Today, we took a tour of the Duomo di Milano and the Duomo Cathedral, the largest church in Italy (not counting St. Peter’s Basilica since that is in the State of Vatican City.) The original stone laying dates back to the 1388, according to the engraved stone plate in the building.
The Gothic style of the cathedral was absolutely stunning. Amongst all of the amazing statues and gargoyles that adorn the outside of the church, there was something interesting.
Near the entrance, there is a statue that is almost an exact replica of the Statue of Liberty. It is said that Batholdi, the sculptor of the Lady Liberty, took inspiration from Camillo Pacetti’s 1810 sculpture on the Duomo Cathedral. Pretty neat – we can even find a little piece of the states in Italy. The only difference between the two is that the Duomo statue is holding a cross and Lady Liberty holds a book with Independence Day’s date.
Inside the cathedral, it was as equally stunning and grand. There is a reason it is so overwhelming – the builders want to remind those inside that they are small, and God is grand. It’s pretty magnificent messaging if you read into it.
But nothing could top the stain glass. Each window told a story, so even those who could not read the bible could see and know the word of God. It was amazing to see the difference in the windows based on when they were designed and who they were designed by. For example, one group of windows had a blue/purple tint to them, and they were designed by French man. The time, detail and love that went into each of those windows was absolutely breathtaking.
Then, we visited the Sforza Castle which was build in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan. Even just seeing the outside of a castle is remarkable for an American – we don’t have anything of that nature in the US.
My favorite part of this tour?
The cats of the castle!
There are a family of cats that live in the green land which used to be the moat area surrounding the castle. Apparently, only one woman is allowed out there to feed the cats. It’s her job.
Where do I apply?