Duomo1My recent visit to the Milan Cathedral was nothing short of amazing. Known locally as the Duomo, (Italian for cathedral), the Cathedral is the fifth largest in the world with a capacity to hold 40,000 people. Dedicated to St Mary of the Nativity, it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan. Built in Gothic style, the Duomo of Milan took 600 years to complete and was made with marble brought from Candoglia.Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned King of Italy at the Duomo.

A must do while visiting the Duomo is to go to the rooftop. One can do this using the stairs or any of the two elevators. The view from the top is an amazing stretch of spires and carved buttresses. There are more statues on this building than any other in the world, 3159 in total. 2245 of these are on the exterior together with 96 gargoyles and 135 spires.

The most famous of all these is the Madonnina (Little Madonna), a copper statue of the virgin Mary covered with 3900 pieces of gold leaves. It was cast in 1774 by goldsmith Giuseppe Bini and sculptor Giuseppe Perego. The statue, four meters and sixteen centimeters tall (almost 14 ft), was placed on top of the cathedral’s tallest spire and until 1959 marked the highest point in the city at 108.5 meters. On the rooftop terraces, it is amazing to walk among the forest of spires and on a clear day you can see as far as the Alps and Apennines.