below it is
the bronze statue of Medeghino, with his lame leg covered by a cloak.
The work, which represents an interpretation of Michelangelo's style,
was to have been accompanied by the sarcophagus in the upper part, which
was not built in compliance with the anticipated regulations of the
Council of Trent regarding burials in churches. On the sides there are
two other bronze statues: on the right the Allegory of Peace with a
bas-relief of the Ticino, on the left the Militia with a bas-relief of
the Adda. The two rivers recall two famous battles won by the leader.
The upper part is decorated with two epigraphs dedicated to Medeghino
and his brother Gabriele. The central gable has a bas-relief of the
Nativity, crowned by a Medici coat of arms supported by two putti. Two
other taller veined marble columns support the bronze statues of
Prudence (right) and Fame (left).
The stained glass window is the
work of Giovanni Battista Bertini (1849) and presents Stories of Saints
Gervasius and Protasius. The adjacent sixteenth-century altar in ancient
polychrome marble is interesting, with two orders of niches and small
columns, built by Pope Pius IV as a gift for his nephew Carlo Borromeo.
It is said that the saint celebrated a weekly mass there in honor of his
family members. The Borromeo coat of arms, "Humilitas", is in fact
placed on the top of the altar. It is made up of precious oriental
marbles and semi-precious stones, such as chalcedony, serpentine and
lapis lazuli. The golden statuettes that adorned it have been
transferred to the Cathedral Museum.
At the end of the median nave is the apse from the second half of the
seventeenth century, where the chapel of San Giovanni Bono opens, so
well known in local tradition. It was Carlo Borromeo who wanted the
relics of the saint to be transferred to this place, in place of the
previously existing Gothic portal. The saint of Ligurian origin was
simultaneously archbishop of Milan and Genoa in the seventh century. He
is remembered for having brought the bishopric back to Milan, which had
been moved to Genoa due to the Lombard invasion. His body is now buried
inside the altar dedicated to him, inside a crystal case. The current
appearance of the chapel dates back to the first half of the eighteenth
century when the elaborate decoration that characterizes it was created.
The statue in the center of the altar, which portrays St. John the Good
crushing the devil under his feet, was created by Elia Vincenzo Buzzi in
1763. The monumental marble aedicule which contains the statue of the
saint was erected so as to form a symmetrical pendant compared to the
previous altar of the Madonna dell'albero located in the apex of the
northern transept. On the sides are the marble groups, also by Buzzi,
which recall the theme of victory over the devil. On the right is St.
Michael the Archangel who knocks down Lucifer, on the left the Guardian
Angel who, still trampling on the demon, shows the child the right path.
In the center of the tympanum is the verse from the Gospel of John taken
from the parable of the good shepherd:
«Ego sum pastor bonus»
(John, 10.10)
The Baroque altar is crowned by statues of saints
and two angels holding the hat, an ancient archiepiscopal ornament. The
decoration is completed by a series of high reliefs in Carrara marble,
which represent Episodes from the life of the saint alternating with
busts of the cardinal Virtues, created by various sculptors between the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (Giuseppe Rusnati, Giovan Battista
and Isidoro Vismara, Carlo Simonetta and others ). Among the themes
represented are the birth, the meeting with Queen Teodolinda, the
expulsion of the Arians, the trip to Rome. The reliefs on the segments
of the vault, from the same period, represent the Archbishops in Glory
among the Angels, while in the under arch is the blessing Christ. The
three painted windows, with Stories of St. John Bono were made by
Bertini in the mid-nineteenth century (1839-1842).
The left aisle
of the transept, on the other hand, has a side exit divided into three
passages: the central one leads to the underground passage for the
Archbishopric, made for Carlo Borromeo. Here the stained glass window,
with Stories of Saint Catherine of Alexandria was designed by Biagio and
Giuseppe Arcimboldo and created by Corrado Mochis (1556). This nave
houses three important works from the Mannerist period: the Altar of the
Presentation of the Virgin, by Bambaia, the Altar of Sant'Agnese, by
Martino Bassi, and the San Bartolomeo by Marco d'Agrate.
