Think Milan and one of the first images that is likely to come to mind is the imposing, pink marble Duomo, the main cathedral, located right in the center of the city.
Almost 160 meters long (one and a half football pitches), 110 meters high at the top of the famous "Madonnina" (a symbol of Milan itself) and hosting some 3,400 statues, the cathedral has been an active work site for some six centuries. Not surprisingly, when Italians want to say that something takes a very long time, they say it's like the building of the Duomo.
Some six million people enter its doors each year, equivalent to about 100,000 visitors per week. That number is likely to double next year, as Expo Milan 2015 brings some 20 million visitors to Milan, according to Angelo Caloia, the president of the Veneranda Fabrica del Duomo (Venerable Factory of the Duomo), the organization which - among other tasks - is charged with overseeing the cathedral's upkeep and restoration. "We are here to celebrate our Duomo," said Caloia during a conference in Milan where he presented the initiatives the "Factory" is organizing for the Expo period. Caloia reminded the audience that the Veneranda Fabrica also participated in the last Milan Expo, in 1906, "opening itself up to the world" and showing its treasures and historic documents dating back centuries.
For Expo the Fabrica is pulling out all the stops, organizing six months of cultural events, concerts and exhibits, mostly centered on the Duomo.
Among the most interesting are likely to be the "Ad Usum Fabricae" (roughly translated as "for use by the factory") exhibit, a life-size replica of one of the barges which were used to haul marble blocks from the mines in Candoglia, near Lake Maggiore, into the city center where they were then worked and transformed into pieces of the Duomo's structure and statues. The exhibit will showcase mining and building techniques and will serve as a reminder of how - until the beginning of the last century - the city's navigli, or canals, built in the days construction of the Duomo began at the end of the 14th century, were navigable to the city center.
The barge, some 35 meters long, will "float" in a specially made pool on the cathedral's north side. On April 16, the Duomo will open its roof-top walkways (terrazze), where visitors will find an exhibit of statues by British sculptor Tony Cragg. Works on display will include "Il Paradosso" ("The Paradox"), a spiraling sculpture inspired by the Madonnina.
"Cragg's spirals seem like they want to touch the sky, like the spirals on the Duomo itself," said Caloia.
Meanwhile, at sunset on May 1, the opening day of Expo, the Duomo's bells will toll, to be joined by all the bells in the diocese of Milan, the head of the Factory said, "to welcome the Expo". As part of the six months of events there will also be concerts, including organ recitals in the cathedral, performances by the Duomo's own Cappella Musicale del Duomo di Milano (an entity whose history can be traced back to 1402) and performances by 185 young artists from 15 countries - all part of what Caiola described as "a veritable musical feast." Other events - including "Longh come la Fabbrica del Domm" (Milanese for "long like the building of the Duomo") will shed light on the ties that bind the immense cathedral to the marble mines in Candoglia, given to the original builders by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, lord of Milan, in 1387.
Commenting on the program, Expo chief executive Giuseppe Sala said "I admire how - in silence - the Veneranda Fabrica del Duomo is organizing such a rich program." He pointed out that the Duomo is "the center, both religious and cultural, of this city. Expo finds in the Duomo a welcoming symbol."
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