This is Milan Cathedral seen from the outside. It's indeed a stunning, breathtaking church that you can definetely admire without even entering it, but what if I told you that this is only the last one of many churches built under its floors?
This summer I decided to see those archaeological remains and I wasn't left dissatisfied: I am someone who really loves history and I am amazed by the idea that other people may had walked my steps way before me, so being down there was such a mesmerizing experience!
Let me show you what I mean:
What I felt being there is very hard to explain: it was a mix of wonder, devotion, fascination and some sort of fear as well... I felt dragged back in time, every little detail was the most interesting to me!
The rests you can find under the cathedral are not of a single church, or of a single historical era; on the contrary, there are at least two cathedrals and two baptisteries, each from a different era (starting from the Roman era, that is the one whose remains are the least visible).
Here's the map of the the rests you can find and how big they actually were when first built:
There are two things that I just couldn't fully realize: first, that these buildings have always been right under my feet and I had never known about them (which is insane), and also the fact that where we walk today is nowhere near where the people before us walked: the ground level has raised so much that, right now, you have to go down a lot of stairs to reach these monuments and the streets they were built on! Don't you find you astounding?
The second unknown side of Milan Duomo is on the opposite vertex: I'm talking about the roof! To reach it there are two ways: you can decide to walk up a billion stairs (that definitely offer you a unique experience), or you can wait a billion years in line to use the escalator. Up to you!
Either way, when you reach the top the view hits you: it is so white that it almost burns your eyes when the sun shines on the marble.
However, I have to warn you: although it is indeed stunning, if you have a fear of heights you may feel very bad up there so please be careful.
If you're not scared of heights though, I recommend going from the bottom of my heart.
Here's a bit of what you'll see:
Words can't explain how little and insignificant you feel up there... Everything you see is just so beautiful, intricate, old and full of history that it's impossible not to feel dominated and almost unworthy of standing on those marbles.
It's perfect in every tiny detail and you won't know where to look, I swear!
Both the Cathedral, its archeological area and the terraces are open to the public every single day at almost all hours of the day, but you can get more info on the official Duomo site so I highly suggest checking there before coming to visit.
It is not free, but there is the possibility of booking tickets that include visits to multiple parts of the Cathedral and allow you to save a little money!
Will you come?