对米兰大教堂的英文介绍

Milan Cathedral
From Wikipedia
Basic information
Location Milan,Italy
Geographic coordinates 45°27′51〃N 9°11′29〃E / 45.46417,9.19139Coordinates:45°27′51〃N 9°11′29〃E / 45.46417,9.19139
Religious affiliation Roman Catholic
Architectural description
Groundbreaking 1386
Year completed 1965
Specifications
Capacity 40,000
Length 157 metres (515 ft)
Width 92 metres (302 ft)
Width (nave) 16.75 metres (55 ft)
Height (max) 45 metres (148 ft)
Dome height (outer) 65.5 metres (215 ft)
Spire height 106.5 metres (349 ft)
Materials Brick with Candoglia marble
History
Milan's layout,with streets either radiating from the Duomo or circling it,reveals that the Duomo occupies the most central site in Roman Mediolanum,that of the public basilica facing the forum.Saint Ambrose's 'New Basilica' was built on this site at the beginning of the 5th century,with an adjoining basilica added in 836.When a fire damaged both buildings in 1075,they were rebuilt as the Duomo.
[edit] The beginning
In 1386 archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo began construction in a rayonnant Late Gothic style more typically French than Italian.Construction coincided with the accession to power in Milan of the archbishop's cousin Gian Galeazzo Visconti,and was meant as a reward to the noble and working classes which had been suppressed by his tyrannical Visconti predecessor Barnabò.Before actual work began,three main buildings were demolished:the palace of the Archbishop,the Ordinari Palace and the Baptistry of 'St.Stephen at the Spring',while the old church of Sta.Maria Maggiore was exploited as a stone quarry.Enthusiasm for the immense new building soon spread among the population,and the shrewd Gian Galeazzo,together with his cousin the archbishop,collected large donations for the work-in-progress.The construction program was strictly regulated under the "Fabbrica del Duomo",which had 300 employees led by first chief engineer Simone da Orsenigo.Galeazzo gave the Fabbrica exclusive use of the marble from the Candoglia quarry and exempted it from taxes.
In 1389 a French chief engineer,Nicolas de Bonaventure,was appointed,adding to the church its strong Gothic imprint.Ten years later another French architect,Jean Mignot,was called from Paris to judge and improve upon the work done,as the masons needed new technical aid to lift stones to an unprecedented height.Mignot declared all the work done up till then as in pericolo di ruina ("peril of ruin"),as it had been done sine scienzia ("without science").In the following years Mignot's forecasts proved untrue,but anyway they spurred Galeazzo's engineers to improve their instruments and techniques.Work proceeded quickly,and at the death of Gian Galeazzo in 1402,almost half the cathedral was complete.Construction,however,stalled almost totally until 1480,due to lack of money and ideas:the most notable works of this period were the tombs of Marco Carelli and Pope Martin V (1424) and the windows of the apse (1470s),of which those extant portray St.John the Evangelist,by Cristoforo de' Mottis,and Saint Eligius and San John of Damascus,both by Niccolò da Varallo.In 1452,under Francesco Sforza,the nave and the aisles were completed up to the sixth bay.
In 1500-1510,under Ludovico Sforza,the octagonal cupola was completed,and decorated in the interior with four series of fifteen statues each,portraying saints,prophets,sibyls and other characters of the Bible.The exterior long remained without any decoration,except for the Guglietto dell'Amadeo ("Amadeo's Little Spire"),constructed 1507-1510.This is a Renaissance masterwork which nevertheless harmonized well with the general Gothic appearance of the church.
The famous "Madunina" atop the main spire of the cathedral,a baroque gilded bronze artwork.During the subsequent Spanish domination,the new church proved usable,even though the interior remained largely unfinished,and some bays of the nave and the transepts were still missing.In 1552 Giacomo Antegnati was commissioned to build a large organ for the north side of the choir,and Giuseppe Meda provided four of the sixteen pales which were to decorate the altar area (the program was completed by Federico Borromeo).In 1562 Marco d' Lopez's St.Bartholomew and the famous Trivulzio candelabrum (12th century) were added.