While you are in the fashion capital of Europe, the Duomo di Milano, must be placed high on your list of things to see and do …
Where are we on our road trip through Northern Italy?
MILAN ➔ Como ➔ Sirmione ➔ Verona ➔ Venice ➔ Murano ➔ Burano ➔ Modena/Hombre ➔ Vernazza ➔ Pisa ➔ Florence ➔ San Gimignano ➔ Volterra ➔ Siena ➔ Assisi ➔ Civita di Bagnoregio ➔ Orvieto ➔ Mostri Park ➔ Sorrento ➔ Pompeii ➔ Herculaneum ➔ Amalfi ➔ Rome ➔ Malpensa
Look at any map of Milan and you will see that the Duomo di Milano is the easiest to find. Standing in the square (Piazza del Duomo) facing the Duomo you will see the oldest shopping mall (Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II) on the left and to the right you will see the information center and Duomo museum.
It was a stinking hot day and luckily we already had tickets when we arrived at the info center to check-in. Inside the info center it was chaos, at least 50 people trying to buy tickets and another 20-30 with tickets but milling around not knowing who to contact to tell them they were there. Everyone didn’t want to miss their tour ‘slot’ that they had already paid for. We decided to head straight to the head of the line which was a good call as the front desk was to buy tickets as well as to check-in, and the check-in line was empty.
We were told to wait near the side door of the Duomo across from the info center where a guide finally came to escort us through security check point and inside.
The inside is huge, or should I say HUUUGE. It takes up an entire city block! It was also nice and cool compared to the reflected sunlight off the marble outside. It really made a huge difference as you could easily enjoy the cool as you strolled through the interior.
Plenty to see inside that includes massive stained glass windows and the statue of “St Bartholomew skinned”, created by the sculptor Marco d’Agrate in 1562. The statue has incredible detail and is a study of human anatomy not to be missed.
The Duomo (Cathedral) has been in the making for over 600 years, when work first started on it by Giangaleazzo Visconti in 1386. Special Canals were built to transport the marble from Candoglia to build the 5th largest Christian church in the world.
The outside of the Duomo is just as impressive as the inside and we highly recommend a tour that includes the rooftop where you can see the 135 spires as well as the here are 3,400 statues, 135 gargoyles and 700 other figures.
There is an elevator to take you up to the top of the roof section for you to explore (well worth getting the ‘Duomo tour with Rooftops Fast-Track in English’), and at the end of the path around the outside edge of the roof, a small elevator to take you back down to ground level.
After the tour, a visit to the museum would be suggested or to the nearby Galleria, which is free and worth visiting.
Guided Tours of Milan
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