Magnificent marble in Dumo di Milano, Italy - by K J S Chatrath

Dumo di Milano Photo source: Wikipedia

I had the privilege of visiting Milan Cathedral in Italy in 2018. Il Duomo di Milano, dedicated to Saint Mary Nascent and seat of the Archbishop of Milan. Begun in 1386, the cathedral—the largest in Italy—was formally completed only in 1965. Its primary style derives from the late French Gothic, with extensive use of statuary and flying buttresses. It is as beautiful from inside as it is stunning from outside.



Condoglia marble mine in Italy (Photo & the write up below sourced from: 

http://www.duomopatrons.org/en/infopage/building-the-cathedral/eec7717e-7322-4da7-9319-4d03ff13bcd1/)


The marble used for the construction of the Duomo di Milano is quarried in Candoglia, and is exclusively dedicated to the construction of the Cathedral. 
These quarries are located in Piedmont, in the North West of Italy, the quarries lie on the Western bank of the Toce river at the border of Val d'Ossola.
Marble quarried in Candoglia is white, pink, green and grey and has exceptional physical-chemical characteristics which have had a major impact on the structural and static properties of the monument.
It was Gian Galeazzo Visconti – founder of the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, who decided to replace traditional milanese bricks - cotto milanese - originally chosen for the construction of the Duomo, with marble. On October 24th 1387 he granted the Fabbrica the exclusive use of the Candoglia quarries. The transportation of the marble was to be free of charge too, along the water ways of the Ticino River and the Navigli designed by Leonardo da Vinci himself for this very purpose.
The conservation of the Duomo is an ongoing endeavour, given the nature of the marble itself, which requires constant and renewed tending to.

 





 (Text with inputs from the internet)

May I invite you to see my photo article 
  https://fiftyplustravels.blogspot.com/2018/08/gargoyles-of-milano-cathedral-italy-by.html 


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