The most respected lady in Milan is, from the days of yore, the Madonnina, or rather the Madunina.
Or at least it has always been so since her gilded copper statue was placed atop the Duomo‘s main spire in 1774. The Madonnina has occupied the highest point of the city ever since, guarding it, piscinina, de luntan! For a long time no one dared to build a building beyond its 108.50 meters in height. But that is no longer the case, and three more Maduninas have sprung up in Milan….
So it was that futuristic (for the time!) skyscrapers – such as Giò Ponti’s Tower in Sempione Park or the Velasca Tower, which with its funny mushroom shape did not exactly go unnoticed – never exceeded that height, stopping just below.
But one day the Pirelli Skyscraper broke the taboo, pushing itself to a height of 127.10 meters. So a ploy was found: wanting the Madunina to continue to dominate Milan from the highest point in the city, a copy of the original was placed on top of the building, but it was only 80 cm long.
The Pirellone remained the tallest building in Milan until 2010, when it was surpassed by the new Palazzo Lombardia.
Following in the footsteps of the past, a new Madonnina was placed here as well.
Milan, however, never stops, and so do the Madunine can only increase: in 2015, in fact, a fourth sister appeared atop the Allianz Tower in Citylife.
Placing the illustrious Lady on the highest point of the city has thus become a well-established tradition: hence, even the modern giants that have been added more recently to the Milan skyline, adapting to this ancient custom, are in fact hosting their copy!
It is therefore quite appropriate to speak then of Madunine and no longer just one.
The new ones look down on the old one from above and, protecting Milan, shine ever more de luntan!
Let us hope then that the Madunina and her sisters will stretch their gaze a little while protecting us all!
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