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The Duomo di Milano is one of the most famous buildings in is larger (as is Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome , which is not a cathedral). It is 157 meters long and a total of 40,000 people can fit comfortably within. The great windows of the choir were reputed to be the largest in the world. The Cathedral is site at . HISTORY The street plan of Milan, with streets either radiating from the Duomo or circling it, reveals that the Duomo occupies the most important site in Roman Mediolanum. Saint Ambrose 's 'New Basilica' was built on this site at the beginning of the 5th Century , with an adjoining basilica added in 836 . When fire damaged both buildings in 1075 , they were rebuilt as the Duomo. In , managed to collect large donations as contributes for the working. the contruction program was stricly regulated under the "Fabbrica del Duomo": this had an organic of 300 deputies, the first chief engineer being Simone da Orsenigo. Galeazzo gave the Fabbrica exclusive use of the marbles from the Candoglia quarry and freedom from bills. In ( 1424 ) and the windows of the apse ( 1470s ). Among the latter, are still visible today those portraying ''St. John the Evangelist'', by Cristoforo de' Mottis, and ''Saint Eligius'' and ''San John of Damascus'', by Niccolò da Varallo. In 1452 , under Francesco Sforza , the nave and the aisles were completed up to the sixth spans. In 1490 , under Lodovico Sforza , an octagonal base was chosen for the cupola. This was completed in ten years and decorated in the interior with four series of fifteen statues each, portraying saints, prophets, sibyls and other characters of the Old Testament . the external remained long without any decoration, with the exception of the so-called Guglietto dell'Amadeo ("Amadeo's Little Spire"), from 1507 - 1510 . This is a Renaissance masterwork which howover didn not forget to harmonize with the general Gothic appearance of the on-going church. Under the subsequent Spanish domination, the new church was practicable, but largely unfinished in the interior, and the transepts were missing. In 1552 Giacomo Antegnati was commissioned a large organ, which was to placed in the northern choir, and Giuseppe Meda provided four of the sixteen pales which had to decorate the altar area (the progrm was completed by Federico Borromeo ). In 1562 the Marco D'Agrate 's ''St. Bartholomew'' and famous Trivulzio candelabrum ( 12th Century ) were added. The accession of the ambitious - 1585 the presbitery was rebuilt, while new altars and the baptistry were added in the nave. A wooden choir was constructed for the main altar by Francesco Brambilla , a work completed in 1614 . In 1577 Borromeo finally consecrated the whole edifice as a new, distint church from the old Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Tecla (which had been unified in 1549 after heavy disputes). At the beginning of the ( 1733 ) and Luigi Vanvitelli ( 1745 ), but all remained unapplied and the façade . In 1682 the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore was demolished and the cathedral's roof covering completed. In 1762 one of the main features of the cathedral, the Madonnina's spire, was erected at the dizzy height of 108.5 m. It was designed by Francesco Croce and at the top, according to very original status of the Cathedral, has a famous polychrome statue of the Madonna. On May 20 , 1805 , Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the façade to be finished. He was going to be crowned as King of Italy and his enthusiasm went on by assuring that expenses were to be fulfilled through the French treasure, in the form of reimbourse to the Fabbrica which in the meantime had to sell all its real estates. The reimbourse was never paid, though this meant that finally, within only seven years, the Cathedral had its façade completed. the new architect, Francesco Soave, followed largely Buzzi's project, adding some neo-Gothic details to the upper windows. As a form of thanksgiving, a statue of Napoleon was placed at the top of one of spires. In the following years the great part of the missing arches and spires was constructed. The statues on the southern wall were also finished, while in , 1965 . This date is considered the very end of a process which had proceeded for generations, although even now some uncarved blocks remain to be completed as statuary. The Duomo's main facade is under renovation at present; due to that you can see a big scaffolding with its canvas covering most of the main facade. ARCHITECTURE AND ART The roof is open to tourists (for a fee), which allows many a close up view of some really spectacular sculpture that would otherwise be unappreciated by mortal man. The cathedral's five wide naves, divided by 40 pillars, are reflected in the hierarchic openings of the facade. Even the transepts have aisles. The roofline dissolves into openwork pinnacles that are punctuated by a grove of spires. The huge building is of brick construction, faced with marble from the quarries which Gian Galeazzo Visconti donated in perpetuity to the cathedral chapter. Its maintenance and repairs are very complicated. Main monuments and sights The interior of the cathedral includes a huge quantity of monuments and artworks. These include:
THE DUOMO IN LITERATURE The American writer ad journalist, in his '' Innocents Abroad '', describes the Duomo as follows: THE DUOMO IN POPULAR CULTURE Luchino Visconti's 1960 film '' Rocco E I Suoi Fratelli '', set in Milan, has a scene where the Duomo rooftop serves as a backdrop. EXTERNAL LINKS
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