Milan Cathedral is Europe's third biggest church, after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and the Cathedral of Seville.

The city centers around the Duomo, as Milan Cathedral is sometimes called, with streets either circling the Cathedral or radiating outward from it.

A basilica was built on the site early in the 5th century. An adjoining basilica was added in the 9th century. Both were damaged in a fire in 1075

In 1386, Archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo began a project to build a Late Gothic cathedral, which was to become Milan Cathedral. It took almost 600 years for Milan Cathedral to be built. Most of it was, completed by the 1880s.

Some of the cathedral's details were not completed until the 20th century. The last gate was finished in 1965.

Recently, the foundations of a 4th century baptistry were discovered beneath Milan Cathedral.

Because it took so long to build, Milan Cathedral displays a variety of design styles. There are elements of Gothic, neo-Gothic, Baroque and Classical design.

Milan Cathedral has 135 spires. You can get a close-up view of them by climbing the stairs or taking an elevator to the roof. From the roof, you can also get spectacular views of the city of Milan and the Alps.

The Cathedral has about 3,500 statues in total. These are are located on the inside as well as outside of the Cathedral. The spires have statues on top of them.

The most well-known statue is the Madonnina, which is on top of the tallest spire.

Within the cathedral is Marco d'Agrate's famous statue of St Bartholomew.

Milan Cathedral has a crypt that contains the tomb of Cardinal Borromeo, a 16th century Archbishop. The Cathedral Treasury, which contains a collection of Early Christian and Romanesque artwork and religious artifacts, can also be found in the crypt.