View of the Duomo, façadeVeneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano
The composite Milan Duomo façade is testimony to the centuries-long labor of its construction, from the 16th century to the end of the 20th century.
Telamon in Milan DuomoVeneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano
The first proposal for the façade dates back to Vincenzo Seregni who, in 1537, submitted a design in which it was flanked by two imposing angular towers.
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This was followed by the classical frontage design produced by Pellegrino Tibaldi at the end of the 16th century. It was then given a Baroque style in the top section by Francesco Maria Richini in the 1630s.
[DO NOT PUBLISH] The Life of Saint Ambrose (1950) by Giannino CastiglioniVeneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano
The three central doorways were built, and the two side and two traditional half windows were started, but the works were suspended shortly after because a Mannerist façade was not deemed to be suitable, or in keeping with the Gothic building.
Coat of arms of the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano (17th Century) by lombard sculptor and scultore lombardoVeneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano
Subsequently, Carlo Buzzi started a new project (1650–55) which, while preserving the existing construction, added a Gothic style by replacing the columns with buttresses, similar to those already in place along the perimeter of the Duomo.
[DO NOT PUBLISH] The contribution of the Milanese Church in the formation of a free city and to the Crusades (1937/1950) by Franco LombardiVeneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano
The tympanums of the five doors, as with the five windows, trace the history of the early designs of the façade from the late Renaissance period.
Telamon in Milan DuomoVeneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano
The iconographic sequence of the portal tympanums was already put forward in the period of Borromeo in the design by Pellegrino Tibaldi.
The reliefs were dedicated to the prophecies of the Old Testament and to the stories of the Virgin Mary.
[DO NOT PUBLISH] The Life of Saint Ambrose (1950) by Giannino CastiglioniVeneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano
The Duomo's overdoors show bas-reliefs taken from the models by Giovan Battista Crespi, known as "Cerano", and dedicated to female figures from the Old Testament who prefigured the role of the Virgin Mary in the New Testament.
Façade of the DuomoVeneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano
In the central part, with beautiful reliefs carved by Andrea Castello and Giacomo Bono (1635), the large marble slab represents the Creation of Eve, by Gaspare Vismara based on the design by Gian Battista Crespi, who also designed the four reliefs of the smaller doors, now displayed in the Duomo Museum.
View of the Duomo, façadeVeneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano
The first scene, on the right, just above the Fifth Door, depicts the Meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The second depicts Judith beheading Holofernes.
The other two reliefs above the remaining doors depict Jael killing Sisera and the Marriage of Esther and Ahasuerus.
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Cerano's models are preserved in the Duomo Museum. These consist of five monochrome drawings in which the artist suggested the final rendering in stone of the scenes. Four of the five models are made of terracotta, an intermediate step towards marble relief.
Façade of the DuomoVeneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano
Of particular interest is the balcony at the center of the façade with a dedication to Mariae Nascenti and the two statues from the first decade of the 1800s: the Old Law by Luigi Acquisti, and the New Law by Camillo Pacetti.
The similarity of the latter with the Statue of Liberty in New York, completed some decades later by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, has led to the suggestion that this statue served as inspiration to the French sculptor.
Read more on Milan Cathedral Remixed.
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