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118 CATHEDEAL and if we include the work done under Pius VI., three and a half centuries passed be- fore it was completed, during which time 43 popes reigned. The dimensions of the church are as follows: length of the interior 613| Eng- lish ft., of transept from wall to wall 446 ft. ; height of nave 152^ ft., of side aisles 47 ft. ; width of nave 77-89 ft., of side aisles 83f ft. ; circumference of pillars which support the dome 253 ft. The cupola is 193 ft. in diameter. The height of the dome from the pavement to the base of the lantern is 405 ft., to the top of the cross 448 ft. The dome is encircled and strengthened by six bands of iron. A stairway leads to the roof, broad and easy enough to allow a loaded horse to ascend. The annual cost of keeping the church in repair is 30,000 scudi. At Milan the first cathedral was de- stroyed by Attila; the next one was injured by fire ; and the first stone of the present struc- ture was laid by Giovanni Galeazzo Visconti on March 15, 1387. The ground plan is a Latin cross terminated by an apsis. Its dimensions are : length 486 ft. ; breadth of body 252 ft., between the walls of the transept 288 ft. ; width of nave from centre to centre of the col- umns 63 ft., which is double the width of the side aisles ; height of the crown of the vaulting of nave 153 ft. ; height from the pavement to top of the statue of Madonna 355 ft. The in- terior is divided into a nave and four aisles, by four ranges of clustered pillars. Fifty-two pil- lars, each formed of eight shafts, support the arches of the roof. These pillars are 80 ft. high, viz. : a base 4 ft., shaft 57 ft. 6| in., capital 18 ft. 6| in. ; diameter of shaft 8 ft. There are fine interior doorways in Roman style. The pave- ment is laid in mosaic in red, blue, and white marble. The white marble exterior has niches and pinnacles for 4,500 statues, of which over 8,400 are completed at present. The duomo at Florence is one of the most beautiful speci- mens of the Italian-Gothic style. It was begun in 1298 upon the plan of Arnolfo di Cambio da Calle, and was finished about 1444. Several ar- chitects were employed upon it, among them Giotto, Taddeo Gaddi, and Andrea Orgagna. Its completion was intrusted to Brunelleschi, who designed the cupola. The cathedral is in length 500 ft., the transept 806 ft. ; the nave is 153 ft. high, the side aisles 96 ft. 6 in. .The cupola is octagonal in form, 138 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and in height from cornice of the drum to the eye of the dome 133 ft. 6 in. Michel Angelo used this dome as a model for that of St. Peter's. The interior of the duomo is rather dark, the windows being small and the glass darkly stained. The pavement is tessellated in red, blue, and white marble. The frescoes in the cupola are from designs by Vasari. The entire edifice covers 84,802 sq. ft. The cathedral at Cologne, begun about the middle of the 13th century, is one of the most imposing Gothic structures in Europe. The original architect is unknown. The choir was not consecrated till 1322, and the north and south aisles of the nave had only been carried up to the capital* of the columns in 1509, and were covered with a wooden roof. Work was suspended till 1830. In 1842 Frederick William IV. laid the first stone of the transept, which with the north and south portals WHS finished before 1863, when the whole interior was thrown open. The length of the cathedral is 511 ft., breadth 231 ft., and the towers will be 511 ft. high. Externally it has a double range of flying buttresses and intervening piers, and a perfect forest of pinnacles. The cathedral of Dantzic was begun in 1343 and finished in 1503. It is of brick, and 358 ft. long. The vaulted roof is 98 ft. high, supported by 26 slender brick pil- lars. Around the interior are 50 chapels found- ed by citizens of the place as family burial places. The great ornament of this building is a painting of the " Last Judgment," attrib- uted to Jan van Eyck. According to tradition, it was painted for the pope, but on its way from Bruges to Rome was captured by pirates. Being retaken by a Dantzic vessel, it was de- posited in the cathedral in 1467. The cathe- dral of Notre Dame in Antwerp is one of the largest and most beautiful Gothic buildings in the Netherlands. It was commenced between 1352 and 1411. The west front and tower are of the 15th century. It is 890 ft. long and 250 ft. wide. In 1566 it was sacked and much injured. It contains the celebrated masterpiece of Rubens, the "Descent from the Cross." The cathedral at Rheims was commenced in 1211 and the choir dedicated in 1241. It was completed in 1430, and is 466 ft. long. The cathedral at Amiens was begun in 1220 ; it is 469 ft. long, and has a central spire 422 ft. high, which dates however only from the 16th century. The cathedral at Strasburg, one of the grandest Gothic churches in Europe, is remarkable for its spire, designed by Erwin of Steinbach. The work was half finished in 1318, when he died, and was continued by his son and afterward by his daughter Sa- bina. It rises 468 ft., and is an open fretwork of stone bound together by iron ties. The tow- er was completed in 1439, but a second tower, which the cathedral was intended to have, is still unfinished, and mars somewhat the effect. During the siege of the city by the Germans in 1870 it was badly injured by shells and other projectiles. The cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris stands upon the spot once occupied by a Roman temple. It is said that a church dedi- cated to St. Stephen was erected on the same site about 365, in the time of Valentinian I., and was enlarged in 522 by Childebert, son of Clovis. Robert, son of Hugh Capet, under- took to rebuild this church, which was called Notre Dame from a chapel which Childebert had dedicated to the Virgin. But this church was never finished and fell into ruins. The first stone of the present edifice was laid about 1163, by Pope Alexander III., Maurice de Sa- liac being bishop of the diocese. The high altar was consecrated in 1182 by Henry, legate