Milan

We headed to Milan on the fast train (1 hour) for just two nights (mostly for a tour to the Alps).  Anyway we arrived in Milan around 10:30 AM and our hotel was just a block or two from the grand Duomo Cathedral.  It was raining when we arrived and did not quit the entire day, but deter us it did not.  We donned our raincoats and off we went.

The Duomo is literally at the center of Milan. Streets radiate from the cathedral or circle it. The cathedral occupies a site that has been the most central location in the city since its founding.

The construction of the cathedral was commissioned by bishop Antonio da Saluzzo in 1385. He was supported by the first duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who envisioned the creation of the world's largest church. He gave access to his marble quarries, granted tax exemptions and invited architects from across Europe. Construction commenced in 1386, but it would drag on for centuries. When the cathedral was consecrated in 1418, construction of the nave had only just started. Construction would continue until 1813, and final finishes were applied as late as in 1965. 

The Duomo is decorated with an amazing number of beautifully sculpted statues and spires. There are more statues on this building than any other in the world, 3159 in total. 2245 of these are on the exterior together with 96 gargoyles and 135 spires. It is said that if the statues were placed on top of each other, they would reach a height of about 5300 meters.

The most famous of all these is the Madonnina (Little Madonna), a copper statue of the virgin Mary covered with 3900 pieces of gold leaf. It was cast in 1774 by goldsmith Giuseppe Bini and sculptor Giuseppe Perego. The statue, four meters and sixteen centimeters tall (almost 14 ft), was placed on top of the cathedral's tallest spire and until 1959 marked the highest point in the city at 108.5 meters.

these bronze doors look old, but were actually completed in the nineteenth century by Ludovico Pogliaghi. 

The inside of Milan's Cathedral is expansive but rather dark. There are five large naves divided by fifty-two pillars - one for each week of the year - that support the cross vaulted ceiling. 

Central Nave

Above the entrance doors

The marble floor

These are some big pillars

The Duomo is preparing to open its doors to millions of pilgrims and visitors arriving in Milan during Expo Milano 2015 and has chosen art as a means of expressing contemporaneity, calling upon the sculptor Tony Cragg to create a work inspired by the Madonnina. The work will be visible until March 31, 2015 in the Cathedral and then will be moved to the most captivating and enchanting point of the Expo city: the Terraces of the Duomo.

Side Nave

• At the left of the altar is located the most famous statue of all the Cathedral, the Saint Bartholomew Flayed (1562), by Marco d'Agrate, the saint shows his flayed skin thrown over his shoulders like a stole.

the windows on the story of Catherine of Alexandria made by Arcimboldo family (the windows are placed at the bottom).

The larger windows are located in the oldest part of the cathedral, the baptistery. Nicholas de bonaventuris helped to realize the design of them .

Crypt

relics of Saint Charles Borromeo

• The 5-manual, 225-rank pipe-organ, built jointly by the Tamburini and Mascioni Italian organbuilding firms on Mussolini's command, is currently the largest organ in all of Italy

We decided to go see if we could get into see Leonardo DiVinci's "Last Supper" in the refectory of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie.   We took the metro and finally found the little church only to find that it was closed on Monday to all but booked tours.  Back to the Duomo metro stop.  

As it was still raining cats and dogs, we went to The Galleria which is housed in a glass-covered 19th century arcade with luxury clothing brands and upscale dining.  

In 1860 the local government of Milan launched a competition for the redevelopment of a historic area between the Cathedral and the Scala Opera House. A monumental design by the Bolognese architect Giuseppe Mengoni was selected. Mengoni had studied the historic shopping arcades in Paris and proposed a large scale, glass covered arcade to connect the square in front of the cathedral, Piazza del Duomo, with the newly created square in front of the opera house of Milan, Piazza della Scala.

The four mosaics in the lunettes below the central dome represent four parts of the world: Europe, America, Africa and Asia. They were created in 1911 to replace the original frescoes that were already fading away.

We looked in the shops.  A neat hat shop where yes I found another red hat, but did not purchase.  I was waiting for Terry who was buying soe fun costume jewelry.

We sat and had a glass of wine and then headed back to the hotel.  Since it was still raining, we had dinner at the hotel and then retired for  our early morning wake up.

This picture was taken after our return from the tour tomorrow.  We stopped and had dinner on our walk back from where the tour bus dropped us off and the Cathedral was lit up.  It had some kind of construction in front of it that we think has to do with EXPO which opens tomorrow, so you can't see the entire structure from the front.

Still a beautiful building

We went back to the hotel and decided to sit in the bar and have a glass of wine.  We met a couple from England and sat talking to them for nearly an hour before bed.  Next morning we did a little shopping before heading back to the train station and home to Bologna.

An unobstructed picture of the Duomo in daylight that I found on the internet