The history of Milan, like that of the rest of Italy, is dominated by the Catholic Church. Little wonder, then, that the cathedral, or duomo, there is the third-largest church in Europe and one of the largest Gothic churches in the world. About 500 feet long, it bristles with spires and more than 3,000 statues and gargoyles. Construction began in 1385 and took five centuries to complete. Today when Italians speak of a job that is taking too long to complete, they say that it is like “building the cathedral.”

Bible readers will be interested to see God’s name, in the form “Jahve,” high up in a Gothic window of the cathedral facade. The exterior of the facade is decorated with numerous depictions of Bible episodes.

[Picture on page 24]

Milan cathedral