Architecture: projects in Lombardy

In Milan, Bramante turned increasingly to architecture. According to Vasari, he resolved to do so when he first saw Milan's enormous cathedral. He may have hoped to displace his rivals in Milan and establish himself as ducal architect-in-chief, but this was not to be; as an outsider he received only a limited number of commissions from the Duke. He was also unable to circumvent the guild system that so effectively controlled the building trade in Milan, and most of his works were taken on as collaborations with local sculptor-architects, notably Giovanni Antonio Amadeo. Bramante certainly guided some of the most far-reaching projects of the period, however, and his expert opinion was sought in 1487-90 in connection with the crossing of Milan Cathedral (for which he proposed a Gothic design). He no doubt cultivated and maintained contact, both in Milan and on the lengthy trips he made to Florence and Rome in the 1490s, with other leading architects of the period, including Francesco di Giorgio, who inspected the cathedral in 1490, and Giuliano da Sangallo, who came to Milan in 1492.