A favorite niece is a recent college graduate, with a degree in graphic arts, and we are taking her on a trip to the Veneto to celebrate the achievement and absorb the local art. But we start with a short stay in Lombardy and the city of Milan (pop 1,371,498 in 2022) – there's no better place to start a tour of Italian design.
In addition, the trip provides an opportunity to test out the new iPhone 15 Pro Max (replaces iPhone 11 that debuted in Madeira), especially the new five-times zoom lens.
During our last visit to Milan (five years ago), our hotel was west of the Duomo on Via Spadari; this time we are in a new neighborhood east of the Duomo near the Piazza San Babila. From the Piazza, we walk in the morning drizzle on the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II to the Duomo. Its prickly spires sprout at the far end of the pavement, an extra-bright light draws us forward. How odd, there is a video screen on the Duomo.
As we pass the Chiesa di San Carlo al Corso (nineteenth century), another impossibly large and bright screen is hung on the restoration scaffolding. Perhaps Max Mara is underwriting the renovation of the Chiesa; the imagery is jarring.
The restoration of the Duomo di Milano (fourteenth century) appears to be sponsored by Samsung and Bulgari. Then again, there is so much to restore; we can only guess at the labor and cost. We zoom in for a closer look.
We arrange a guided tour and join our group at the temporary stand on the other side of the tourists' queue. The guide brings us around to what she calls the Bishop's Door (south transept). From our previous trip, the impression of the Duomo is an enormous, dark interior, but today we find the space well-lit. The guide later explains that the lighting adjusts to the conditions outside – on a bright day, the lights are turned down to allow the colors of the glass to illuminate the stonework.
The Bishop's Door takes us right to two famous Renaissance sculptures: Bambaia's Presentazione di Maria al Tempio (1543) and Marco d'Agrate's San Bartolomeo scorticato (1562). The Presentazione is remarkable for its depiction of the small, singular Virgin holding power over the assembled church leadership; and it displays, to our modern eyes, the confidence of the Fearless Girl (Kristen Visbal, 2017). San Bartolomeo is another example of heroic defiance, horrific and honorable.
As we pass the crowds lining the transept and staring up at the stained glass, the forest of columns stretches to the west, and the scale of the space strikes us. It is epic.
We walk behind the south choir and into the ambulatory. Below one of the organi, a series of marble panels shows the Storie di Maria (Francesco Brambilla, 1584-1590), which includes another version of the Presentazione, the Sposalizio, the Visitazione, and the Natività . These panels frame the entrance to the Cripta di San Carlo, which is no longer open to the public. The guide shows pictures on her iPad of a stunning, octagonal Baroque chapel.
At the back of the ambulatory, our guide explains the stained glass. Specific characters are always clothed in the same dress, so we can follow the story. Jesus, for example, is always shown in bright blue and red, and the pigment is applied to show Him as the brightest figure.
With the iPhone, we can really appreciate the quality of the illustrations: the Temptation, the Baptism, the Marriage, and the Annunciation.
The new camera app (iOS 17) is fun and easy to use; it adds a center level line. Standing near the south transept, we canscrutinize the glass panel in the pointed arch of the north transept. The north transept is dedicated to Santa Tecla di Iconio, one of the early virgin martyrs.
The large altar in the south transept is the Cappella di San Giovanni Bono (bishop of Milan, died 651?). And now, we can easily examine the reliefs in the vault.
The guide further explains that the clerestory windows are partially made from fragments of colored glass collected after the bombings of WWII. She suggests that they may have held a narrative cycle at one time, but now are just decorative. We can also inspect the painted tracery in the vaults above the north aisle.
As the group sits in the pews in the nave, the guide explains the Sacro Chiodo (Santo Morso), and we begin to discover some of the legends and unique 'contraptions' that give the church its personality. The Chiodo is one of the nails from the Crucifixion, which was carried into battle by Constantine as a bridle (morso) for his horse. The chapel in the center-north (Altare del Crocifisso di san Carlo) contains a stained-glass window dedicated to Sant'Elena Imperatrice (Constantine's mother), who recovered the parts of the true cross and three nails.
The Chiodo is now held in a small reliquary high above the altar, marked with a red light. Every year on September 14th a sheet-metal basket resembling a cloud (nivola) with a red velvet tent rises and takes the archbishop to the Chiodo. It is fitted at the center of a gold cross and displayed in front of the altar for two weeks.
On the way to the front of the church, our guide points out one of her favorite glass windows, Battaglia tra san Michele Arcangelo e il diavolo (Giovanni Domenico Buffa, 1939). A single image across the elongated triptych, with a shadowy palette, it shows Saint Michael and an army of archangels driving Satan into Hell – a grand battle between good and evil.
The Duomo's entrance is crossed by a line set in brass called the Meridiana. A small hole in the side chapel to the south projects a light marks the change of the astrological signs arranged along the line. On the solstice, this light travels up the wall to the symbol of capricorno (soltitium hiemale).
Near the front entrance is a stairway the leads to the archeological site of the Basilica di Santa Tecla, which is underneath the Piazza Del Duomo.
Before we exit the Duomo, our guide points out one more panel with images from the Old Testament, such as Noah's Ark and the Binding of Isaac.
Back outside, the light rain continues, and coats the carved stones in a slick, dark sheen. As we climb, the drops and the skies lighten. There are lots of workers cleaning and restoring the stonework of the flying buttresses, and there's scaffolding covering the clerestory and upper towers. Regardless, the Duomo makes a wonderful photographic subject, full of delightful details and an endless variety of views.
When we arrive at the roof terrace, we get our first good look at La Madonnina (Giuseppe Perego, 1768-1774 – photographed at one-times, two-times, and five-times zoom). Below, shoppers take refuge in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (nineteenth century), and spires of the flying buttresses blend with the skyline.
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