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The Cathedral of Milan,

Monument symbol of Milan, is dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente and is located in the square in the center of the city. Area, is the fourth largest church in Europe after St. Peter, St. Paul's in London and the cathedral of Seville.

History

A new European cathedral

In the place where stands the Cathedral, once stood the ancient cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore, winter cathedral and the Basilica of Santa Tecla, cathedral summer. After the collapse of the tower, Archbishop Antonio de 'Saluzzi, supported by the population, he promoted the reconstruction of a new, larger cathedral (1386), which arose on the site of the oldest religious heart of the city. For the new building began to break down both previous churches: Santa Maria Maggiore was demolished first, Santa Tecla later, in 1461-1462 (partially rebuilt in 1489 and finally demolished in 1548).
The new factory, to judge from the archaeological excavations that emerged in the sacristy, was originally to provide a brick building according to the techniques of Lombard Gothic. In January 1387 we laid the foundations of the piers, colossal works that had already been planned and designed the year before. During 1387 we continued the excavation of foundations and threw the pylons. What was done before everything came undone in 1386 or so. During the year, the Lord of the city, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, took control of the work, requiring a more ambitious project. The material chosen for the new building then became the marble Candoglia architectural forms and those of the late Gothic-inspired Rhenish-Bohemian. The desire to Gian Galeazzo was in fact to give the city a great building to date with the latest European trends, which symbolize the ambitions of his government which, in its plans, should become the center of a monarchy as it was the Italian national success in France and England, is now integrated among the great powers of the continent. Gian Galeazzo facility made available to the quarries, and granted substantial subsidies and tax exemptions: for each block of the Cathedral was marked AUF (Ad usum Fabricae), and for relief from any tax imposed by this transition and has since remained the way of saying "a ufo "stands for free.

As evidenced by the extensive archives preserved until today, the first chief engineer was Simone d'Orsenigo, supported by other Lombard masters, who in 1388 began the perimeter walls. In 1389-1390 the French Nicolas de Bonaventure was commissioned to design the windows.

Heading the site were called the French and German architects such as Jean Mignot, Jacques Henri de Coene or Gmünd, which, however, remained in office for a short time, a discovery meeting with hostility from the Lombard workers, accustomed to a different working practices. The factory then went ahead in a tense atmosphere, with numerous revisions, which nevertheless gave rise to a work of unmistakable originality, both in the Italian and European level.

Initially, the foundations had been prepared for a building with three naves, side chapels square, which could make even the dividing walls by buttresses. It was decided then to do away with the chapel, bringing to five the number of aisles and July 19, 1391 was approved the enlargement of the four central pillars. In September of that year he was asked the mathematician Gabriel Piacenza Stornaloco to define the elevation, which has two hypotheses: "ad triangulum" or "quadratum. On May 1, 1392 we chose the shape of the nave gradually decreasing to a maximum height of 76 arms

The construction of the basilica body

In 1393 the first was carved capitals of the pillars, designed by John de 'Grassi, who edited a new design for the windows and was general engineer until his death in 1398. He was succeeded in 1400, Filipino bodies, who supervised the construction of the apse windows. From 1407 to 1448 he was head of the construction manager, who completed the apse and the piedicroce, provisionally closed recomposed from the facade of Santa Maria Maggiore. In 1418 the high altar was consecrated by Pope Martin V.

From 1452 to 1481 he headed the yard John Solari, who for the first two years was also accompanied by Filaret. Followed Guiniforte Solari, son of John, and Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, who with Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono built the lantern in 1490. On the death dell'Amadeo (1522) made various proposals subsequent masters "Gothic", including that of Vincent Seregni to support the facade of two towers (1537 circa), unrealized.

In 1567 the archbishop Carlo Borromeo imposed a resumption of diligent work, putting the head of the Fabbrica Pellegrino Tibaldi, who redesigned the chancel, which was solemnly consecrated again in 1577 although the church was not finished yet

The question of the facade

As for the front Tibaldi designed a project in 1580, based on a two-story frame animated giant Corinthian columns and a shrine in the nave, flanked by obelisks. The death of Carlo Borromeo in 1584 meant the departure of his protege that he left the city, while the site was picked up by his rival Martin Holland, who sent to Gregory XIV, Pope Milan, a new side project [3].

In the seventeenth century, the direction of the work saw the best architects in the presence of citizens, such as Lelio Buzzi, Francesco Maria Ricchino (until 1638), Carlo Buzzi (until 1658) and paintings. Meanwhile in 1628 was done in 1638 and the central portal of the facade work went forward, with the aim of creating an effect on newsstands inspired Santa Susanna in Rome. To this end, arrived in the eighteenth century the designs of Luigi Vanvitelli (1745) and Bernardo Vittone (1746).

Between 1765 and 1769 Francis Cross completed the crowning of the lantern and spire, on which was built five years after the Madunina gilded copper [7], to become the symbol of the city. The pattern of the facade of Buzzi was resumed at the end of the century by Louis Cagnola, Carlo Felice Soave [8] and Leopold Pollack. The latter began the construction of the balcony and the central window.

In 1805, upon application of direct Napoleon, Joseph Zanoia started work for the completion of the facade, in anticipation of the coronation as King of Italy. The project was finally completed in 1813 by Carlo Amati. Among the sculptors who worked in the early nineteenth century, you can remember Luigi Acquisti.

Maintenance and repairs

In 1858 the tower was demolished which was on the aisle, and the bells were moved to the lantern, in double time. Throughout the nineteenth century and the spire were completed architectural decorations, until 1892 [3]. Throughout the century, also followed the restoration work, which aim to replace materials damaged by time.

During the Second World War was the Virgin Mary covered with rags, to avoid light reflection on the surface of gold recently redone could be used as a reference point for the Allied bombers flying over the city, while the windows were removed before and replaced by rolls of canvas. While not having been hit by bombs with high growth potential, although the cathedral was damaged during the bombing and its central bronze door still shows some "wounded" by clips of bombs exploded nearby. After World War II, following the damage caused by aerial bombardments, the cathedral was restored in large part, then the remaining wooden doors were replaced with others of bronze by the sculptor Henry Minerbi, Giannino Castiglioni and Luciano Minguzzi.

In the 60 twentieth-century air pollution, lowering the water table and the vibrations of traffic and the nearby subway line, combined with the natural deterioration of materials and some errors in the original construction, led to a serious risk situation , which seriously undermined the stability of the four pillars that hold up the lantern and made necessary in 1969, closing the square to traffic and slowing trains on line 1. The static restoration of the piers began in 1981 and was completed in 1986 at the seicentenario construction.

Even today, the maintenance of the cathedral is entrusted to the Venerable Cathedral of the factory whose actions are continuous so as to give rise to the expression of the factory in Milan Long comm Domm, to mean something endless

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