Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano)

Milan Cathedral or in Italian: Duomo di Milano is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. 
Dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente

The Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. 
It is the fourth largest cathedral in the world and the largest in Italy.

History
Milan's layout, with streets either radiating from the Duomo or circling it, reveals that the Duomo occupies what was 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. The old baptistery (Battistero Paleocristiano, constructed in 335) still can be visited under the Milan Cathedral, it is one of the oldest Christian buildings in Europe. When a fire damaged the cathedral and basilica in 1075, they were later rebuilt as the Duomo

Architecture and art
The plan consists of a nave with four side-aisles, crossed by a transept and then followed by choir and apse. The height of the nave is about 45 meters, the highest Gothic vaults of a complete church (less than the 48 meters of Beauvais Cathedral, which was never completed).

The roof is open to tourists (for a fee), which allows many a close-up view of some spectacular sculpture that would otherwise be unappreciated. The roof of the cathedral is renowned for the forest of openwork pinnacles and spires, set upon delicate flying buttresses.

The cathedral's five broad naves, divided by 40 pillars, are reflected in the hierarchic openings of the façade. Even the transepts have aisles. The nave columns are 24.5 metres (80 ft) high, and the apsidal windows are 20.7 x 8.5 metres (68 x 28 feet). The huge building is of brick construction, faced with marble from the quarries which Gian Galeazzo Visconti donated in perpetuity to the cathedral chapter. Its maintenance and repairs are very complicated.

The famous "Madonnina" atop the main spire of the cathedral, a baroque gilded bronze statue

Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley used to read literature inside the Duomo.  
Alfred, Lord Tennyson enjoyed the view of the Alps from the Duomo roof. The American writer and journalist Mark Twain visited Milan in the summer of 1867. He dedicated chapter 18 of Innocents Abroad to the Milan Cathedral, including many physical and historical details, and a now uncommon visit to the roof. Oscar Wilde visited Milan in June 1875. In a letter to his mother he wrote: "The Cathedral is an awful failure. Outside the design is monstrous and inartistic. The over-elaborated details stuck high up where no one can see them; everything is vile in it; it is, however, imposing and gigantic as a failure, through its great size and elaborate execution." In Italian Hours Henry James describes “a certain exhibition that I privately enjoyed of the relics of St. Charles Borromeus. 
 (Source wikipedia) 

I am really obsessed with this architecture and my dream is to visit all the cathedrals around the world.
The view from the outside and from the inside must be breathtaking. The magic of these buildings remains unchanged over the time. The beauty of these architectures is something incredible.

Maybe one day i will visit them!!