Who Was Nicolas De Bonaventure?

Nicolas de Bonaventure was one of the chief engineers involved in the construction of the world famous Duomo di Milano cathedral, the second largest of its kind, in Milan, Italy. Bonaventure was a French engineer and architect and is credited with giving the cathedral its distinct French Gothic look. Construction work on the cathedral began in 1386 under the archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo and his cousin Gian Galeazzo Visconti with Simone da Orsenigo as the chief engineer.

Nicolas de Bonaventure became involved in the project in 1389 while another French Jean Mignot was called in for his advice. By the end of the 14th century work on the cathedral had progressed considerably and the cathedral was almost half complete by this period. The actual construction work on the cathedral continued well beyond the lifetimes of the original men associated with the project with the cathedral being functional in the early part of the 15th century; the cathedral was officially consecrated in 1577.