The altar of the Presentation of the Virgin, on the right, maintains
the appearance given to it in 1543 when it was commissioned to Agostino
Busti, known as Bambaia, by Canon Vimercati. Next to the altar was the
funerary monument of Vimercati, also of Bambaja, now transferred to the
right aisle of the church. It has the shape of a classical temple,
entirely composed of white marble, supported by polychrome marble
columns. In the center is the relief with the Presentation of Mary. The
scene is conceived as if it were the interior of the temple of which the
columns and the pediment of the altar constitute the external part. Mary
as a child is portrayed below in the center of her, in the act of
climbing the ladder to the top of which the priest surrounded by the
faithful is ready to welcome her with open arms. On the sides of the
staircase are, on the left, the parents Anna and Gioacchino, and on the
left a group of faithful who bring offerings. The characters are
characterized by a highly realistic and expressive representation,
evident in the faces with lively expressions. In the perspective
representation of the interior of the temple, the inspiration for the
fake apse built by Bramante in San Satiro, a short distance from the
Cathedral, is evident. Bambaja is also the author of the statues that
crown the altar, with the Virgin, Saint Paul, Saint John the Baptist and
two female saints, and of Saint Martin in the lateral niche. Instead,
they are by Cristoforo Lombardo Santa Caterina in the right niche and
the reliefs at the bases of the columns, very deteriorated, with the
Birth and Marriage of the Virgin. The frontal with the Birth of the
Virgin is a nineteenth-century work by Antonio Tantardini.
The
stained glass window above with Stories of San Martino and the
Presentation of the Virgin is from the late sixteenth century and is by
various artists. In the middle of the window stand the Prophets
attributed to Michelino da Besozzo, which are among the oldest panels
preserved in the Cathedral.
In front of the Medici Mausoleum
there is perhaps the most famous statue of the whole Cathedral: the San
Bartolomeo Scorticato (1562), by Marco d'Agrate, where the saint shows
the skin thrown like a stole on his shoulders. It bears the inscription
on the base
«Non me Praxiteles sed Marcus finxit Agratis»
(Praxiteles did not sculpt me but Marco d'Agrate)
The following
Altar of Sant'Agnese, completed by Martino Bassi, is decorated by the
marble altarpiece of the Martyrdom of Sant'Agnese, by Carlo Beretta
(1754)
In the right aisle of the north arm of the transept there is an altar
designed by Tibaldi, dedicated to the saint to whom the church that was
demolished to make room for the cathedral was dedicated, Santa Tecla.
The polychrome marble altar, characterized by angelic caryatids holding
up the broken tympanum, is from the late sixteenth century, as are the
statues above, while the two saints on either side of the altar are from
the nineteenth century. In the center is the marble altarpiece with the
martyrdom of Santa Tecla among the lions, a late Baroque work sculpted
by Carlo Beretta in 1754, and an 1853 frontal by Antonio Tantardini.
The second altar, from the early 16th century, is dedicated to Santa
Prassede, represented together with San Carlo at the foot of the
Crucifix and saints in the marble altarpiece by Marcantonio Prestinari
(1605). The Renaissance window above, decorated with the Stories of San
Giovanni Damasceno, is among the most valuable preserved in the
cathedral. It was commissioned by the college of apothecaries in 1479 to
Nicolò da Varallo. The panels with the life of the saint show a gallery
of happy portraits of characters, representative of the humanist period
in which they were drawn, and inserted in balanced classical
architectures represented with perspective rigor.
From the back
wall a small door gives access to the Scala dei Principi, which in
ancient times was reserved for the entrance of the most illustrious
characters, while today it leads to the lift for the terraces. The
stained glass window with Stories of San Carlo is from 1910.
In the middle nave it is closed by an apsidiole which contains the
chapel of the Madonna dell'Albero, designed by Francesco Maria Richini
(1614) and built with some modifications by Fabio Mangone and Tolomeo
Rinaldi. Until the time of Carlo Borromeo, the apse was occupied by the
large portal called "Compedo". The archbishop ordered it to be closed,
to prevent it from being used to cross the cathedral from north to
south, in particular by visitors to the nearby market of the greenery,
who used this door and the other opposite, on the south apse, as
shortcuts as an alternative to the external tour of the cathedral. The
bas-reliefs that decorated the walled-up portal, which constitute an
exceptional testimony of the Lombard school of the transition phase
between the Renaissance and Mannerism, were reused to decorate the
internal facade of the arch that frames the chapel of the Madonna
dell'Albero: from the left Nativity of the Virgin, Presentation in the
Temple by the Bambaia school, Crib by Cristoforo Solari, Christ among
the Doctors by Angelo Marini and Wedding at Cana by Marco d'Agrate,
alternating with busts of prophets. The vault is thickly covered with
teeming Baroque reliefs by Gian Andrea Biffi, Giovanni Pietro Lasagna
and Prestinari (1615-1630). The altar is decorated with a Madonna and
Child by Elia Vincenzo Buzzi (1768). The three windows with Stories of
the Virgin were entirely rebuilt in the 19th century by Giovanni
Battista Bertini (1842-1847).
