Duomo is a generic Italian term for a cathedral church. The formal word is "cattedrale", meaning a church that is currently a cathedral; but a Duomo may be either a present or a former cathedral, the latter always in a town that no longer has a bishops nor therefore a cathedral, as for example Trevi. Such churches are usually referred to simply as "Il Duomo" or "The Duomo", without regard to the full proper name of the church.

The Duomo of Florence, Santa Maria del Fiore

The term "Duomo" is apparently derived from the conflation of the two Latin words Dominus (Lord) and Domus (house) through medieval Italian: a cathedral is "the house of God" — domus Dei, or domus Ecclesiae.

Italian cathedrals are often highly decorated and contain notable artworks; in many cases the buildings themselves are true artworks. Perhaps the best known Duomo is Milan's Duomo di Milano, but cathedrals in other cities have been mentioned in Wikipedia for Alba, Ancona, Mantua, and Florence's Santa Maria del Fiore. Other notable examples are in Cremona, L'Aquila, Modena, Monreale, Naples, Orvieto, Padova, Pisa (the Leaning Tower is its campanile, bell-tower), Prato, San Gimignano, Siena, Spoleto, and Turin.

External links

• Web cam on Duomo of Siena (refresh rate: 60 sec.) (http://www.sienaol.it/webcamdu.htm)