Today the plan is to buy the most expensive combined ticket to enter the Duomo that allows entry at a few other museums in the vicinity. So after visiting the nearby ossuary we return to buy the ticket but it quite discouraging when we see the ticket office. The line is going far back and is really not moving anywhere fast. So we have an idea, how about buying the ticket from the Duomo Museum nearby which is also included in the combined ticket?
And lo and behold the line is only 10 people long at the Duomo Museum so we wait in line and buy the ticket and then obviously have to also enter. There is a line also to enter but if you buy the ticket directly you can enter directly which interestingly puts us in front of the longer line of people having a ticket. Lady luck smiled on us today. Entering we are ushered into the exhibit hall with chalices and old bibles, all of them look old and suitably impressive.
There are also silver and pewter delicately crafted objects but soon we notice something else. The path we are following is tightly regulated, basically it is a one way loop and a lot of times we see the people going the other way only a few feet away.
The major focus of the museum however is stonework. There are models and actual statues from the Dom including the gargoyles that we will see later.
Some of them are quite impressive carvings and we really like the Eternal Father sculpture. It is really detailed and haunting somehow.
Another impressive artifact is the Paliotto of the Passion previously owned by the Sforza family. The priceless tapestry, woven from wool, silk, and precious gold and silver threads, was donated to the Duomo in the 15th century.
About in the middle of our loop an unassuming door, missed by many, leads to the Chiesa di San Gottardo. Visiting it is part of the ticket as you cannot enter it otherwise. Milan’s founding father, murderous Azzone Visconti, is entombed in this ducal chapel and because he died of gout the church is dedicated to St Gotthard of Hildesheim, patron saint of gout sufferers.
It is a cute little church with some beautiful ceilings. There are also some old frescoes that seem to be under restoration which were quite beautiful as far as we can tell.
The newer paintings are also quite beautiful while the altar is less ornate than usual. Still it is beautiful enough and after exploring the whole church it is time to return to the museum proper.
The next section is with full size statues. They are as usual quite impressive, some we are wondering how they made it into a religious museum.
One of the more interesting section is the one with miniature copies of frescos or art on the Duomo. These were built prior to the actual ones to understand how they will look and fit, we had no idea that this was done at such a scale.
There is a room full of small statues, all copies and then the most interesting exhibit a copy at scale of the main door of the Duomo. It is impressive to see all the details on the main door replicated on the much smaller copy.
And of course the copy in the place of honor at the end of the loop is that of the Duomo itself. It is actually good to see a copy of the Duomo at a smaller scale to understand all the different details at a more human scale. And then we are out and it is time to get to the next attraction on our combo ticket, the Ambrosian Library.