In front of the chapel are the
tombstones of various archbishops, including Federico Borromeo and the
Trivulzio candelabrum, a majestic bronze work donated by the archpriest
G. A. Trivulzio in 1562: it is a masterpiece of Gothic sculpture, mostly
made in the 12th century century and attributed to Nicolas de Verdun or
to Rhenish artists working between the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries. The foot rests on chimerical animals and tendrils and spirals
run along the body framing scenes from the Old Testament, the Liberal
Arts, Rivers and an Adoration of the Magi.
In the left aisle is
the Altar of Saint Catherine, the only largely original Gothic altar in
the cathedral. It is decorated by the statues of San Girolamo and
Sant'Agostino, attributed to Cristoforo Solari (beginning of the 16th
century), and the statuettes of the end of the 14th century attributable
to Giovannino de' Grassi.
The window on the left of the north
apse is divided into two parts horizontally: the upper part tells
Stories of Saint Catherine of Siena, conceived and conducted by Corrado
Mochis. Although dated 1562 it shows affinities with the
fifteenth-century stained glass windows narrating the lives of saints.
All the episodes are in fact enclosed in a single panel each, mostly in
interior scenes characterized by a rigid perspective. The lower part, on
the other hand, shows a freer and more updated style, with episodes from
the Life of the Madonna, drawn by Giovanni da Monte in the same period
(1562-1567). The summit rose window and the trefoils that conclude the
window appear in a typically Mannerist taste, decorated with fantasies
of cherubs, grotesques and garlands of intertwined fruit.
To the
left is the funeral monument of Archbishop Filippo Archinto, predecessor
of Carlo Borromeo, whose severe bust dominates the aedicule designed by
Baldassarre da Lazzate (around 1559). The stained glass window dedicated
to the Apostles was made on cartoons by the Crema painter Carlo Urbino
of the Mannerist period (1567). Unlike the other stained glass windows,
its panels are not decorated with narrations of evangelical or
hagiographic episodes, but rather show the twelve apostles full-length,
as well as depictions of other saints below. At the climax is the
Coronation of the Virgin. The monumental figures, mostly represented in
niches, represent a masterpiece of the artist's maturity, active in
numerous Milanese churches. They stand out in particular for their
chromatic richness and plastic definition, thanks also to the skilful
transposition on glass by de' Mochis.
At the center of the church is the lantern by Giovanni Antonio
Amadeo, 68 meters high and with an octagonal base, supported by four
pointed arches and pendentives. The vault itself is supported by pointed
arch lunettes and by four round arches, not visible, hidden by pointed
arches.
The round frescoes in the spandrels with the Doctors of
the Church are the work of the Lombard school of around 1560-1580. The
profile of the arches houses 60 statues of Prophets and Sibyls are in
late Gothic style from the second half of the fifteenth century and are
influenced by Burgundian and Rhenish art, which seem to anticipate the
Lombard Renaissance. The stained glass windows are from 1958 and depict
the events of the Second Vatican Council.
The cathedral has three bells that play as many notes: E flat3
falling, B2 and an A flat2 very falling; together they make up the
heaviest bell concert in the Lombard diocese (and also in the entire
metropolitan province), with a total weight of 14,995 kilograms in
bronze.
The main bell, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, was cast
by Giovanni Battista Busca in 1582 and blessed by San Carlo Borromeo and
has a diameter of 2.13 m. It is the seventh bell in Italy by weight.
The middle bell, dedicated to Sant'Ambrogio, was made in 1577 by
Dionisio Busca and has a diameter of 1.76 m.
The smaller bell,
dedicated to Saint Barnabas, believed to be the evangelizing Apostle of
Milan, was cast by Gerolamo Busca in 1515 and has a diameter of 1.28 m.
These three bells are located in the interspace of the lantern
between the internal vault and the external walls. They are not visible
from the outside.
