Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bishop of Milan who called the shots, and the greatest bishop of 4th-century
Milan was St. Ambrose.
Little remains of the first
Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio
5
(Piazza Sant'Ambrogio,
15;
%
02-86450895; www.santambrogio-basilica.it; Mon-Sat 7am-noon and
2:30-7pm, Sun 7am-1pm and 2-8pm; Metro: Sant'Ambrogio),
constructed by the
saint on this site, but the 11th-century structure built in its place (and renovated
many times since) is remarkable. It has a striking atrium, lined with columned
porticos, and a brick facade with two ranks of
loggie
flanked by bell towers. Look
carefully at the door on the left, where you'll see a relief of St. Ambrose. Note
the overall effect of this architectural assemblage because the church of
Sant'Ambrogio set a standard for Lombard Romanesque architecture that you'll
see imitated many times throughout Lombardy. On your wanderings through the
three-aisled nave you'll come upon a gold altar from Charlemagne's days in Milan,
and, in the right aisle, the all-too-scant remains of a Tiepolo fresco cycle, most of
it blown into oblivion by World War II bombs. The little that remains of the orig-
inal church is the Sacello di San Vittore in Ciel d'Oro, a little chapel in which the
cupola glows with 5th-century mosaics of saints (
2; enter from the right aisle).
The skeletal remains of Ambrose himself are on view in the crypt. As you leave
the main church from the left aisle you'll see one of the “later” additions, by the
great architect Bramante—his Portico dell Canonica, lined with elegant columns,
some of which are sculpted to resemble tree trunks.
What makes the beautiful church of
Santa Maria Presso S. Satiro
(entered
down a short alley on the east side of Via Torino, just south of Via Speronari
and Piazza del Duomo;
%
02-874683; Mon-Fri 7:30-11:30am and 3-7pm, Sat
9:30am-noon and 3-7pm, Sun 8:30am-12:30pm and 3-7pm; Metro: Duomo or
Missori)
so exquisite is what it doesn't have—space. Stymied by not being able to
expand the T-shaped apse to classical Renaissance, cross-shaped proportions, the
architect Bramante designed a marvelous relief behind the high altar that creates
the illusion of a fourth arm. The effect of the
trompe l'oeil
columns and arches is
not entirely convincing but is nonetheless magical. Another gem lies to the rear
of the left transept: the Cappella della Pietà, so called for the 15th-century terra-
cotta
Pietà
it now houses, but built in the 9th century to honor St. Satiro, the
brother of St. Ambrose, and covered in lovely Byzantine frescoes and Romanesque
columns.
Set back from the road beyond a free-standing row of 16 ancient Roman
columns (probably from the 2nd c.
A
.
D
.), the
Chiesa di San Lorenzo Maggiore
€
5
(Corso di Porta Ticinese, 39;
%
02-89404129; www.sanlorenzomaggiore.com;
daily 7:30am-12:30pm and 2:30-6:45pm; Metro: Missori)
is further testament to
the days when the city was the capital of the Western Roman empire. The 4th-
century early-Christian structure has been rebuilt and altered many times over the
centuries (its dome, the highest in Milan, is a 16th-c. embellishment), but retains
the flavor of its roots in its octagonal floor plan and a few surviving remnants.
These include 5th-century mosaics—one depicting a beardless Christ—in the
Cappella di Sant'Aquilino, which you enter from the atrium (
€
2). A sarcophagus
in the chapel is said to enshrine the remains of Galla Placidia, sister of Honorius,
last emperor of Rome, and wife of Ataulf, king of the Visigoths. Just where Ms.
Placidia ended up is a point of contention. Her official mausoleum is one of the
