As much as I really like the Milan Cathedral, it was time to conclude my visit to the large basilica. Since it isn’t technically a tourist attraction it was hard to understand what I was seeing and ultimately I ended up missing a tomb under the cathedral. I didn’t know about it under much later so I didn’t really feel bad about it. I was still very impressed with the cathedral since it is one of the largest churches that I have ever visited. I ended up back at the Piazza del Duomo which is the plaza right outside the cathedral. It is one of the largest squares in the city and it is surrounded by multiple historical monuments.

By this time, it feels like the whole of Milan was out in full force. There were a lot of people out and even though it was cold, people were still enjoying. One of the structures which caught my eye is a statue of a man on a horse. For this man to have a statue here in what is probably the most important part of the square, he must have done some amazing feats. The statue depicts King Victor Emmanuel II, who is considered the father of modern Italy. Back then, Italy was made up of various independent republics and some parts were even owned by different empires. He was responsible for fighting for the independence of a united Italy. He has a title of Father of the Fatherland. The statue here in Milan is not very grand, in fact, there were a lot of birds just hanging out at the statue for some reason. However, he has a far grander monument in his name in Rome. The Altar of the Fatherland was built in his honor.

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