t night on my return from the _Scala_, which gave a
very pleasing effect to the _Duomo_ or Cathedral as I passed by it. The
innumerable aiguilles or spires of the most exquisite and delicate
workmanship, tapering and terminating in points all newly whitened, gave
such an appearance of airiness and lightness to this beautiful building
that it looked more visionary than substantial, and as if a strong puff of
wind would blow it away. The next morning I went to visit the Cathedral in
detail. It stands in the place called _Piazza del Duomo_. On this _piazza_
stands also the Ducal Palace; the principal cafes and the most splendid
shops are in the same _piazza_, which forms the morning lounge of Milan.
Parallel to one side of the _Duomo_ runs the _Corsia de' Servi_, the widest
and most fashionable street in Milan, the resort of the _beau monde_ in the
evening, and leading directly out to the _Porta Orientale_. The Cathedral
appears to me certainly the most striking Gothic edifice I ever beheld. It
is as large as the Cathedral of Notre Dame at Paris, and the architecture
of the interior is very massive. There is little internal ornament,
however, except the tomb or mausoleum of St Charles Borromeo, round which
is a magnificent railing; there are also the statues of this Saint and of
St Ambrogio. There are several well-executed bas-reliefs on the outside of
the Church, from Scripture subjects, and the view from any of the balconies
of the spires is very extensive. On the North the Alps, covered with snow
and appearing to rise abruptly within a very short horizon, tho' their
distance from Milan is at least sixty or seventy miles; and on all the
other sides a vast and well-cultivated plain as far as the eye can reach,
thickly studded with towns and villages, and the immense city of Milan nine
miles in circumference at your feet. The streets in general in Milan are
well paved; there is a line of trottoir on each side of the street
equi-distant from the line of houses; so that these trottoirs seem to be
made for the carriage wheels to roll on, and not for the foot passengers,
who must keep within the space that lies between the trottoirs and line of
houses. With the exception of the _Piazza del Duomo_ there is scarcely
anything that can be called a _piazza_ in all Milan, unless irregular and
small open places may be dignified with that name; the houses and buildings
are extremely solid in their construction and handsome in their appear