The bells, originally swinging and positioned on a
bell tower located on the terrace above the main nave, demolished in
1868, are now fixed due to static problems and ring through the movement
of the clapper.
On the terrace of the lantern, behind a spire,
there is a fourth bell dedicated to Santa Tecla, cast in 1553 by Antonio
Busca (the note emitted is a Si4).
The presbytery complex corresponds to the area enclosed by the ten
apse pillars, and surrounded by the ambulatory. Its current appearance
dates back to the last half of the sixteenth century. Its arrangement
and the decorations that we see today were commissioned by Carlo
Borromeo and carried out by his favorite architect, Pellegrino Tibaldi,
according to the dictates of the Council of Trent. Further
transformations were made in the eighties of the twentieth century,
following the static restoration of the pillars of the lantern.
Today the presbytery is divided into two parts, with different
functions. The festive presbytery has access from a semicircular
staircase and occupies a part of the central nave and the old senatorial
choir (where the civil magistrates and those of the confraternities
met), with various floors recently repaved on the Pellegrini decoration.
At the highest point is the high altar, coming from the basilica of
Santa Maria Maggiore, and consecrated by Pope Martin V on 16 October
1418, which marked the official start of the officiation of the new
cathedral. The current elevated position was decided by Carlo Borromeo.
It dates back to the period of the reconstruction of Milan after the
destruction of Barbarossa, around the end of the 12th century. The
Romanesque decoration, extremely simple, consists of ten marble slabs
alternating with as many octagonal pillars, which support the large
rectangular table. At the center of the altar is a relief found on the
inner side of the slabs that compose it, which was part of a Roman-pagan
sarcophagus from the 3rd century AD, already reused as the burial place
of a Christian martyr, as evidenced by a cross on the bottom and a
cartouche. It depicts a Roman in toga holding a cartouche, inside an
aedicule.
The chair and the ambo, by the sculptor Mario Rudelli,
are from 1985 and are accompanied by two sixteenth-century pulpits,
designed by Pellegrini. Circular in shape, they surround the two pillars
that support the lantern. Both are supported by four monumental bronze
caryatids, which hold up the parapets made of embossed and gilded copper
plates, as well as the canopies that crown their tops. The left was
finished in 1585. It is dedicated to the New Testament and supported by
the symbols of the Evangelists. The right, finished in 1602, has reliefs
from the Old Testament and four caryatids with the Doctors of the
Church. They are the work of Giovanni Andrea Pellizzoni and bronzes by
Francesco Brambilla the Younger (1585-1599).
At the center of the
presbytery area stands the Tempietto or ciborium of Pellegrini, which
encloses the cylindrical tower tabernacle, a gift in 1561 from Pope Pius
IV Medici to his nephew Carlo Borromeo. The temple has the shape of a
small circular classical temple, supported by eight Corinthian columns,
whose dome is adorned with statues of angels and crowned by the Savior.
In its shape, it repeats the inner tabernacle, cylindrical, supported by
four angels and entirely modeled with episodes from the life of Christ.
On both sides of the ciborium are the two imposing silver statues of
Saint Charles and Saint Ambrose, a masterpiece of Baroque sculpture and
goldsmithing. The statue of San Carlo, dating back to 1610, was modeled
by the sculptor Andrea Biffi and chiseled by the goldsmith Verova. The
chasuble is finely decorated with twenty ovals which narrate the
episodes of the saint's life. The Miter is adorned with pearls and
precious stones donated by the faithful. The statue of Sant'Ambrogio,
almost a century later (1698), has greater emphasis and expressiveness.
The entire surface is closely chiseled and decorated with diamonds and
hard stones.
The ciborium also marks the boundary with the
Cappella Feriale, the other section of the chancel. It is a separate and
intimate space created in 1986 in the old presbytery and in the choir,
where the faithful can gather during the week's liturgies.
Even
the wooden choir that delimits this area dates back to the sixteenth
century and was commissioned by San Carlo. It is made up of a double
order of carved stalls, the upper one for the canons, the lower one for
the Chapter. They were carved by Giacomo, Giampaolo and Giovanni
Taurini, Paolo de' Gazzi and Virgilio de' Conti on drawings supplied by
Pellegrini, in 1567-1614. The reliefs tell 71 Episodes from the life of
Saint Ambrose with as many figures of martyrs in the upper order,
Stories of Milanese archbishops in the lower one.
