Milan Cathedral, completed in 1858 by Carlo Amati and Giuseppe Zanoia

          
Taking almost 500 years to complete (1386-1858), the Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano) weighs down upon the earth with its intricately chiseled walls and doorways, its Gothic style beautifully exemplified. The grandeur of the space almost swallows the humans within it, the small creatures around the edifice actually being people. The symbolic aspect of weight and attachment to the earth combined with the delicate, airy top stretching to the heavens earns the title of the fourth largest cathedral in the world and the largest in Italian territory to the grand structure. The design of the cathedral shows such attention to detail and such reverence for what the cathedral reaches for that it seems less daunting and more welcoming to the average religious pilgrim.

Dedicated to Saint Mary Nascent (who apparently isn't a real person who ever existed, and the only reference of her ever is that this cathedral is dedicated to her), the cathedral used to be Saint Ambrose's "New Basilica" on site with an adjoining basilica. After a fire damaged the structure, architects repaired and compounded it to its current glory. Especially in the photo, light gravitates to the edifice, exaggerating its ethereal tips, almost like the fingers of angels joining the site to heaven in a far more powerful way than by the attempts of humans.