The Duomo Cathedral as seen by The New York Times

A recent article by Elisabetta Povoledo, the Italian correspondent of The New York Times, highlights the struggles that the Duomo Cathedral is going through. Weather conditions and pollution are a threat to the beauty of the Milanese landmark par excellence.

The Duomo Cathedral: an ongoing maintenance process

The article by Povoledo aims at underlining how the magnificent monument in the heart of Milan is in constant need of restoration. The construction work of the Duomo Cathedral started back in 1386 and has actually never stopped since then.

The cathedral, along with the 3,400 or so statues and carvings adorning its countless nooks and crannies, and its buttresses and pinnacles and spires, is crafted from rare pink-hued marble mined from a single quarry on the slopes of the Alps, some 60 miles to the north.

The stone’s unique physical and chemical characteristics make it particularly beautiful. But the stunning coloration also comes with a flaw: The marble is particularly fragile.
Elisabetta Povoledo, The New York Times

The article continues with some extracts of an interview to the workers at the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo. The organization responsible of the maintenance of the Duomo Cathedral which has been in operation since the very beginning of the multi-century history of the landmark so precious to the Milanese people.

“The marble can shatter suddenly, veins in the marble contain traces of ferrous materials, and when they, or the iron pins placed through the centuries to link the stones together, oxidize, they expand and shatter the marble into “little pieces or even chunks”
Francesco Canali as interviewed by Elisabetta Povoledo

The Milanese efforts for the preservation of the Cathedral

The Duomo Cathedral is considered to be a commodity that belongs to the Milanese people. The contribution of citizens and private organizations to the funding of the restoration work is paramount.

For this reason the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo launched the project “Adopt a Spire”.

Among these organizations there is the International Patrons Duomo di Milano. The organization based in New York aims at collecting funds for the restoration of the church.