Skip to content

duomo

cathedral

noun DWOH-moh Rare

Origin: From Medieval Latin 'domus' (house [of God]).

Also means

dome

Usage Note

Duomo in Italian almost always means the main cathedral of a city, not just any church — il Duomo di Milano is one of the world's most famous Gothic cathedrals. The word literally means 'house [of God]' from Latin. It is always masculine despite ending in -o. Note that duomo refers specifically to the principal cathedral, while chiesa is the general word for 'church'.

Examples

"Il duomo di Firenze è uno dei più belli d'Italia."

Natural Translation

The cathedral of Florence is one of the most beautiful in Italy.

Explore Italian by topic