The Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano ("Venerable Factory of the Duomo of Milan") is a 600-year-old organization that was established to supervise the construction of the

Cathedral of Milan Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...

(the "Duomo"). The organization is still active and involved with the maintenance, preservation, and restoration of the cathedral. Its main headquarters are located in the eponymous palace in Piazza del Duomo. Despite the Duomo being a consecrated

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church, the Venerable Factory is completely independent of the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

. The Fabbrica was created in 1387 by the governor of Milan,

Gian Galeazzo Visconti Gian Galeazzo Visconti (16 October 1351 – 3 September 1402), was the first duke of Milan (1395) and ruled the late-medieval city just before the dawn of the Renaissance. He also ruled Lombardy jointly with his uncle Bernabò. He was the foundi ...

. At the time, the construction of the Duomo had already begun, and was supervised by Superstantia di Santa Maria Maggiore, a similar organization established by archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo, which was then replaced by the Fabbrica. The Fabbrica was responsible for a major change in the plans for the Duomo, including the adoption of the new

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style that was then becoming popular all over

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

(especially

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

). The original administrative board of the Fabbrica included all of the most notable Milanese authorities of the time, including the Duke of Milan, much of the local aristocracy, and the archbishop. This was later reduced to seven members during the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n rule of Milan. Today, the board has six members and a president. Over the centuries, artists and workers from the Fabbrica del Duomo have collaborated with other notable architectural projects in the city; for example, sculptors of the Fabbrica have been involved with the decoration of the facades of

Palazzo Marino Palazzo Marino is a 16th-century palace located in Piazza della Scala, in the centre of Milan, Italy. It has been Milan's city hall since 9 September 1861. It borders on Piazza San Fedele, Piazza della Scala, Via Case Rotte and Via Tommaso Marino ...

(Milan's

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

). {{commons, Fabbrica del Duomo (Milan)

External links

Official site
Culture in Milan