The Milan cathedral in the evening. Photo by Flickr on Wikimedia

Duomo Milan: A Brief History of the Milan Cathedral


 

Duomo Milan or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary or Milan cathedral is a cathedral church of Milan that is dedicated to the Nativity of St Mary. This cathedral took close to six centuries to build and complete. Its construction began in 1386 and the final details were completed in 1965.

The construction of this amazing Cathedral over the six centuries ensured that the final product is decent and attractive. Milan Cathedral is the largest church in the Italian Republic and is even larger than St Peter’s Basilica in the State of Vatican City. The history behind the construction of the cathedral is amazing and worth knowing.

The layout of the cathedral reveals that Duomo occupies what was the most central site in Roman Mediolanum. It is believed that the first cathedral dedicated to St Thecla was completed by 355. An adjoining basilica was erected in 836, the old octagonal baptistery dates to 335 and can be visited by tourists. In 1075, a fire damaged the cathedral and basilica which were rebuilt as the Duomo.

Find out about A Brief History of the Milan Cathedral:

The Beginning of Constructing of the Cathedral

Duomo, Milan, Italy. Photo by Brian W. Schaller on Wikimedia

Archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo began the construction of the cathedral in 1386. The beginning of the construction coincided with the ascension to power in Milan of the archbishop’s cousin Gian Galeazzo Visconti. However, this construction was dictated by very specific political choices with one of the major one being to maintain his residence and court in Pavia.

Before the actual construction work began, three main buildings were demolished; the palace of the Archbishop, the Ordinari Palace and the Baptistery of St Stephen at the Spring. The old church of Sta. Maria Maggiore was exploited as a stone quarry. Large donations were collected for the work-in-progress by Gian Galeazzo together with his cousin Archbishop.

The program was regulated under the Fabbrica del Duomo that had 300 employees led by first chief engineer Simone da Orsenigo. Initially, the chief engineer had planned to build the cathedral from brick in the Lombard Gothic style. With the ambition of following the newest trends in European architecture, French chief engineer Nicolas de Bonaventure was appointed.

Nicolas de Bonaventure added to the church its Rayonnant Gothic. Galeazzo gave exclusive use of marble from the Candoglia quarry and exempted it from getting taxed. Jean Mignot, another French architect was called from Paris to judge and improve upon the work done as New technical aid to lift stones to unprecedented heights was needed.

The new architect declared the work a peril of ruin because it was done without science which was later proved untrue, but this spurred improving instruments and techniques of the engineers.

Plan to Turn the Construction into a Museum

The relations between Gian Galeazzo and the top management factory became tense as the construction continued. The Duke of Milan intended to transform the cathedral into the dynastic mausoleum of the Visconti. He inserted the central part of the cathedral funeral monument of his father which he met strong opposition to.

The managing factory and people of Milan wanted the previous plan to go ahead and opposed the plans of the Duke of Milan. There was a clash which forced Gian to decide on a new foundation of a new site that was intended for the Visconti dynasty. Construction work proceeded quickly and by 1402, at the death of Gian Galeazzo, the cathedral was half complete.

Stalling of the Construction Work of the Cathedral

By 1402, the cathedral construction was halfway but it almost stalled completely until 1480. The stalling of the construction was due to a lack of money and ideas with the most notable works being the tombs of Marco Carelli and Pope Martin. Under Francesco Sforza in 1452, the nave and aisles were completed up to the 6th bay.

Octagonal Cupola Construction Completion

The architecture of the renaissance in Italy. Photo by Anderson William J on Wikimedia

After the resumption of the construction, both Leonardo da Vinci and Donato Bramante created models in a competition to design the central cupola in 1488. From 1500 to 1510, the octagonal cupola was completed under Ludovico Sforza.

The interior was decorated with four series of 15 statues each which portrayed saints, prophets, sibyls and other Figures from the Bible. The exterior remained without any decoration except the Guglietto dell’Amadeo which was constructed from 1507 to 1510. Guglietto dell’Amadeo is a Renaissance masterwork that harmonized with the general Gothic appearance of the church.

Accession of Borromeo

Carlo Borromeo became the archbishop which later led to several changes in the Duomo cathedral. All lay monuments were removed from the cathedral. The monuments included tombs of Giovanni and Filippo Maria Visconti, Francesco the first and his wife Biance and Galeazzo Maria which were taken to unknown destinations.

In 1571, Borromeo appointed Pellegrino Pellegrini as the chief engineer which required the revision of the Fabbrica’s statutes. Borromeo and Pellegrino worked hard for a new, Renaissance appearance for the cathedral which would emphasise its Roman/Italian nature and subdue the Gothic style.

The facade was still largely incomplete which allowed Pellegrino to design the cathedral in a Roman style with columns, obelisks and a large tympanum. The interior decoration of the cathedral continued and between 1575 and 1585, the presbytery was rebuilt. New altars and the baptistery were added. By 1614, the wooden choir stalls were constructed for the main altar by Francesco Brambilla.

In 1577, Borromeo consecrated the whole edifice as a new church. It was distinct from the old Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Tecla.

17th Century

As the 17th century began, Federico Borromeo had the foundations of the new facade laid by Francesco Maria Richini and Fabio Mangone. The work continued up to 1638 with the construction of five portals and two middle windows. However, in 1649, new chief architect Carlo Buzzi reintroduced the reversion of the facade to the original Gothic style.