Suspended above the high altar, attached to the keystone, is the
cathedral's most precious relic, the nail of the True Cross (Sacro
Chiodo), which according to tradition was found by Saint Helena and used
as a bit on Saint Helena's horse. Constantine I
The Sacred Nail
is now kept in a niche contained in a copy of the gilded copper
serraglia with the relief of the Almighty (today in the Cathedral
Museum). Although suspended very high, a red light makes it visible from
all over the cathedral. The nail is taken by the archbishop and shown to
the faithful every 3 May, the feast of the "Invention of the Holy Cross"
(i.e. the finding of the Cross), now it is carried in procession on 14
September, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. To remove the
nail from its case, the seventeenth-century nivola is used, a curious
lift that is now mechanized, from which the celebration of the Nivola
rite takes its name. Of the four nails of the True Cross, according to
tradition, two others are found in the Iron Crown in Monza and in the
basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome. The fourth nail that
would have held the inscription "INRI", from the most dubious tradition,
would be found in the cathedral of Colle di Val d'Elsa in the province
of Siena.
It can be said that the organ of the cathedral was an important
endowment from the very beginning of the building. The first organ was
already commissioned in 1395 to Martino degli Stremidi and was
functional in 1397. Continuous modifications, additions and restorations
followed. An arrival point is the work of Gian Giacomo Antegnati who
between 1533 and 1577 built the north organ, with 12 registers and 50
keys, which was transported to its current position in 1579. In 1583
Cristoforo Valvassori was commissioned to l south organ (1584-1590),
replacing the older one. The doors of the latter have large paintings:
on the left with Stories of the Virgin and the Old Testament by Giuseppe
Meda (1565-1581); on the right the Nativity and the Crossing of the Red
Sea by Ambrogio Figino and Stories from the Old and New Testaments by
Camillo Procaccini (1592-1602). The gilded carvings of the cases are by
Giovan Battista Mangone, Sante Corbetta, Giacomo, Giampaolo and Giovanni
Taurini.
The two large north and south organs were continuously
remodeled, passing among other things from mechanical to pneumatic
transmission up to the current electric one. They have eight large doors
(four towards the presbytery and four towards the tornado) which can
open or close to modulate the volume, reverberation and echoes. In the
list of titular organists there is also the son of Johann Sebastian
Bach, Johann Christian Bach. During the 19th century, the Serassi family
also took part in the restructuring of the organ. Four more corps were
added in 1937, so that all of them were commanded from the same console.
However, the acoustic result was disappointing, to the point that the
whole complex of organs was rearranged during the restructuring of the
presbytery in the years 1985-1986. Today the four added organs are
placed next to the two oldest ones, in new simple and linear wooden
cases. The current console was placed under the sixteenth-century case
on the right (south). The last renovation (that of 1986) was carried out
by the Tamburini company.
The organ of the Milan Cathedral has
15,800 pipes and is one of the largest organs in the world. Next to this
large organ, a second, small organ was added, located on the left side,
next to the place where the choir takes its place, precisely to be close
to the singers when a less imposing accompaniment than that made up of
the main organ is needed.
In the retrochoir, in front of the southern sacristies, the stairs
leading down to the crypt open. At the end of the stairs, beyond the
entrance to the Treasury, one passes into a vestibule rebuilt by Pietro
Pestagalli in 1820, which gives access to the shrine of San Carlo, and
to the crypt. The latter is a circular room designed by Pellegrini with
a peribolos around the altar. The small room was used during the winter
by the canons, in place of the choir above, due to the milder
temperature. For this reason it was also called hyemal or winter choir.
The circular chapel is occupied in the center by the altar, surrounded
by eight red marble columns which support the vault entirely covered by
a dense and refined stucco and fresco decoration. Leaning against the
walls are the wooden stalls of the choir, of simple workmanship. A
series of oval windows overlook the ambulatory above.
On the
opposite side of the winter choir is the so-called Scuolo di San Carlo,
a chapel with a flattened octagonal base, designed by Francesco Maria
Richini in 1606. The entire upper band and the ceiling are decorated
with silver foils with scenes from the life of St. Carlo, commissioned
by Cardinal Alfonso Litta around 1670. The body of the saint is kept in
a chiseled silver urn, with rock crystal walls donated by Philip IV of
Spain. Cerano provided the drawings of the angels and figures that adorn
the sarcophagus, a masterpiece of Baroque goldsmithing. St. Charles lies
in pontifical dress, with a tourmaline and diamond cross donated by
Maria Theresa of Austria. The silver mask was modeled after the original
wax mask taken after her death.
