ARCHITECT, Italian
(active after 1387 in Milan)

Interior view

begun 1387
Photo
Cathedral, Milan

The seat of Lombard rulers, Milan had by the late 14th century become a flourishing metropolis under Gian Galeazzo Visconti, whose power at one point extended over the whole of northern Italy. It was therefore imperative that the episcopal church of the city should be able to stand comparison with the finest cathedrals of Christendom. In 1387, work began on designing a huge double-aisle structure, with a projecting aisled transept and gigantic polygonal ambulatory.

When the vaulting began in 1400, dispute started on technical problems between the architects involved. After long and heated debate the building continued. Though the construction was completed only in 1572, and large stretches of the exterior were not decorated until the 18th and 19th centuries, Milan Cathedral is a document of late medieval architectural history.

The photo shows the nave looking east.

View the ground plan of Milan Cathedral.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.