{"id":6329,"date":"2023-11-17T16:58:48","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T14:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.duomomilano.it\/art-and-culture\/la-madonnina\/"},"modified":"2025-03-26T15:44:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T13:44:08","slug":"the-madonnina","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.duomomilano.it\/en\/art-and-culture\/the-madonnina\/","title":{"rendered":"The Madonnina"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n The Madonnina <\/h2>\n
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If the Duomo is the symbol of Milan in the world, the\u00a0Madonnina, perched on the highest spire of the Cathedral, represents the heart and soul of the city.<\/em><\/p>\n

The first evidence of a possible laying of the statue of the Virgin Mary on top of the Great Spire is found in a drawing by architect Cesare Cesariano dated 1521, where a central spire surmounted by a statue of the Madonna appears.<\/p>\n

Francesco Croce, architect of the\u00a0Veneranda Fabbrica<\/em>, was commissioned to build the Great Spire on 21 June 1762. In 1765 Croce proposed decorating the\u00a0gran guglia<\/em>\u00a0(great spire) with a statue of the Virgin who was being brought to heaven by angels.<\/p>\n

The sculptor Giuseppe Perego was commissioned to create the statue and in 1769 he presented three different solutions. Of the first and third one (the last one was selected) there are still terracotta models, preserved in the Sala della Madonnina of the Museo del Duomo, where the head, carved from the single trunk of a walnut tree is also exhibited.<\/p>\n

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The construction of the statue, which was decided on 17 June 1769, was carried out with the participation of the carver and model-maker Giuseppe Antignati for the counterform, while the blacksmith Varino provided the supporting armour. The goldsmith Giuseppe Bini modelled and beat the copper plates on the wooden model, while the gilding involved the use of 156 booklets, each made up of 2 sheets of pure gold, on the advice of the painter Anton Raphael Mengs.<\/p>\n

There were no special ceremonies for the placement of the\u00a0Madonnina<\/em>, which had been completed in 1773 but remained in the building of the\u00a0Veneranda Fabbrica<\/em>\u00a0because of the initial fear of lightning and wind until the last days of December 1774.<\/p>\n

In August 1939, on the eve of the last World War, the\u00a0Madonnina<\/em>\u00a0was covered with a grey-green cloth and it remained so for five years, to avoid providing an easy target to bombers. The removal of the cloth took place on 6 May 1945 with a solemn ceremony presided by Cardinal Schuster, the then Archbishop of Milan.<\/p>\n

Between 9 June and 27 July 1967, the restoration of the\u00a0Madonnina<\/em>\u00a0involved the entire removal of the copper sheets and their re-gilding with a mordant, as well as the replacement of the original internal iron core, which had become dangerously corroded (it is now preserved in the Museum), with one in stainless steel.<\/p>\n

The last re-gilding of the\u00a0Madonnina<\/em>\u00a0was carried out in 2012, when the great Great Spire was also restored.<\/p>\n

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Nell\u2019agosto del 1939, alla vigilia dell\u2019ultimo Conflitto Mondiale, la Madonnina fu coperta da un panno grigioverde<\/em> e rimase cos\u00ec per cinque anni, per evitare di fornire un facile bersaglio ai cacciabombardieri. Lo scoprimento avvenne il 6 maggio 1945 con rito solenne ad opera del Cardinale Schuster<\/strong>, allora Arcivescovo di Milano.<\/p>\n

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Fra il 9 giugno ed il 27 luglio 1967 il restauro della Madonnina comport\u00f2 l\u2019intera scomposizione delle lastre di rame e la ridoratura a mordente, nonch\u00e9 la sostituzione dell\u2019originaria struttura interna in ferro, pericolosamente corrosa (oggi conservata in Museo), con una in acciaio inossidabile.<\/p>\n

L\u2019ultimo intervento di ridoratura<\/em> della Madonnina \u00e8 del 2012, eseguito contestualmente al restauro della Guglia Maggiore<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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\n The numbers of the madonnina <\/h2>\n
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  • 4.16 m: the height of the statue<\/li>\n
  • 33: the copper plates that cover the statue<\/li>\n
  • 399.200 kg: the weight of the slabs<\/li>\n
  • 584.800 kg: the weight of the stainless steel supporting structure<\/li>\n
  • 6750: the sheets of pure gold used in the last gilding<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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    \n Flag-wrapping of the Madonnina <\/h2>\n
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