The Cathedral of Monza, you shouldn’t miss it – that’s what we had been advised to do before our day trip to Monza. We followed the advice and were not disappointed. A hidden splendor awaited us behind an unspectacular facade.
Renovations and restorations have to be, that’s perfectly clear. Unfortunately, it doesn’t make a building particularly beautiful if it’s surrounded by scaffolding. And visitors are often put off – what doesn’t look stunning from the outside may be … from the inside. Well, in any case, we were not deterred and opened the heavy door to the Cathedral of Monza.
Cathedral of Monza – History
At the end of the 6th century, Queen Theudelinde (wife of the Longobard kings Autari and Agilulfo) commissioned the construction of a chapel near the royal palace.
According to legend, the queen had made a vow in which she promised to build a church in honor of God and John the Baptist. A heavenly voice was to announce the exact building site to her and a dove was to show her the building site. On her way to find the right building site, the queen stopped at the river Lambro to rest in the shade of a tree. Right there a dove appeared and a voice spoke “modo” to her. The queen answered “etiam” and agreed to build the basilica in this place. The present name Monza was born from the union of the two words “modo” and “etiam” to “Modoetia”.
Queen Theudelinde died in 627 and was buried in the basilica.
A story in passing: The queen had an iron crown in her trousseau. This came into the hands of Charlemagne during the subjugation of the Lombard Empire in 773/774. For many years kings and emperors were crowned with this crown, some even in Monza. The last coronations were in 1805 by Napoleon I and in 1838 by Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria. After that, the Iron Crown went to the Cathedral Treasury of Monza.
Around 1300 the Basilica of Monza was begun to be built over the ruins of the old church. Over the centuries, the builders left Gothic and modern elements in the church.
The current tower was built between 1592 and 1606. It is 75 meters high and at that time provided an important point of reference in the landscape.
A look inside the cathedral
There we stand in the dome and I first take a deep breath. I have not seen this before! The ceiling, the walls everywhere are pictures. Not hung pictures, no pictures painted directly on the walls of the church. What a job the artists have had here. I do not know where to look first, there is so much to discover.
The oldest paintings are located in the Theudelinde Chapel. There is a fee to visit this part of the church.
The paintings in the rest of the church were made later. Here, for example, one can find the story of John the Baptist (about 1580). The choir and the presbytery were decorated in the 17th century, and the paintings in the nave were made in the 18th century.
Slowly I walk through the three-nave church building. I notice that the side chapels and apses are also completely painted with frescoes. My gaze keeps lingering on little things that I discover in the paintings.
The side naves of the church are separated from the main nave by octagonal columns. These are not painted, but have imaginative animal decorations.
The design of the windows inspires me at many churches. Not only colorful mosaics, but also the lovingly designed pictures are artistic masterpieces. The light shines through and gives each church something very special. I can understand when churchgoers speak of “enlightenment” when the light falls on something and illuminates it.
Then I stand in front of the altar, which was created by Andrea Appiani. The light shines through the beautiful windows of the choir, giving this area of the church a very special glow. A little to the side is a stand on which lies a gilded Bible. The light shines on the stand in such a way that the peacock shimmers beautifully.
I think a visit to the Cathedral of Monza is definitely worthwhile. You should plan some time and admire the artistic frescoes in peace.
Address:
Cathedral of Monza
Piazza Duomo,
20052 Monza MB,
Italy
Admission fees:
free of charge
If you would like to visit the cathedral treasure in the museum, you should inform yourself in advance online about the different opening hours and prices.
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