Retrochoir with the Stories of Mary
The ambulatory is the gallery
that runs behind the choir, illuminated by the three immense large
windows in the apse. Its inner side is made up of Pellegrini's marble
retrochoir, semicircular in shape, made up of two orders superimposed
one on top of the other. The lower order, believed to be by Galeazzo
Alessi, is decorated with herms with angelic features, cherubs and
lions' heads in Mannerist style. In it there is access to the crypt, and
the crown of large windows that give it light. The upper order is
decorated with 32 caryatids in the form of angels designed by Pellegrini
himself and made by Francesco Brambilla the Younger. They are
interspersed with tables in relief, with seventeen Stories of Mary and
ten Marian symbols, sculpted at the time of Federico Borromeo. The story
unfolds from the southern pulpit, and constitutes an important cycle of
Baroque sculpture. There are represented the Nativity of Mary, the
Presentation in the Temple, the Marriage, the Annunciation, the
Visitation, the Dream of Joseph, the Nativity Scene, the Circumcision,
the Flight into Egypt, the Dispute with the Doctors, the Wedding at
Cana, the Crucifixion, the Deposition, the Apparition of the Risen One
to the mother, the Transit of the Virgin, the Assumption, the Coronation
of Mary. Marian symbols are placed between the episodes relating to
Mary's life, with scrolls featuring extracts from Sirach. They were
sculpted by the most popular Milanese authors of the time: Gian Andrea
Biffi, Marcantonio Prestinari, Giovanni Pietro Lasagna, Giovanni
Bellanda, Gaspare Vismara.
The first span contains the Monument to Pope Pius XI Ratti,
Archbishop of Milan in the six months preceding his election as Pope, of
which it represents a faithful portrait. The statue, sculpted by
Francesco Messina in 1969, portrays him in solemn pontifical robes with
the tiara and the keys of St. Peter while imparting the blessing, taking
up the Gothic monument of Martin V not far away. Here is the access to
the southern sacristy.
The Monument to Pope Paul VI dates back to
1988, and commemorates Giovanni Battista Montini, archbishop of Milan
from 1954 to 1963. Sculpted by Floriano Bodini, it reinterprets the
dynamism and exuberance of Gothic and Mannerism prevailing in the
cathedral in a contemporary key, with a modeled detail of Carrara marble
that makes it similar to molded wax.
In the second bay is the
altar of the Virgin of Help, with a repainted fifteenth-century fresco.
The sepulchral stone of Niccolò and Francesco Piccinino, captains of
fortune of Filippo Maria Visconti, is surmounted by the large corbel
with the full-length statue of the Monument to Pope Martino V, a
valuable monument of late Gothic sculpture by Jacopino da Tradate. The
frame and corbel, as well as the pope's rich drapery, represent a
typical example of the decorative taste of the last Gothic phase. It was
sculpted in 1424 on commission from Filippo Maria Visconti, to
commemorate the pope who consecrated the cathedral on 6 October 1418.
This is followed by the Monument to Cardinal Marino Ascanio
Caracciolo, governor of Milan who died in 1538, a Mannerist work by
Agostino Busti known as Bambaia. The cenotaph is characterized by the
bright contrast between the black marble of Varenna, of which the
newsstand is made, and the whiteness of the statues that decorate it.
The architectural structure, made up of a simple entablature supported
by Tuscan columns, is sober and unadorned, unlike the previous works by
Bambaia which present a rich decoration. The statuary kit includes, in
the centre, the full-figure blessing Redeemer, surrounded by St. Paul
and St. Peter. On either side, Saint Jerome in his cardinal's robe and
Saint Ambrose with the traditional whip. At the center of the lunette is
the tondo from which the Virgin and Child emerges, while on the sides
are two small Angels. However, the most valuable sculptural work is the
recumbent statue of the deceased that surmounts the sarcophagus. The
cardinal is represented on a triclinium with classical lines, while he
seems to have dozed off while reading the book he holds open on his
knees. The governor's face, marked by his wrinkles, appears immersed in
sleep and constitutes Bambaia's last masterpiece.
