Milan Cathedral (Part Two).

Text, Illustrations and Captions taken from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia,
unless stated otherwise.

English: Milan Cathedral, dated 18 May 1856.

Italian: Milano, Il Duomo.

Anonymous etching, colourised. Dated 18 May 1856.

This File: 9 February 2006.

User: AndreasPraefcke.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1500 to 1510, under Ludovico Sforza, the octagonal Cupola was completed, and decorated in the interior with four series, of fifteen statues each, portraying Saints, Prophets, Sibyls and other characters of the Bible. The exterior long remained without any decoration, except for the Guglietto dell'Amadeo ("Amadeo's Little Spire"), constructed 1507-1510. This is a Renaissance masterwork, which nevertheless harmonised well with the general Gothic appearance of the Church.

During the subsequent Spanish domination, the new Church proved usable, even though the interior remained largely unfinished, and some Bays of the Nave and the Transepts were still missing. In 1552, Giacomo Antegnati was commissioned to build a large Organ for the North side of the Choir, and Giuseppe Meda provided four of the sixteen Pales which were to decorate the Altar area (the programme was completed by Federico Borromeo). In 1562, Marco d' Agrate's Saint Bartholomew and the famous Trivulzio Candelabrum (12th-Century) were added.

After the accession of Carlo Borromeo to the Archbishop's Throne, all Lay Monuments were removed from the Duomo. These included the tombs of Giovanni, Barnabò and Filippo Maria Visconti, Francesco I and his wife, Bianca, Galeazzo Maria and Lodovico Sforza, which were taken to unknown destinations. However, Borromeo's main intervention was the appointment, in 1571, of Pellegrino Pellegrini as Chief Engineer, a contentious move, since, to appoint Pellegrino, who was not a Lay Brother of the Duomo, required a revision of the Fabbrica's statutes.

Portrait of Carlo Borromeo (Saint Charles Borromeo), Archbishop of Milan.

Artist: Giovanni Ambrogio Figino (1548–1608).

Source/Photographer: http://www.arteecarte.it/archivio/arteecarte_n.13/diocesano.php

(Uploaded by User:Lupo to en.wikipedia)

This File: 7 December 2009.

User: Thomas Gun.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Borromeo and Pellegrini strove for a new, Renaissance, appearance for the Cathedral, that would emphasise its Roman / Italian nature, and subdue the Gothic style, which was now seen as foreign. As the façade still was largely incomplete, Pellegrini designed a "Roman" style, with Columns, Obelisks and a large Tympanum. When Pellegrini's design was revealed, a competition for the design of the façade was announced, and this elicited nearly a dozen entries, including one by Antonio Barca. This design was never carried out, but the interior decoration continued. In 1575-1585, the Presbytery was rebuilt, while new Altars and the Baptistry were added. Wooden Choir Stalls were constructed by 1614, for the High Altar, by Francesco Brambilla.

In 1577, Borromeo finally consecrated the whole edifice as a new Church, distinct from the old Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Tecla (which had been unified in 1549 after heavy disputes).

At the beginning of the 17th-Century, Federico Borromeo had the foundations of the new façade laid by Francesco Maria Richini and Fabio Mangone. Work continued until 1638 with the construction of five Portals and two Middle Windows. In 1649, however, the new Chief Architect, Carlo Buzzi, introduced a striking revolution: The façade was to revert to original Gothic style, including the already finished details within big Gothic Pilasters and two giant Belfries. Other designs were provided by, among others, Filippo Juvarra (1733) and Luigi Vanvitelli (1745), but all remained unapplied. In 1682, the façade of Santa Maria Maggiore was demolished and the Cathedral's roof covering completed.

The Emperor Napoleon in his Study at The Tuileries, Paris.

Napoleon was crowned King of Italy in Milan Cathedral.

Artist: Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825).

Date: 1812.

Current location: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 

United States of America.

Source/Photographer: Google Art Project: Home - pic.

This File: 18 October 2012.

User: DcoetzeeBot.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1762, one of the main features of the Cathedral, the Madonnina's Spire, was erected at the dizzying height of 108.5 metres. The Spire was designed by Carlo Pellicani and sports, at the top, a famous polychrome Madonnina Statue, designed by Giuseppe Perego, that befits the original stature of the Cathedral. Given Milan's notoriously damp and foggy climate, the Milanese consider it a fair-weather day when the Madonnina is visible from a distance, as it is so often covered by mist.

On May 20, 1805, Napoleon Bonaparte, about to be crowned King of Italy, ordered the façade to be finished by Carlo Pellicani. In his enthusiasm, he assured that all expenses would fall to the French Treasurer, who would reimburse the Fabbrica for the real estate it had to sell. Even though this reimbursement was never paid, it still meant that, finally, within only seven years, the Cathedral had its façade completed. The new architect, Carlo Pellicani Junior, largely followed 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 the Spires. Napoleon was crowned King of Italy at the Duomo.

PART THREE FOLLOWS.