Catch my Duomo - Your Tour of Milan Continued
May 18th 2006 07:47
By the time I finished my slop bucket duties in the kitchen, it was dawn and so I headed out on the streets again. Destination: the Duomo. Now the duomo is a word which few can barely pronounce; the facial manoeuvre required to articulate this Italian word involves various ancillary muscle groups, including the buttocks, quads and trapezius. It was little wonder I was beaten to a pulp within five minutes of leaving the house; the man I asked for directions thought I was some palsied dope fiend. The more I insisted on saying duomo, the more he beat me.
My friend and trusty tour guide returned from his latest hourly passeggiata to find most of me strewn across the pavement outside the train station. To the Duomo he lead me, and boy was some of my cerebral cortex impressed.
Built from 1386 -1418, the Duomo Milano is without doubt, one of the most stunningly beautiful buildings I have ever seen. It truly belies description. It's about as close as the Italians get to a Gaudi replica. From a distance it's overwhelming, towering over the piazza and storming towards heaven. Up close however, I was gob-smacked by the gothic intricacies. Every square inch appears carved with a magical chisel, as the stone curves its way gracefully up, sweeping you into its mythical grandeur and turning itself inside-out from wall to wall before your eyes.
Unfortunately, having been detained on the pavement and smeared on the steps, I was late to the Duo- that placey-thing - and I wasn’t able to go inside. A stern Italian man gave me the brush off. Then he charged me a couple of bucks extra to shine my shoes. He also refused me entry, even though I offered him 5 pesos more. For some reason that made him very angry.
Facts about duomo taken from:
http://www.vitruvio.ch/arc/medieval/gothic/italy/duomo.php
My friend and trusty tour guide returned from his latest hourly passeggiata to find most of me strewn across the pavement outside the train station. To the Duomo he lead me, and boy was some of my cerebral cortex impressed.
Built from 1386 -1418, the Duomo Milano is without doubt, one of the most stunningly beautiful buildings I have ever seen. It truly belies description. It's about as close as the Italians get to a Gaudi replica. From a distance it's overwhelming, towering over the piazza and storming towards heaven. Up close however, I was gob-smacked by the gothic intricacies. Every square inch appears carved with a magical chisel, as the stone curves its way gracefully up, sweeping you into its mythical grandeur and turning itself inside-out from wall to wall before your eyes.
Unfortunately, having been detained on the pavement and smeared on the steps, I was late to the Duo- that placey-thing - and I wasn’t able to go inside. A stern Italian man gave me the brush off. Then he charged me a couple of bucks extra to shine my shoes. He also refused me entry, even though I offered him 5 pesos more. For some reason that made him very angry.
Facts about duomo taken from:
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Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by Anthony
Just working on getting some photo editing software. Then I'll be loading up photos for all the posts
for sure!
Cheers
Anthony