Other designs were provided by Filippo Juvarra in 1733 and Luigi Vanvitelli in 1745 but they were not applied. In 1682, the Santa Maria Maggiore facade was demolished and the cathedral’s roof covering was completed. The main feature of the cathedral, the Madonnina’s spire was erected at a dizzying height of 108.5 m by 1762.

This spire was designed by Carlo Pellicani and sports at the top a famous polychrome Madonnina statue. The statue was designed by Giuseppe Perego which befits the stature of the cathedral.

Completion of the Cathedral

View of Duomo of Milan. Photo by C messier on Wikimedia

On 20th May 1805, Napoleon ordered the facade to be completed by Pellicani. He assured that all the expenses would fall on the French treasurer who would reimburse the Fabbrica for the real estate it had to sell. The reimbursement was never paid but within seven years, the cathedral’s facade was completed.

The architect followed Buzzi’s project as he added some neo-Gothic details to the upper windows. A statue of Napoleon was placed at the top of one of the spires as a form of thanksgiving. During this period, Napoleon was crowned King of Italy at the Duomo.

After the crowning of Napoleon, most of the missing arches and spires were constructed. Between 1829 and 1858, new stained glass windows replaced the old ones, and the statues on the southern wall were also finished though with less aesthetically significant results.

In the 20th century, the last details of the cathedral were finished with the last portal being inaugurated on 6th January 1965. 6th January 1965 is considered the very end of the construction process which had proceeded for generations with uncarved blocks remaining to be completed as statues.

During World War II, the bombing of Milan delayed the construction of the Milan Cathedral. The Duomo also suffered some damage although lesser degree compared to other buildings in the vicinity. However, the Duomo was repaired and became a place of solace and gathering for displaced residents.

The main facade underwent renovation from 2003 to early 2009 and by February 2009, it was completely uncovered showing the colours of the Candoglia marble. In November 2012, there was an announcement of a campaign to raise funds for the cathedral’s preservation. The management launched a campaign in which they offered the 135 spires for adoption. The donors contributing €100,000 or more could’ve their names engraved on them.

Architects and Engineers of the Cathedral

• 1387 Simone da Orsenigo

• 1387 Zeno da Campione

• 1387 Marco da Campione detto da Frixono

• 1389 Giacomo da Campione

• 1389 Nicola Bonaventura o da Benaventis di Francia

• 1389 Stefanino o Tavannino di Castelseprio

• 1391 Giovanni Fernach di Frimburgo

• 1391 Giovannino de Grassi

• 1391 Lorenzo Degli Spazii da Campione o di Laino

• 1391 Marco da Carona

• 1391 Enrico di Gamodia (Gmüden)

• 1394 Beltramo da Conigo

• 1394 Ulrico Füssingen di Ulma

• 1398 Salomone de Grassi

• 1399 Antonio o Antonino da Paderno

• 1399 Gasparino da Carona

• 1399 Giacomolo da Venezia di Parigi

• 1399 Giovanni Mignoto

• 1399 Giovanni Cona o Cova di Bruges

• 1399 Arasmino de Sirtori

• 1400 Filippo degli Organi

• 1401 Polino da Orsenigo

• 1404 Antonio da Paderno

• 1406 Cristoforo de Chiona

• 1407 Leonardo da Sirtori

• 1409 Giovanni Magatto

• 1415 Antonio da Muggiò

• 1416 Bartolomeo di Modena

• 1420 Antonio da Gorgonzola

• 1430 Franceschino da Cannobio

• 1451 Giorgio degli Organi da Modena

• 1451 Giovanni Solari

• 1452 Antonio da Firenze detto il Filarete

• 1458 Donato de Sirtori

• 1459 Boniforte o Guinforte Solari

• 1476 Pietro Antonio Solari

• 1483 Giovanni Nexemperger di Graz

• 1486 Giovanni Antonio Amadeo

• 1490 Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono

• 1506 Cristoforo Solari detto il Gobbo

• 1512 Gerolamo della Porta

• 1519 Bernardo Zenale di Treviglio

• 1524 Giangiacomo della Porta

• 1526 Cristoforo Lombardo

• 1539 Baldassarre Vianelli

• 1547 Vincenzo da Seregno o Seregni

• 1567 Pellegrino Pellegrini, called il Tibaldi

• 1587 Martino Bassi

• 1591 Lelio Buzzi

• 1598 Aurelio Trezzi

• 1609 Alessandro Bisnato

• 1617 Fabio Mangone

• 1617 Giovanni Paolo Bisnato

• 1631 Francesco Maria Ricchino

• 1638 Carlo Buzzio o Buzzi

• 1658 Girolamo Quadrio

• 1679 Andrea Biffi

• 1686 Giambattista Quadrio

• 1723 Antonio Quadrio

• 1743 Bartolomeo Bolla o Bolli

• 1760 Francesco Croce

• 1773 Giulio Galliori

• 1795 Felice Soave

• 1801 Giovanni Antonio Antolini

• 1803 Leopoldo Pollak

• 1806 Giuseppe Zanoja

• 1806 Giuseppe Pollak

• 1806 Carlo Amati

• 1813 Pietro Pestagalli

• 1854-1860 Office vacant

• 1861 Giuseppe Vandoni

• 1877 Paolo Cesa-Bianchi

• 1904 Gaetano Moretti

• 1907 Luca Beltrami

• 1912 Adolfo Zacchi

• 1963 Antonio Cassi Ramelli

• 1964 Carlo Ferrari da Passano

• 1988 Benigno Mörlin Visconti Castiglione

Read more about the Ten Facts About the Cathedral of Milan here

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