Milan Cathedral
Milan Cathedral, or the Duomo di Milano, is the cathedral church of Milan and is dedicated to the Nativity of St Mary. It is the largest church in Italy (excluding St. Peter's, which lies in Vatican City) and one of the largest in the world. Construction began in 1386 and continued for nearly six centuries, with the final details formally completed in 1965.
Built of distinctive Candoglia pink-white marble, the cathedral is the most prominent example of Italian Gothic architecture, famous for its forest of pinnacles, flying buttresses and more than three thousand statues. The golden statue of the Madonnina crowns its highest spire, long the traditional high point of the city, and visitors can walk among the spires on the rooftop terraces.
The Duomo dominates Milan's central piazza and has been the spiritual and civic heart of the city for centuries, the seat of the Archbishop of Milan. Its sheer scale, intricate decoration and accessible rooftop make it one of the most visited monuments in Italy.
- Annual visitors
- ≈ 6,000,000
- Location
- 45.4642, 9.1914
- Local time
- 00:34 (Europe/Rome)
🕘 Visiting hours
| Mon–Sun | 08:00–19:00 |
Open daily, last admission about 18:10; rooftop terraces and museum ticketed and timed separately.
✨ Saints & blessed venerated here
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Saint Charles Borromeo Saint
Archbishop of Milan; body enshrined in a rock-crystal urn in the Scurolo di San Carlo crypt beneath the choir
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Saint Ambrose Saint
Patron of Milan and Doctor of the Church; the octagonal crypt and cathedral iconography honor him
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Saint Augustine of Hippo Saint
Baptized by St. Ambrose at the early baptistery whose remains lie beneath the cathedral
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Saint Bartholomew Saint
Subject of Marco d'Agrate's celebrated flayed-apostle statue inside the cathedral
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Saint Galdino Saint
Archbishop of Milan, venerated in the cathedral among the city's holy bishops
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Saint Tecla Saint
An earlier cathedral on the site was dedicated to her; her basilica's remains lie beneath the piazza
Care & donations
Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano
Donations and ticketing via Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo (duomomilano.it)
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