Monza, the city of Queen Theodolinda

Queen Theodolinda, of German origin, was very important for the city of Monza.
Theodolinda was given his wife to the Lombard king Autari for political reasons as usual then.
The Queen was very beautiful as evidenced by the paintings in the Chapel and won the trust of the people. It was very much loved by the people of Monza that gifts chose as a summer residence. The pagan king converted to Christianity thanks to the influence of his believing wife and his son was baptized in Monza.
Also in Monza he had a church built, the current Cathedral. The place was chosen in a particular way: the Queen had promised to dedicate a church for St. John the Baptist but she did not know where. One day, riding with his escort along the Lambro River, he stopped to rest. She fell asleep and in the dream she saw a pigeon standing near her talking to her, saying, 'Way', here. She answered 'Etiam', yes, and so was defined the place to build the church. The two words together formed the first name of the city, namely Modoetia.
The Duomo is beautiful, but there is nothing left of the original construction. During the 13th and 14th centuries it was completely redone. The marble façade with white and green bands is very beautiful and richly decorated. The bell tower was built in the 16th century.
Inside is the Chapel of Theodolinda full of colorful frescoes that in 45 scenes tell the story and life of the famous queen.
In the altar of the chapel there is a display case containing the Iron Crown, a crown with a very special story that was brought by the queen but also by Napoleon.
Protected in its case, the ancient, precious crown sparkles in the light of lighting. It's really pretty and studded with precious stones. It was used for the coronation of the kings of Italy until the 19th century. It is said that the crown contains one of the nails of the crucifix of Christ. Therefore, the crown is also revered as a relic.