The Duomo - Part 2

After seeing what the Duomo had to offer from the ground, we decided to venture up to the roof. There were 2 ways to the roof - 165 stairs or an elevator. Robert and I chose the elevator, while Scott chose the stairs. As it was, the elevator only took us close to the roof, we still had to walk another 80 steps to get to the roof. And that was enough stairs for me!

There were a lot of interesting statues on the roof, or actually hanging off the roof. I really liked this one, which looks like a winged dog. I'm not sure why he would be on the Duomo, but he was intriguing.

This view is from the lower roof, looking through the spires. You can see that all of the spires have a figure on the top of them. In fact, the very highest spire has a gold figure on top. I thought that was interesting.
Here's a view from the highest part of the roof we were allowed access to. You can just barely see mountains in the distance. I'm not sure what mountains they are, so don't ask!
There you have it. Our first touristy experience in Milan!

The Duomo - Part 1

I was hoping to write one post about the Duomo. But apparently the internet at the hotel is opposed to uploading more than 2 or 3 pictures at a time. So here is part 1.

The Duomo is a cathedral in the center of Milan. Actually, it is the center of Milan, and the city goes out from there. It's a gigantic cathedral - the 4th largest church in the world. Building began in 1387, and took 5 centuries to complete. That's a long time to build a church! There's a large plaza in front of the Duomo, but on the other 3 sides buildings are no more than 100 feet away. We thought they should have left more room on all 4 sides. It is a beautiful building.

This is an example of the scenes carved all around the base of the building. I'm not sure what they depicted, but the detail was amazing.
We also went inside the Duomo. Cameras weren't allowed. There were still many people taking pictures, but it is a working church, and that didn't seem right to me. It was beautiful inside. Giant marble columns. Gorgeous stained glass windows.

That's the Duomo from the ground. Part 2 - the Duomo from above.