THE VENERANDA FABBRICA DEL DUOMO DI MILANO AN IMPRESSIVE STORY LASTING 628 YEARS For over six centuries, the Duomo has been famed throughout the world as a treasure chest of masterpieces of sculpture and architecture and, even more, as the best-known and most easily recognisable symbol of the city of Milan. Artists, craftsmen, church men, nobles and common people have transferred knowledge and emotions to it, in a harmony worthy of a great Mozartian score: always alive, but always consistent, always ancient and always new. The Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano is the historical institution charged with the conservation and enhancement of the Cathedral. Set up in 1387 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, to design and construct the cathedral, it has continued to work for over half a millennium, with great sense of responsibility, to preserve the Duomo, finding the resources required for its maintenance. The Fabbrica takes care of all the maintenance and restoration work on the Cathedral, at the Candoglia Quarries, the Marble workers' site and the Duomo construction site. It also promotes initiatives to publicise the activities of the various cultural assets: the priceless Archives and Library, the Grande Museo del Duomo and the Musical Chapel. By creating the cycle of events in the Cathedral and on the Terraces, the Fabbrica has given back to the Duomo its role as the focus of cultural and social life in Milan, also awakening Italian and foreign visitors to the need to constantly strive to preserve this matchless artistic asset that is part of the heritage of the whole world.
In October 2012, lastly, the Fabbrica launched a new fund-raising campaign called Get your Spire, to continue to fund the most urgent structural work involving different sites, including the Main Spire, the four smaller gugliotti, the 129 spires, the 'falconature' or decorations at the top of the facade, repairs to the covering spans of the roof of the Duomo, cleaning of the interior of the Cathedral, restoration of the ciborium and of the Madonna dell Albero and San Giovanni Bono Altars. THE NUMBERS OF THE DUOMO DI MILANO 108.50 m the height of the Madonnina statue from the ground 4.16 m the height of the Madonnina statue 158.50 m the external length 93 m the external width 11,700 sq. m the area of the interior 325,000 tons the total weight 3,400 statues 200 bas-reliefs over 3,600 characters portrayed in the 55 stained glass windows 135 spires 150 doccioni 100,000: the number of visitors to the Duomo each week, for a total of over 6,000,000 a year 82 billion euro of the total 400 billion that Milan's brand is worth: the sum which the Cathedral contributes to the city (Source: Chamber of Commerce of Monza and Brianza and the Anholt Brand Index) 75% : the percentage of tourists arriving in Milan who visit the Duomo 4,500: the hours of opening each year 110,000: the years of restoration work each year
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VENERANDA FABBRICA The Board of the Fabbrica comprises seven members who remain in office for three years, two appointed by the Diocesan Ordinary and five appointed by the Ministry of the Interior, after consulting the Archbishop, from whom the President is elected. Current members of the Governing Body of the Veneranda Fabbrica are: Mons. Prof. Gianantonio Borgonovo, President Don Dr. Carlo Azzimonti Sen. Prof. Carlo Secchi Dr. Gigi Martinoli Prof.ssa Paola Vismara
THE CANDOGLIA QUARRIES AND THE GREAT WORK SITES OF THE VENERANDA FABBRICA DEL DUOMO DI MILANO Looking after the Duomo is a huge task, as the figures with which the Fabbrica has to deal each day prove: 11,700 sq. m of floor space inside the Cathedral, 3,400 statues, 55 stained glass windows, 135 spires and pinnacles and 150 doccioni, an incomparable wealth of faith and art to be saved and protected, so that it can be passed on to the new generations. Indeed, only by a harmonious combination of mastery of traditional methods and technological innovation, can the Candoglia Quarries and the Work Sites of the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, honour this demanding and daily commitment. THE CANDOGLIA QUARRIES The Duomo of Milan is one of the few cathedrals in the world in which the material used for its construction has conditioned and continues to condition its creation, architecture, statics and above all the ornamental part. On 24 October 1387, the Lord of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, assigned the Candoglia marble quarries for use by the Veneranda Fabbrica; they were, and still are, located in the Municipality of Mergozzo on the left bank of the River Toce, at the mouth of the Val d'ossola. It was only possible to use the marble from these quarries to build the Duomo by transporting it on the existing waterways, enlarged by mighty and impressive as well as technically advanced hydraulic works. As from 1920, the blocks of marble began to be progressively transported by road, but the quarries of the Duomo have never stopped work. Indeed, the marble for the Duomo is extracted from the Cava Madre (Mother Quarry), open since 1770 and located at an altitude of 580 metres above sea level, inside a marble bed of crystalline limestone about 20 metres thick. The Ways of the Duomo do not cease to be enchanting and fascinating, therefore, in their unchanged hard work.
THE MARBLE WORKERS' SITE After arriving in Milan, the blocks of marble were and still are transported to a yard where they are processed: the Marble workers' yard of the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, where highly specialised stone masons and sculptors use the rough marble to create statues, capitals and those very unique architectural elements that have made the Cathedral famous throughout the world. Starting from the origins, the Marble Workers' Site has changed its location several times over the centuries: from the Darsena (dock) of Porta Genova, where there is still a plaque in Via Arena commemorating the authorisation of the Fabbrica to unload the marble without paying any taxes (with the use of the letters A U.F. Ad usum Fabricae - from which the Italian expression a ufo [free of charge] derives), to various other areas around the inner Naviglio or canal. After 1856, the yard was moved from the area of Santo Stefano al Laghetto, to the former church of San Gerolamo, and then in 1923 to Viale Gorizia, on the Darsena. The current Marble Workers' Site is located near to Piazza Cacciatori delle Alpi and it is here that the valuable work that is so important to the Fabbrica now continues, using new technologies but also the same mastery and the same craftsmanship that has been passed down from generation to generation to build the Duomo and make it famous. THE DUOMO CONSTRUCTION SITE The Duomo Construction Site is located next to the Cathedral. Even today, important work takes place there: restoration and conservation of stone structures, installation and updating of technological systems, laying of ornaments and structures arriving from the Marble workers' site, installing of stained glass, paintings, wooden and metal artefacts, keeping the magnificent original complex efficient, preparation of hangings and liturgical furnishings and taking care of decorations for celebrations and for the whole church. It is in this huge, complex and fascinating Construction Site that the qualified workers of the Fabbrica work, often on very high scaffolding.
In this extraordinary Work Site, masons and marble workers, carpenters and metal workers, electricians and joiners, restorers and machine operators, all supervised by the engineers in charge, use their skills and experience. These ancient trades are constantly developing, thanks to the contribution of new technologies resulting from on-going scientific research, to which the Veneranda Fabbrica has always turned for help.