The third bay
has a copy of the ancient marble slab of the Chrismon Sancti Ambrosii
and a bas-relief with Pietà and two angels by a 14th-century Rhenish
master, as well as a standard of the congregation of the Rosary, from
the late 16th century, with embroidery and paintings.
In the
fourth span, the Monument to San Carlo from 1611 commemorates the
consecration of Carlo Borromeo on 20 October 1577, flanked by the herms
of Time and Eternity, partly the work of Pietro Daverio, and by two
marble slabs with a list of the saints of the which relics are kept in
the Cathedral.
The fifth bay has a thirteenth-century Crucifix
with dalmatic kept under glass and coming from the Castello Sforzesco in
1449.
The sixth bay has a Crucifix with a virgin and saints,
frescoed by a Lombard master at the beginning of the 15th century. On an
elaborate corbel in late Mannerist style (by Francesco Brambilla the
Elder), is the Monument to Pope Pius IV blessing by Angelo Marini
(1567). The monument commemorates the uncle of San Carlo, Angelo Medici
di Marignano, whose Medici coat of arms is supported by one of the
imaginative angels that decorate the shelf. Another contemporary Lombard
fresco is the San Giovanni Battista and Madonna with Child. In the
seventh bay is the portal to the north vestry.
The three huge apsidal windows are the oldest and largest in the cathedral. The two side windows, each with 130 panels, contain Stories from the New Testament and Stories from the Old Testament. They were completely rebuilt over a period of time ranging from 1833 to 1865 by Giovanni Battista Bertini and his sons Pompeo and Giuseppe, then director of the Brera Academy. The central glass window, dedicated to the Vision of the Apocalypse, however, maintains around fifty pieces from the 15th and 16th centuries in the upper part. It was originally commissioned in 1416 to Franceschino Zavattari, Maffiolo da Cremona and Stefano da Pandino. At the end of the fifteenth century Cristoforo de' Mottis and Niccolò da Varallo also took part. It is also called of the "race" or Visconti sun, from the gigantic sun that stands out in the middle, the heraldic symbol, together with the snake, of the Visconti Dukes of Milan.
The portal of the southern sacristy is an exceptional masterpiece of
late Gothic sculpture, perfectly preserved, created by the German
stonemason Hans von Fernach, or John of Fernach, at the end of the
fourteenth century. The vibrant piece of sculpture develops above the
architrave of the door, attributed instead to Giovannino de' Grassi, who
decorated it with quadrilobate panels with Heads of Prophets like the
portal of the northern sacristy. The decorative sobriety of the portal
contrasts sharply with the redundant style of the decorations above.
The work is entirely dedicated to the celebration of Mary. The
crowning has the shape of an ogival arch flanked by two pinnacles, and
ending in the Crucifixion. The whole composition presents a fervid
imagination in the conception and a refined and exuberant richness in
the realization. At the base are the reliefs of the Wise Virgins and the
Foolish Virgins, the former with the lamps on and the latter with the
lamps off, according to the Parable of the ten virgins which is very
frequent in medieval iconography. The same freshness characterizes the
representation of the episodes of the Life of Mary in the soffits in the
arch, alternating with the elaborate crowning. From left: the
Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Flight into Egypt and
the Massacre of the Innocents. On the first level of the composition, a
composed Pietà shows a refined graphic elegance in the sinuous lines of
the drapery in contrast with the rigid fixity of the body of Christ. In
the center of the lunette, a Madonna del Latte is flanked by kneeling
Saint John and Saint Andrew. On the cusp, the Madonna della Misericordia
is depicted with her arms outstretched to open her large mantle to
welcome the faithful. The extrados of the lunette has the traditional
Gothic decoration with large curled leaves, or "gattoni".
The
inside of the sacristy is lined with 17th century wardrobes. Above the
entrance is a Martyrdom of Saint Thecla by Aurelio Luini (1592). The
sink has a dossal with a cusp, in whose lunette there is a polylobed
medallion with Jesus and the Samaritan woman, by Giovannino de' Grassi
(1396). On the left is a niche with a Christ at the column by Cristoforo
Solari.
