Milan Cathedral (Part Three).

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

English: The famous "Madonnina" atop the main Spire of the Cathedral.

A Baroque Gilded-bronze Statue, it is 108 metres (340 feet) from the ground.

Italiano: La guglia principale del tiburio del Duomo di Milano (opera dell'architetto barocco Francesco Croce), sovrastata dalla celebre "Madonnina", 

statua barocca in rame dorato, modellata da Giuseppe Bini. 

Foto di Marco Bonavoglia.

Released to public domain by Eugenio45 in it.wikipedia.org (file "Madonnina.jpg").

This File: 10 December 2005.

User: Attilios.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the following years, most of the missing Arches and Spires were constructed. The Statues on the Southern Wall were also finished, while in 1829 - 1858, new Stained Glass Windows replaced the old ones, though with less aesthetically significant results. The last details of the Cathedral were finished only in the 20th-Century: The last Gate was inaugurated on 6 January, 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 Statues. The Duomo's main façade went under renovation from 2003 to early 2009: As of February 2009, it has been completely uncovered, showing again the colours of the Candoglia marble.

Italiano: Interno del Duomo di Milano. 

Foto di Giovanni Dall'Orto, 28-1-2007.

English: Inside the Cathedral in Milan, Italy. 

Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, 28 January 2007.

Current File: 31 January 2007.

User: G.dallorto.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In November 2012, officials announced a campaign to raise funds for the Cathedral's preservation by asking patrons to adopt the building's Gargoyles. The effects of pollution on the 14th-Century building entail regular maintenance, and recent austerity cuts to Italy's Culture Budget has left less money for upkeep of cultural institutions, including the Cathedral. 

To help make up funds, Duomo Management launched a campaign offering its one hundred and thirty-five Gargoyles for "adoption." Donors, who contribute €100,000 (about Canadian $128,000) or more, will have their name engraved under one of the grotesque figures perched on the Cathedral's rooftop. The figures serve as drainage pipes.

Italiano: Interno del Duomo di Milano. Foto di Giovanni Dall'Orto, 13-1-2007.

English: Interior view of the Cathedral in Milan, Italy. 

Picture by Giovanni Dall'Orto, January 13 2007.

This File: 20 January 2007.

User: G.dallorto.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Plan of the Cathedral consists of a Nave, with four Side-Aisles, crossed by a Transept, and then followed by Choir and Apse. The height of the Nave is about 45 metres (140 feet), the highest Gothic Vaults of a complete Church (less than the 48 metres of Beauvais Cathedral, which was never completed).

The Roof is open to tourists (for a fee), which allows a close-up view of some spectacular Sculpture that would otherwise be unappreciated. The Roof of the Cathedral is renowned for the forest of openwork Pinnacles and Spires, set upon delicate Flying Buttresses.

English: The Organ in Milan Cathedral.

Polski: Wnętrze Katedry Duomo (Mediolan - Włochy)

Photo: 25 August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Spens03.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral's five broad Naves, divided by forty Pillars, are reflected in the hierarchic openings of the façade. Even the Transepts have Aisles. The Nave Columns are 24.5 metres (80 feet) high, and the Apsidal Windows are 20.7 x 8.5 metres (68 x 28 feet). 

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.

Milan’s Cathedral has recently developed a new lighting system, based on LED lights.

PART FOUR FOLLOWS.

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.