The Last Gothic: Como Cathedral

The Cathedral of Como, dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, stands as the Catholic cathedral of the city of Como, Lombardy, Italy. Known as the Duomo di Como, it is the seat of the Bishop of Como. The cathedral is commonly described as the last Gothic cathedral built in Italy. Construction began in 1396, 10 years after the foundation of Milan Cathedral, and was completed in 1770 with the completion of the Rococo cupola by Filippo Juvarra.

The imposing west front, featuring a rose window and a portal between two statues of Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, was built between 1457 and 1498. The cathedral is 87 metres long, from 36 to 56 metres wide, and 75 metres high into the top of the cupola. It has a Latin cross floor plan with a central nave and two side aisles, separated by pillars, and a Renaissance transept, with an imposing cupola over the crossing. The apses and the choir are of the 16th century.

The interior has a series of nine important tapestries, woven at the end of the 16th century, in Ferrara, Florence and Brussels. There are also a number of 16th-century paintings by Bernardino Luini and Gaudenzio Ferrari.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons