Name/Title
The Cathedral of Milan, Italy - Up Among Its Myriad SpiresEntry/Object ID
1987.01.3343Description
Black and white stereoview of the Milan Cathedral. Caption on verso, 'The roof of Milan Cathedral is a marvel in itself. It is like a gigantic flower garden, blossoming with sculptural spires. There are 135 spires adorned with 2,300 marble statues. Visitors in Milan often climb up here to the roof to study the almost unbelievable elaboration of the sculptures of the sculptures. High up here in the air are decorative figures almost beyond count, grotesque gargoyles and the statues of saints and of angels. There is a magnificent cupola surmounted by a tall spire. This spire holds a statue of the Virgin 355 feet above the street level. When we study in detail the sculptural work of the roof, how each spire is carved with the same patient perfection as if it were to be part of a little church altar instead of but one in many away up here 150 feet above the heads of passers-by, we do not wonder that it took so long to complete the cathedral. More than five hundred years it was in the building. When Napoleon’s troops took possession of Milan in 1806, the building was still far from completion. He pushed the work along, securing funds by the sale of estates that had belonged to certain rich Italian monasteries.
Milan Cathedral is a paean of praise, a prayer wrought by the workmen’s hands. It was a consecration of labor to worship and every form of beauty which the workers could create has been offered here in the solitude of the open sky to the God of heaven and earth. The mystics of the Middle Ages found in such structures an artistic outlet for their vague but potent feelings of infinity. Their yearnings towards a deity invisible became localized in these holy things and places.'Photograph Details
Type of Photograph
StereographSubject Place
City
MilanCountry
ItalyRegion
Central EuropeContinent
EuropeCollection
Photograph CollectionMade/Created
Studio
Keystone View CompanyDate made
circa 1940 - circa 1950Time Period
20th CenturyLexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Tertiary Object Term
StereoviewNomenclature Secondary Object Term
Print, PhotographicNomenclature Primary Object Term
PhotographNomenclature Sub-Class
Graphic DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsCondition
Reason for Exam
InventoryOverall Condition
GoodRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
1987.01.1555a, 1987.01.1555