Il Duomo delle Donne: women's role in Milan Cathedral history

Until August 31, 2020, the Museo del Duomo di Milano presents 'Il Duomo delle Donne', a special exhibition within the museum's permanent route. Wall projections highlight the fundamental contributions of female figures to the construction and life of the Milan Cathedral. The display draws from the museum's own collections. Stories of saints, artists, political leaders, and ordinary faithful are revealed, including the Virgin Mary (to whom the cathedral is dedicated, with the Madonnina statue atop the spire), Saint Lucy (patron of the Veneranda Fabbrica and its stonecutters, protecting from marble splinters), Saint Helena (mother of Emperor Constantine, a woman of faith and Christian virtues), and 16th-century artist Fede Galizia, who painted the first procession of Saint Charles with the Holy Nail to free Milan from the plague.