The Duomo Organ

The Cathedral's history has always been linked to the one of its organ. Mentions were made of it since the Duomo's foundation: the first one dates back to 1394, just few years after the laying of the first stone.

The task was entrusted to Fra Martino de Stremidi, who completed it after two years of work. The original location is not well known, but it must have been substantial in size, given the mechanism operated by a large wheel moved by two men.

The liturgical and architectural reform requested by Saint Charles Borromeo, in response to the new requirements arising from the Council of Trent, resulted in the rearrangement of the Organ, placed permanently at the sides of the high altar.

During the course of the 17th and 18th centuries, reviews, maintenance, and adaptations followed on from one another due to increasing sound requirements—from the addition of new registers to the replacement of bellows.

Little or nothing of the original instruments is still available, also because, following the Cecilian reform, they were completely refurbished in 1937–38. Supplemented by another four new organ housings, installed in twos within areas with double-vaulted ceilings positioned above the sacristies.

The new organs, regulating the grand ones through a single console with five manuals, did not provide the hoped-for result because of their incorrect positioning—to the side and high up, as well as enclosed—to the serious detriment of the ensemble's acoustic impact.

At the time of the restructuring of the Presbytery, which took place as the logical conclusion to the static restoration of the central and apsidal pillars, a more appropriate rearrangement of the entire organ system was carried out during the years 1985–86.

The four organs added in 1938 were therefore positioned down the line from the grand organs—which were also restored—being placed two on each side within new, extremely simple wooden housings, with the consoles being installed on the floor of the Presbytery.

The doors, or foredoors, on each side of the two monumental 16th-century organs comprise 16 large canvases depicting episodes taken from the Old and New Testaments.

The pictorial decoration was begun by the Veneranda Fabbrica in 1559. Various artists, including Giuseppe Meda, Ambrogio Figino, and Camillo Procaccini, succeeded one another in this task.

Today, the Duomo organ is the largest in Italy, and the second largest in Europe, with regard to the number of pipes and registers, also making it one of the 15 largest organs in the world.

The current numbers for this giant are truly impressive: 15,800 pipes, the tallest of which measures over 30 feet (9 m), while the smallest measures a few inches. There are five organ housings and five consoles.

From an artistic point of view, the Cathedral's Grand Organ combines the sonorities of the Italian tradition with an eclectic phonic structure, resulting in an instrument that is tonally absolutely exceptional when it comes to performing romantic/symphonic repertoire.