Milan’s cathedral is a glorious pile of stone, a strange mix of the Gothic style, which never moved too terribly further south on such a grand scale, and other more Renaissance style motifs, such as the half moon lintels above the five front portals of the church.

No major cathedral is ever completely free of scaffolding, but it does not obscure the mottled white, blue and pink marble of the exterior.

The cathedral is one of the largest churches in the world, and when you’re standing up next to it, you do get a sense of its massiveness.

But perhaps without any other accompanying buildings of the same scale, it is hard to get a sense of proportion.

The giant bronze doors are the few elements that break with the stones’ multi-colored hegemony.

The exterior sculpture clearly represents many different eras, from different periods in the cathedral’s construction.

Humor also comes out, as in such elements as this man’s face below.