CATHEDRAL, Façade

As I said before, the Cathedral's façade is the result of centuries of work.

While the church was reaching its final size at the end the 1500s, the ancient façade of the former church Santa Maria Maggiore still stood, and was demolished gradually.

It was Cardinal Federico Borromeo, successor and cousin of Saint Charles, who decided to create an innovative and spectacular façade.

After evaluating a large number of proposals, it was decided to give the Cathedral five portals, one for each nave. The doors' decoration was entrusted to Cerano, one of the great Milanese artists of the time. Cerano wanted to tell the "stories" of five major female characters of the Bible. Why only women? you may wonder. Simple, in honor of the Virgin Mary, to whom the cathedral is dedicated, as can be seen in the writing "To nascent Mary" which stands out in Latin in the middle of the façade. The stories are told through bas-reliefs known as "formelle", or panels, which are both above and below the portals, and feature Eve (center), Esther, Jael, Judith and the Queen of Sheba....