Milan Cathedral

You're standing on Piazza del Duomo, right in the heart of Milan, in front of the cathedral. It's the largest church in Italy. Only St Peter's is bigger, and that's in Vatican City, technically another country. Look up. You'll see a forest of spires, about a hundred and thirty-five of them, and statues everywhere, more than two thousand on the façade alone. On top of the highest spire, over a hundred and eight metres up, stands a gilded Virgin Mary from 1774. The Milanese call her the Madonnina.