“O mia bela Madunina”

Even Palazzo Lombardia, at the top, has its "Madonnina". And yes, because the original, unique, and inimitable Madonnina, which has protected the city of Milan since 1774 from the highest spire of the Duomo at 108.50 metres above ground, has for years represented the limit that cannot be surpassed by any new city construction.

Breaking the age-old taboo was first, in the 1960s, Gio Ponti's Pirellone, which rose 127 metres into the Milanese skies. It was the result of a long negotiation by the Pirelli family with the Catholic Church in Milan, which gave in, but on one condition: to place a copy of the Madonnina on the roof of the skyscraper.

And so, since then, every building taller than 108.5 metres has and will have its Madonnina, and for now there are four of them. Of course, the first is the one on top of the Duomo cathedral, made by sculptor Giuseppe Perego and goldsmith Giuseppe Bini. Then there's the Pirellone's, about 80 cm high, which was kept "secret" until the 1990s so as not to upset the Milanese. And if the third is the one on Palazzo Lombardia, the latest arrival is on the Isozaki Tower, which is also the tallest in the Milan, standing at 210 metres