Italy: Milan, part 3

Duomo di Milano
(Milan Cathedral)

Visiting the Duomo was definitely the HIGH point of our trip! It took nearly six centuries to complete the Duomo, from 1386 to the final details in 1965. 

The interior is so grand with marble columns like trees in a forest, detailed carved figures and stained glass windows. 

Our guide took us to the roof for a close-up view of the beautiful Gothic designs. I've never been so close to flying buttresses and gargoyles!

I love Mark Twain's description of the Duomo rooftop view:

 "Away above, on the lofty roof, rank on rank of carved and fretted spires spring high in the air, and through their rich tracery one sees the sky beyond. ... (Up on) the roof...springing from its broad marble flagstones, were the long files of spires, looking very tall close at hand, but diminishing in the distance..." (Innocents Abroad)

Our guide led us to the elevator to descend to ground level. We headed to the Duomo Museum where we could admire plaster casts of the Duomo sculptures up close. The Museum also provided a thorough history of the Duomo.

Model tile for the Main Door

One more Leonardo sighting!

Leonardo's Horse is one of the largest equestrian statues in the world.

Leonardo's Horse

In 1482 the Duke of Milan commissioned Leonardo to create a sculpture of a horse. Leonardo devoted himself to studying the anatomy of the horses in the stables of the Sforza Castle so that the result of the work was perfect. After a few years the model only had to be covered with the terracotta casing necessary for casting. 

Before Leonardo could finish, France invaded and the bronze intended for the Horse was used to make cannons to defend the walls of Milan. 

Leonardo later worked on the project but never completed it.

Five centuries later, Charles Dent, a former American airline pilot, art enthusiast and collector, learned about Leonardo's unfinished horse at the Sforza court. Dent founded the "Leonardo da Vinci's Horse Foundation" in 1977. After 15 years of fundraising the Foundation had almost 2.5 million dollars. But Dent also failed to fulfill his wish because he died in 1994. Once again the Leonardo's Horse project seemed destined to stop. 

But wait! The magnate of a Michigan supermarket chain, Frederik Meijer, took the story of Leonardo, Dent and the Foundation to heart. He decided to create the equestrian statue, entrusting the project to the Japanese-American sculptor Nina Akamu. 

Akamu initially created a small model and then created the final one in clay which was used to cast with bronze. Lucky for us, all went well!

The result were two casts of the 24-foot monument: one for Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan and one for the city of Milan, Italy!

We have already seen the American Horse in Grand Rapids. Now we are able to experience Leonardo's Horse in Milan, the place where it all began!

Leonardo's Horse by
 sculptor Nina Akamu, inspired by original drawings of Leonardo da Vinci

We have to say arrivederci to Milan. 👋  We have a train to catch to Verona!