12 November 2021 | I was awestruck the very moment I saw Duomo di Milano while alighting from those Italian subway stairs. It was drop-dead gorgeous; extremely more beautiful than how I have it imagined based on limited clips I vaguely remember off Milan, a local Filipino movie (about searching for something but finding something else instead) I happened to watch over a decade ago.
That afternoon, getting drowned in a sea of pigeons and tourists around Piazza Duomo brought me to some realization: that I am caught up in another aimless search, slowly sinking at the moment. Despite the laser focus, eyes-on-the-prize mantra I so believe I have in my core, my plans are somehow always rearranged; oftentimes causing my intended course to be diverted, my planned goals being shifted, and my set standards constantly being adjusted. And so, in front of the Vittorio Emanuelle II Statue, in an effort to avoid unnecessary redirections, I made this solid pact with myself to at any cost, finish this master thing I get myself involved with, no matter how ugly things may get. As this is the perfect means to regain that self-trust I lost due to a series of disappointments I incurred in the recent past, I could not afford to sink into the very same quicksand I get trapped into and go through the same failing episode, again.
Grateful how the Duomo, in all its commanding entirety and enchanting charm, pointed and sorted this whole sinking thing out. Now here’s to hoping, this time, to actually find that something I have been looking for in coming here, even if it means occasionally finding some other equally interesting things along the way.
The Duomo di Milano in Italian gothic style is the fifth largest church in the world – made in brick & pink-hued white marbles, of distinctive pinnacles & spires, and a staggering number of gargoyles & statues. Its construction is stretched over the course of six centuries, but as some of the best things take time, the cathedral is in fact still unfinished with its completion being hindered by several factors like politics, funding, and so on – proof that some things could still be splendidly great despite being a work in progress. Originally planned to be built in terracotta stone, the Condoglian marble from Lake Maggiore was chosen for actual use later on – validating the beauty of changing plans every now and then, so apparent.