The northern sacristy represents the exact point from which the
construction of the cathedral started, as evidenced by the presence of
terracotta decorations, later replaced by marble throughout the rest of
the building. In the portal it presents the most ancient work of
sculpture of the Duomo, the work of Giacomo da Campione and Giovannino
de' Grassi dating back to 1386. The architrave and the splay of the
lunette contain elegant quadrilobate panels, from which the Heads of
Prophets emerge, which with elegant beards and fanciful headdresses
testify to the elaborate taste of international gothic. In the lunette,
Christ enthroned is flanked by a Madonna del latte, portrayed in the
symbolic gesture of giving milk from her breasts, and by Saint John the
Baptist, who exhibits his head on a tray. In the architrave above, the
dove of the holy spirit is flanked by four caryatids in the shape of
angels, who support a large aedicula with superimposed cusps, flanked by
four pinnacles. In the pointed arch in the center of the upper aedicula
is the relief with the Glory of Christ. Christ enthroned, blessing, is
supported by a group of cherubs inside the flaming mandorla, surrounded
by angels and saints. The entire work presents remains of the primitive
polychromy.
Inside the sacristy, the floor is by Marco Solari da
Carona of 1404-1407. Behind the Baroque cabinets remains a fragment of a
Gothic brick arch, which bears witness to the very first construction
phase of the Cathedral (1386-mid 1387). One of the gables of the
wardrobes is painted by Morazzone with San Carlo and two angels (1618).
In a niche there is the statue of the Redeemer by Antonio da Viggiù,
while the vault is frescoed by Camillo Procaccini.
From a narrow staircase in the internal façade one can access the
basement where the floor of the fourth century is located, about four
meters below the current level of the square. Here are the remains of
the baptistery of San Giovanni alle Fonti, built from 378 and completed
by 397, in which Saint Ambrose baptized the future Saint Augustine on
Easter night in 387. It had an octagonal layout, for a diameter of 19.3
meters, with niches that opened in the walls alternatively semicircular
and rectangular. In the center there is still the octagonal font, the
oldest that is documented, which however is largely stripped of the
original marble decoration.
Other remains pertain to the apses of
the basilica of Santa Tecla, a summer cathedral prior to the mid-4th
century, demolished in 1461-1462.
Through the elevator contained in the east buttress of the north arm
of the transept, one can access the terraces of the Cathedral, from
which one can enjoy an extraordinary view of the dense embroidery of
spiers, flying buttresses (where the rainwater drains are hidden),
pinnacles and statues as well as the city.
Near the lift is the
Carelli spire, the oldest in the Cathedral, which dates back to
1397-1404 and was built thanks to the legacy of Marco Carelli. It is
decorated with statuettes from the first half of the 15th century which
recall Burgundian ways. The terminal part has been redone while the
statue on the top, depicting Gian Galeazzo Visconti, is a copy of the
original by Giorgio Solari, now kept in the Cathedral Museum. Of all the
other spiers, only six date from the 15th and 16th centuries and about
ten are from the 17th and 18th centuries.
The lantern by Giovanni
Antonio Amadeo (1490-24 September 1500) is surmounted on the outside by
eight inverted arches which support the main spire, completed in 1769
with a marble structure, which is connected to an iron framework from
1844. Around the lantern there are four gugliotti, designed by Amadeo,
who saw only the north-east one built (1507-1518), enriched by coeval
statuary today largely replaced by copies; at the base of the spire is
the commemorative bas-relief with the effigy of Amadeo. The north-west
one was completed by Paolo Cesa Bianchi in 1882-1887, the south-west one
by Pietro Pestagalli in 1844-1847 and the south-east one, which also
acts as a bell tower, by Giuseppe Vandoni in 1887-1892.
Among the
statues, those in the southern part of the falconatura of the façade are
singular, dating back to the refurbishment of 1911-1935: they depict the
Sports and are an unusual example of statuary from the 1930s.
Inaugurated on December 30, 1774, the Madonnina del Duomo di Milano is the highest point of the church. The statue was designed by the sculptor Giuseppe Perego and cast by the goldsmith Giuseppe Bini, for a height of 4.16 meters. The inside of the statue preserves a metal skeleton which, degraded in the 1960s, was taken to the museum and replaced by a steel framework.
The Museum, housed inside the Royal Palace on the right side of the Cathedral, houses the Cathedral Treasury, a very rich collection of goldsmith's works of art and masterpieces of art, evidence of 1500 years of history of the Milanese Church, the original specimens of many of the cathedral's finest sculptures, paintings, tapestries, stained glass windows and models that bear witness to the entire history of the cathedral.