The last major attraction covered by the combo ticket, after our visit to the Ambrosian library is the Duomo itself. There are two major parts to it, the interior including the archaeological area and the terraces. Climbing on the Duomo is considered a highlight but first we start with the Duomo proper. We walk from our lunch passing again through the Plaza and are ready to enter the Dom.
But before entering we have to wait in line to be checked by security and evaluated if we are dressed modestly enough. We are but many aren’t and are forced to buy some coverings… And then we are in and it actually much bigger and impressive than we thought from outside.
The coverings that people are forced to buy are white and transparent, really they are not hiding anything as far as we can tell. It is just a gesture or a money grabbing thing, we cannot decide.
We continue exploring the Dom, which is like exploring a whole city block, given the size of the monument. In fact it is the second largest cathedral in the world, so yes it is big.
And the decorations are everywhere, we can see why it took hundreds of years for it to be finished. Just the amount of work that went into the statues and details is crazy.
And let’s not forget the stained glass windows. They are huge consisting of many panels. Each of them has to be painted and assembled, very impressive.
Like any self respecting cathedral the Dom is holding a few relics, some of which are on display. The one we are noticing is the Relic of Saint Martinianus, a former bishop of Milan.
And then it is time for the next attraction on our ticket, the archaeological area. It is accessed from the interior but needs an additional ticket. It is part of our combo ticket so we show it to the guard and down the stairs we go. Most churches were built on the site of an older one and this is what we expect to see in the archaeological area.
It is a relatively small area compared to the cathedral above but it has something interesting, a few tombs that were discovered during excavations.
The other major attraction is the octogonal baptistry dating from 335, so quite an early one.
There are also a couple exhibits showing the objects that were discovered here, mostly pottery, and parts of the mosaic that covered the floor.
Then it is time to exit the building to try to find the entrance to the Duomo terraces. But first we explore a bit the details in the front of the cathedral and try to find a toilet. The cathedral ones are quite expensive so we use our museum ticket to enter the Dom museum and access the free toilets there and then we are ready for the climb to the top of the Duomo.
