MILAN CATHEDRAL

We can define the style of Milan’s Cathedral as “gotico fiorito” (flowered gothic).

This cathedral, symbol of the city of Milan, is covered by hundreds of statues, spires (guglie), pinnacles and
buttress arches. Here, the artistic component prevails. The outburst of decorations gives the building a
raising appearence. It looks as if the Duomo was covered by precious laces.

All this sumptuosity reflects Milan’s prestige and the Vicount’s power as well.

The Duomo is so rich in decorative elements, that we can hardly define where the architecture ends and
where the sculpture begins. Try to find it out yourself.

But now, let’s go more into the details..

Gothic architecture doesn’t look massive; it is light and aerial. An emphasised verticalism can be perceived,
as if the building was challenging the sky in its height.

Technical innovations and architectural traits which characterise this style are:

- Pointed arch
- Buttress and buttress arch
- Spires and Pinnacles

Try out: lay your hands below your chin, as to make an all-round arch. You will see that they will fall.

Now, try to lay them making a pointed arch. They won’t fail anymore.

This is because the pointed arch results to be stronger and allows to reach higher heights.

The lantern (that, as you can see in the picture, is constituted by a series of pointed archs) is an architectual
structure that encloses the dome.