A brief stop in Milan : Duomo

Milan’s Cathedral – Duomo di Milano .. what an incredibly amazing building !!!  Walking out of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II  into the Piazza del Duomo with this enormous cathedral before you, with spires .. 135 of them .. reaching up into the clouds !!!  …. it takes your breath away !!!

It is one of the largest Gothic churches in the world, dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente and is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan.  Construction of this magnificent marble cathedral began in 1386 under Prince Gian Galeazzo Visconti and took six centuries to complete!!

Inside the aisles are divided by 52 giant pillars.  Must add here – if you want to take photographs inside the Duomo, you have to pay .. per camera!

It was quite dark inside (photos taken without flash)

The huge bronze doors are faced with bas-reliefs recounting episodes from the life of the Virgin and of Sant’Ambrogio, and scenes retelling the history of Milan ..

Slightly off centre in the Piazza and  facing the Duomo is a statue of Vittorio Emanuele II (first king of Italy) – erected in 1896 ..

Palazzo Carminati faces the Duomo ..

Our stopover was all too brief 🙁   Back on our coach making our way out of the city, we passed Castello Sforzesco, built on the site of the demolished Visconti family castle.  Built by Francesco Sforza in the 15 century, the castle is based on a series of courtyards.  The palace now contains the Musei del Castello

Tricky to get a decent photograph when sitting on the wrong side of the coach ..

Leaving the city of Milan behind us …

Lake Maggiore, the second largest Italian lake nestling against mountains, is our next stop, where we stayed for two nights .. .. … next post

… Trafalgar Tours : Best of Italy : June 2013