The Duomo Museum is an almost-elusive and silent venue which conserves all the secrets of the great cathedral, symbol of Milano.

Located on the ground floor of Palazzo Reale since 1953, it was renovated and refurbished in 2013 as the Grande Museo del Duomo. The museum path outlines the story of the construction of the cathedral, from its foundation in 1386 to today: the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo institution, which has overseen the construction and maintenance since the very first day, still continues to implement the conservation work on the monument.

In the museum spaces, visitors can admire the Cathedral Treasury where liturgical objects such as pastoral items and gospel books are preserved along with extremely precious objects comprising gilt and silver statues, and relics from the 4th to the 19th century.

Continuing along the route, visitors can admire close up the work carried out on the Duomo over the centuries, thanks a large-scale wooden model of the cathedral with intricate inlaid details.

The Candoglia marble, with which the Duomo was built, deteriorates due to bad weather hence statues or decorative details must be replaced by identical copies made by the stonecutters in the Veneranda Fabbrica. The originals removed from the cathedral are displayed herein, so details that were impossible to see from afar when they were positioned on the spiers can now be closely observed.

Don't miss the stained-glass window room: discover the intricate details of some of the Duomo’s 55 large windows which depict episodes from the Old and New Testaments and stories of the Saints. Thanks to the backlighting, you can be captivated by the surprisingly vivid colours and the exuberance of the scenes.

There are many activities organised for adults and children: guided tours and workshops are always scheduled for groups of visitors to discover the beauty of the Duomo together.

FASCINATING FACT

Visitors to the Duomo Museum can opt for a unique not-to-be-missed experience thanks to virtual reality. Rent a viewer to take a digital journey and discover the Cava Madre from which the marble for the cathedral is extracted in the Candoglia quarry. You will be transported to the Val D'Ossola to get observe in detail the excavation of the blocks from the mountain, the craft of the sculptors and you can even walk on the suspended platform over 20 meters high that was once used for moving the marble.