Your Virtual Italy Vacation concludes with an overnight stop in Milan as Thor and I visit the largest Gothic cathedral in the world.
NOTE: Since travel is still iffy with the pandemic continuing, I started a blog series offering a virtual vacation and time-travel to my first big trip with Thor in 2008. Italy! Starting with highlight photos posted on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, I’ve continued every week, with some detours in real time. Join us in Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Venice, and Milan. Buon viaggio!
Flying home from Milan was easier than going back to Rome, and it gave us a chance to goggle at the towering extravagance of the Duomo de Milano. It was a work of centuries, starting in 1386 when several edifices were razed for this building site that was the old Roman “Mediolanum.” Milan’s streets ray out from this central focus of worship.
High and narrow, interior spaces also reach for the sky:
Gothic style, to me, seems rather grotesque, with its overwhelming ornamentation and abundance of gargoyles and demonic creatures. John Rushkin said that this cathedral steals “from every style in the world: and every style spoiled.”
This famous statue of Saint Bartholomew fits right in there. Carved by Marco d’Agrate in 1562, the saint (reportedly skinned alive as punishment for his Christian faith) wears his own skin, with his own face hanging over his shoulder. Apparently the sculptor was very interested in portraying the latest knowledge of anatomy at the time, with detailed muscle definition.
Sunshine and open sky were welcome, as we climbed into the upper rooftop levels.
The early builders insisted on using special Candoglia marble, and new technology from France had to be adapted in order to raise the heavy stones to previously unheard-of heights.
At the very top stands the Madonnina, a symbol of Milan.
Apparently the cathedral went through many delays over the centuries, until nearly finished by Napolean in 1805. The final final touch (after repairs from WWII bombing) was the installation of huge bronze doors in 1965.
Here are some of the flying buttresses that support the central structure, one of those relatively new technologies when the building began in the Gothic style.
At every level, the stonework resembles elaborate lace.
There were a lot of fanciful animal gargoyles:
Anyone know what these figures represent?
More of that stone lacework:
The view of the plaza below, with more gargoyles:
We just had time for a quick visit to the famous Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II, an ornate shopping arcade.
The mosaic floor includes Taurus the Bull. It’s considered lucky if you spin with your heel on the bull’s not-so-private parts. Many spinners have ground away said parts:
Thor insisted on filming my own spin. It’s brought me lots of luck, mainly having such a wonderful husband and traveling partner.
Next week I’ll recap highlights of the trip, as we bid farewell to amazing Italy. “Arrivederci!”
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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is Pause, a First Place winner of the Chanticleer Somerset Award and a Pulpwood Queens International Book Club selection. “A must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.” (Mindy Klasky). Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com