Milan Cathedral has 135 spires. These pinnacles and spires create the building’s famous stone “forest,” covering its roof, buttresses, and upper architectural features with an exceptionally dense Gothic silhouette.
The cathedral, known in Italian as the Duomo di Milano, began in 1386 under Gian Galeazzo Visconti. It was built largely from pale Candoglia marble rather than the brick commonly used in northern Italian construction. Work continued for nearly six centuries, and the final details were completed in 1965.
The number 135 refers to the cathedral’s spires, not its statues. Milan’s roof also carries thousands of sculptures, which is why descriptions sometimes give different figures for the building’s decorative elements. The tallest feature is the central Madonnina spire, erected in 1762 and rising about 108.5 metres, topped by the celebrated statue of the Virgin Mary.