A guided tour on the roof of the Duomo, an extraordinary walk at more than sixty metres above the ground to discover the first real open-air rooftop of the city. It is an itinerary between the sky and the earth to get to know Milan and its history from a privileged perspective: amid the spires of the Duomo you will see a breath-taking panorama, from the new skyscrapers of the Milanese skyline to the famous chains of mountains of the Alps and the Appennines. So let’s go up to the Duomo Rooftop, where we can admire the Madonnina from close-by and also turn our eyes to the new city that is moving upwards…
Our guides will take you up in the air, on the Rooftop of the Duomo of Milan, for an extraordinary guided tour, suspended between the sky and the earth at over sixty metres above ground level. It is an original and surprising journey between light and stone, to admire the flying buttresses and the 135 spires of the cathedral of the Duomo, “inhabited” by a silent population of 180 statues that we will try to meet one by one on this magnificent tour of its rooftop.
Whether you decide to go up by the lift or on foot, the Duomo rooftop offers not only a spectacle of extraordinary beauty, with a 360° perspective over the whole of Milan, but there is also a picturesque atmosphere with evocations of the Renaissance and of the baroque. Our tour guides will guide you through the more than 135 spires, the 180 statues and the small picturesque corners that the particular architecture of the Duomo Rooftop offers.
You will be amazed looking at the genius of past architects who combined engineering, art and functionality in a single breath-taking work of art. Did you know that many of the stone decorations act to drain away rainwater? On this magnificent guided tour you will learn a lot about every single particularity of the Rooftop. For example, the first spire raised in 1404 was the Carelli spire with the statue of Gian Galeazzo Visconti.
Then there is the lantern designed by the sculptor and architect Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, which took a long period to build, from the 16th to the 19th century.
Lastly, how can we forget that all the flying buttresses that are clearly visible from the rooftop act as a support for the largest spire, the one that is surmounted by the golden statue of the Virgin Mary, the “Madunina” in the Milanese dialect, which since 1774 has observed the Milanese and is, unmistakably, the symbol of Milan.
This guided tour to discover the Duomo rooftop not only offers a plunge into the past, but also looks to the future. Let our professional guides direct your eyes towards the “mushroom” shape of the Torre Velasca. A little further away, there is the Torre Branca in the Parco Sempione, which was designed by Giò Ponti.
Or, the new skyline of Milan, which it is impossible not to notice, with the skyscrapers that have recently sprung up in the districts of Porta Nuova and CityLife. Constantly being enlarged, these buildings, like the Unicredit Tower, the Aria, Solea and Solaria Towers, the Torre Diamante and the Torre Isozaki, are projecting Milan towards the architecture of the future.
However, there is far more to discover on this visit to the Duomo Rooftop. Cast your eyes towards the horizon, even beyond the panorama of the city…
