The monumental Cathedral of the Nativity of St. Mary in Milan is one of the largest churches in the world. The temple is a symbol of Milan and is called by the locals as Duomo, i.e. the cathedral. Its construction began in the 14th century, in the place where an early Christian church and a later basilica were previously located. During the archaeological work that was carried out on the square in front of the cathedral and was meant to discover traces of the ancient Mediolanum Forum, archaeologists found the traces of an ancient temple. It turned out that in the pre-Christian times Minerva – the goddess of wisdom, was worshipped in the very place where the Duomo stands.
