No symbol of Milan is more beloved than the Madonnina, the gilded copper statue of the Virgin that crowns the cathedral’s highest spire. Created in 1774 by the goldsmith Giuseppe Bini and sculptor Giuseppe Perego, the statue stands over four meters tall. Its surface, covered in gold leaf, catches the Lombard sun. (A full-size copy from 2015 is in the courtyard between the Duomo museum and San Gottardo church.)