Measured by internal area, Milan Cathedral is the second largest church in Europe (behind St Peter’s) and third largest in the world (behind the Basilica of our Lady Aparecida in Brazil). On gross volume, it slipped behind Seville Cathedral with which it vies to the claim of being the largest Gothic church in the world.
A red light on a cross in the cupola above the altar shows where a nail from the cross of Christ’s crucifixion is kept. This relic is only shown for three days each year in mid-September.Â