Duomo di Milano
A story that brings people together.
Identity and communication to bring a cultural heritage face to face with an international audience.
- Rebranding
- Website
- Institutional communication
- Content strategy
- International communication
A building site
open since 1387.
The Duomo di Milano is never finished. It is looked after by the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, the body founded in 1387 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti that has overseen its construction and restoration ever since. The marble wears away, the works stay open, and keeping them open takes funds that also come from across the ocean.
That is why International Patrons of the Duomo di Milano was founded in New York in 2014: a US non-profit foundation, recognised as a 501(c)(3), that raises international donations for the conservation of the cathedral.
Two cultures
in dialogue.
The foundation lives between two worlds. On one side, six centuries of Milanese history; on the other, the American culture of giving, where donors want to know where their gift goes and feel part of a project.
We were asked to redesign the foundation’s identity and carry it all the way to the website. The tone had to be solemn without becoming distant: an institution that presents itself with restraint and, at the same time, invites you in.
An identity
between New York and Milan.
We rebuilt the foundation’s image from scratch. The logo lines up the New York skyline and the outline of the Duomo, the story of the two cities in a single mark. A tall, thin typeface, a deep blue and plenty of white space give the pages the pace of a cultural institution.
In the communication, the donor stops being a benefactor who signs a cheque and becomes someone who takes part in protecting a monument.
From heritage
to giving.
The site, in Italian and English, takes visitors from discovering the cathedral and the Fabbrica all the way to donating, which is always one click away in the menu. The pages describe the active works and what each contribution supports, with photos of the ongoing works next to those of the spires.
A steady content strategy kept the conversation going around the projects. One above all, «Salviamo la Santa», devoted to restoring the statue of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, which received a $100,000 contribution from NIAF, the National Italian American Foundation. The foundation’s supporters also include the KHR McNeely Foundation.
