The Magdalene

She was among the few who were able to be present at the Crucifixion of Jesus, and according to some of the Gospels, she became the first eyewitness to the occurrence of the Resurrection, and the first person to proclaim it.

"They were at the cross of Jesus his mother, the sister of his mother, Mary of Cleopas and Mary Magdalene (John 19:25).

Together with Salome and Mary of Cleopas, he went to the tomb, bringing ointments to anoint the body of Jesus.

Thus in the Gospel according to John she became the first herald of the Resurrection and she later earned the title of "evangelist" as the first herald of the good news.

Regarding Mary Magdalene, there is the now widespread stereotype that classifies this evangelical woman as a prostitute redeemed by Christ.

A "tradition", perpetrated in the history of art up to the present day, which has made Magdalene a prostitute.

This happened because in a previous Gospel passage the story of the conversion of an anonymous "known sinner in that city" is told, the one whom she had anointed with perfumed oil on the feet of Jesus.

She "she had wet them with her tears and dried them with her hair."

Thus, without any real textual connection, Mary of Magdala had been identified with that nameless prostitute.

On a different occasion, this same gesture of veneration will be repeated by another woman, Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus, thus adding a further misunderstanding.

At that time, the Magdalene was located on the "east facing facade", that is, the apse of the cathedral. In 1664 she was moved "from the midday side" inside the Duomo to the choir area.

The statue, which over the centuries had been moved and restored on several occasions, was placed in safety in the basement of the Cathedral in May 1943 to save it from bombing, and finally landed in the Museum in 1953.

Read more on Milan Cathedral Remixed.