The great man was brought in alongside a plethora of court architects including Bramante and Francesco di Giorgio Martini to produce plans for improvements, mainly centring around a new dome. Da Vinci went to work in sketching his ideas for this new feature but they were sadly never used. Instead the preparatory work of two specific court architects, Amadeo and Dolcebuono, would gain favour and was chosen as the path to take.
To consider that whilst Da Vinci was involved at the end of the 15th century the work on this project still continues today underlines what a mammoth task it was. Essentially, the Milan Cathedral links our own lives with those of the great Renaissance master. Whilst unfinished, it is certainly much more complete now and well worth a visit - this structure ranks as one of the most popular tourist attractions in the whole city of Milan.
Indeed, the majority of the work that continues today is actually more around restoration rather than completing new features. The task of overseeing the upkeep of this stunning structure falls to the Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo. The actual building was begun in 1386, meaning Da Vinci's involvement came around a century later. The decision to style the cathedral in an internationally-recognised gothic style was unusual in the Italian Papal States at that time, but represented the ambition of those behind the project to look further than these domestic boundaries.