Milan Cathedral

About this place

Milan Cathedral, or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary, is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. The cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete, beginning construction in 1386 and its final details completed in 1965. It is the largest church in the Italian Republic—the larger Saint Peter's Basilica is in the State of Vatican City, a sovereign state—and one of the largest in the world. As you explore, compare the building itself with its decoration and later additions. Differences in materials, forms and imagery can reveal successive periods of patronage, making the visit a way to understand how religious places evolved over time.