It is the most important religious symbol of Milan city. The cathedral is dedicated to Maria Nascente which was begun to be constructed in the second half of the 14th century and finished after five centuries.
It is the third largest church in covered area of 157 metres in length and 92 metres in width. The area where the cathedral is now located had been occupied by other religious buildings since the 4th century such as the Basilica of Santa Tecla, Baptistery of San Giovanni delle Fonti and the Romanesque cathedral of Santa Maria Maggiore.
The plan of the cathedral was drawn up by an unknown architect of the purest Gothic school on order of the archbishop of the period, Antonio da Saluzzo. Gian Galeazzo Visconti and the Pope Boniface IX supported the archbishop and his idea of building a cathedral.
The construction began in 1386 under the supervision of Simone di Orsenigo and the masters Marco da Campione and Giovannino de’ Grassi. They completed the lower plinth. Until 1400, the worksite was supervised by the Frenchman Nicolas de Bonaventure, Johann of Freiburg, Giovanni of Campione, Johann of Fernach, Heinrich of Gmunden, Ulrich of Fussingen, Bernardo of Venezia, Gabriele Stornaloco, Giovanni and Guiniforte Solari, Filarete and Johannes Nexenperger. With the influence of many masters the original plan of the cathedral had been changed and became more spectacular. The cost of the work was met by the donations of some noble families and public subscriptions as well as the Visconti and Sforza families.
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