Milan's incomparable Duomo rises in tiers of white marble pinnacles and statuary against a deep twilight-blue sky — a chromolithograph rendering so richly inked it resembles an oil painting on card stock. The cathedral, begun in 1386 and not completed until the Napoleonic era, bristles with 135 spires and more than 3,400 statues, and even in miniature the postcard conveys its overwhelming verticality. The square in front is nearly deserted, giving full prominence to the façade. On the face, a handwritten German inscription reads "Laßen Grüß von Rudolf" — "Warm greetings from Rudolf." The reverse bears an Italian 10-centeismo stamp depicting King Vittorio Emanuele III, cancelled at Milano, and was delivered to Herr Rich. Kremmler at the Staats-Gymnasium in Stolpen, Königreich Sachsen (Kingdom of Saxony), with a Stolpen arrival cancel dated 6 February 1903. A hotel rubber stamp in red — Hotel du Parc, Milano / E. Rühlemann — suggests Rudolf was a guest there, buying and mailing the card from the hotel concierge desk.