Duomo di Monza (Monza Cathedral), Monza

In the end of the 6th century, queen Theodelinda, wife of Lombard king Autari and later of king Agilulfo, founded this church as a chapel for their nearby palace in the outskirts of the small village of Monza and close to river Lambro. Theodelinda was instrumental in the conversion of the Lombards to catholicism, so the church was founded relying on Pope Gregory the Great's support. Almost nothing survives from this initial phase of the Duomo, besides part of the precious liturgical treasure which can now be seen at the cathedral's museum.

The building was massively renovated at the end of the 13th and beginning of the 14th century under the patronage of the Visconti family. Legend says that Theodelinda and Saint Elizabeth miraculously appeared to father Francesco da Guissano showing him the location of some ancient relics. The new construction works begun in 1300, and the body of Theodelinda was moved in 1308 to its new location.

Around 1350 a new building phase started following the designs of Matteo da Campione, when the façade, baptistery and pulpit were erected. The Visconti wanted to turn the basilica into a great church where imperial coronations would take place because, according to the old German custom, the emperor had to receive three crowns made of different materials and in different places: silver in Aachen, gold in Rome and iron in Monza.

The apse was profoundly changed in the 16th century due to the needs of the Trento Counter-Reform, and a new tower was also built. The central nave's vault was renovated in the 17th century, and a new chapel for the treasury created. Lots of new Baroque paintings and altarpieces were also incorporated. The façade was later transformed in the 18th century.

The current cathedral is, thus, the result of a series of building phases throughout the centuries.