Duomo rooftop terraces

The Duomo is the only great Gothic cathedral where you can walk on the roof, and it changes what the building is for a photographer: instead of shooting the facade from below, you are inside a forest of pink-white marble spires and statues, with the city and — on a clear day — the snow line of the Alps behind them. The spires give depth in every direction; a subject standing between them reads instantly as Milan and nowhere else.

The terraces are ticketed and timed, with stairs and lift options at different prices. Book the first slot of the day: the marble is warm-toned in the low light, the terraces are nearly empty, and the haze that hides the Alps builds as the day warms up. Late afternoon is the busiest and the light is flatter on the east-facing sections.

Down in the piazza afterwards, the classic wide shot of the facade works from the far end, near the Galleria entrance — and the marble is blinding at midday, so faces do better in the arcade shade along the square's edge.