Cathedral of Milan

1. Cathedral of Milan Click to advance slides

2. The Cathedral of Milan The Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola. The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. It is one of the largest in the world and by far the largest in Italy. St Peters Basilica in Rome, though considerably larger, is not a cathedral. A Gothic cathedral. Construction began in 1386. The final details of the cathedral was completed in the twentieth century: the last door was opened on January 6, 1965. This date is considered the end of the process that has lasted many generations.  It Is 157 feet long and can accommodate 40,000 people inside. The windows over the choir has a reputation of being the largest in the world.

3. Plaque commemorating the laying of the foundation stone in 1386. .

4. The famous Madonna

11. The cathedral of Milan is a large temple with five naves, a central and two side aisles each side, at least forty pillars crossed by a transept followed by the choir and the apse.The nave has a height of 148 feet.The building is brick, covered with pink marble. .

12. Nave

15. Presbytery

16. Presbytery

17. The transept Left

18. Altar transversal

19. Presbytery - Photo John Dall'Orto

20. Left Nave Altar neoclassical

21. Left Nave Altar of Joseph

22. Left Nave Altar of St. Ambrose

23. Nave derecha Altar Idelfonso Schuster

24. Stained glass window of the choir

25. Stained glass window of the apse

26. Left Nave baptismal font

27. Charles Borromeo 1538–1584) was the Cardinal Archbishop of Catholic Archdiocese of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church, including the founding of Seminaries for the education of priests. He is honored as a Saint in the Catholic Church and his Feast Day is November 4. Crypt "Scurolo of St. Charles“ (crypt Carlos de Borromeo)

28. The roofs, which are open to the public, allow a close observation of some outstanding sculptures. It is very important the forest of pinnacles and spire can be seen from them.     The highest point of the temple is the La Madonna, work in gilded copper, Giuseppe Perego, opened in 1774.

29. As seen from top of the roof

30. 3,500 objects can be seen from the roof

42.    Music: Glory to God in the highest- King's College Choir The words of this song come straight from the Bible The Gloria is the most ancient of the Church’s liturgical hymns. As with the Angelic Salutation, it was intoned first by the voice of an angel, or the choirs thereof. Saint Elizabeth added the second part of the Ave Maria and the Church added the petition Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Nine months later, in Bethlehem, immediately after the Christ was born of Mary, an angel appeared to shepherds watching their flocks in the hills. The angel — perhaps it was Gabriel, the same who came to Mary at Nazareth — told the shepherds the glad tidings of the birth of the Savior and directed them to where the Child was to be found. Suddenly, there appeared with Gabriel a “multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will” (Luke 2:12). No one knows exactly when or who composed the Gloria .It can be traced, in a form similar to what we have in the Mass, back to at least the third century.. Glory to you who has shown us the light. Jack Cross jcross002@comcast.net