SAN AMROSIO DE MILAN

At the origin of the monastery lies the foundation of the basilica, built between 379 and 386 by order of Bishop Ambrose in order to house the relics of the saints Protasius and Gervase, but which the prelate immediately intended as a place for their burial.

Dedicated, therefore, initially to the martyrs (basilica martyrum), it did not acquire its current title until the end of the Early Middle Ages: meanwhile, the sacred building underwent a series of modifications, the first already in the 5th century by Bishop Lorenzo, which were followed by those promoted by the prelate Angilbert II (824-859) and, above all, the comprehensive renovation of the building according to the Romanesque style commissioned by Archbishop Anselm III between 1088 and 1099.

Already in the year 784, Archbishop Pietro Oldrato had founded the monastery, thanks above all to the donation in the year 777 of territorial assets by Totone da Campione, which the prelate transferred to the monastery in in the year 789 with a diploma in which he also established the precise tasks that corresponded to the monastery. Benedictine community, to which the basilica was subject. This close link favored the rapid growth of the prestige and heritage of the monastery, which was accompanied by the establishment of a rectory, formally attested in 1029, which shared the office with the cenobites within relations that were not always easy, especially between the time of the reform and early 13th century.

At the end of the 15th century, commissioned by the monks, Donato Bramante designed the new rectory and, above all, built the cloisters; In 1497, however, the Cistercians of Chiaravalle Abbey succeeded the Benedictines, but with the beginning of the Tridentine reform it was the canons who constituted the main point of reference for the archbishops, who in turn reinforced control over the basilica. . During the Enlightenment, the decline of the two communities began: the canonical chapter was suppressed in 1798 by the Cisalpine Republic and the following year the monastic community suffered the same fate.

The basilica was reopened to worship and the chapter was reconstituted with the Restoration: Pius IX granted the provosts the use of the miter and the pontifical insignia, measures that Pius made perpetual in 1904 in its interior with baroque novelties from the 17th and 18th centuries. . Seriously affected by the bombing of 1943, new restorations begun in the 1950s restored it to its former splendor, making it today one of the most important monuments in Milan.

The complex of San Amrosio is made up of the basilica, the rectory and the monastery. The latter is located to the right of the church, where the minor bell tower built in the time of Angilbert II stands, and where the two Bramante cloisters are located, built in double Doric and Ionic order and of considerable height: today it is the headquarters of the Catholic University of Milan and the entrances to the monks’ rooms can still be seen inside. To the left of the basilica is the rectory, whose bell tower was built between 1128 and 1144, with the addition of the last two floors in 1891: the structure is developed around a portico, along which are the oratory of the Passion and the small church. of San Sigismundo, with a rectangular plan with a semicircular apse.

The current church has maintained the plan of the original basilica, which opens with a quadriportico with arches (mostly from the 17th century) once reserved for catechumens and which ends in the narthex, from where almost all the light comes from inside the church. the Basilica. The façade, also with arches, has two superimposed loggias, from the top of which the archbishop blessed the faithful. The main entrance portal stands out with a decoration that metaphorically illustrates the clash between good and evil, resolved thanks to the mediation of the Church.

The internal structure has three naves with apses without a transept: numerous chapels open to the sides, the result of interventions from the Baroque period. Along the central nave is located, to the left, the ambo that contains the sarcophagus known as Stilicho and decorated with episodes from the life of Christ and metaphorical calls to faith . Above the last section of the nave rises the lantern built in the 12th century, with an octagonal floor plan and loggias with small columns, while in the background is the presbytery, built at the initiative of Bishop Lorenzo, on which is the altar of Saint Ambrogio created by Vuolvino on behalf of Angilberto, adorned with a golden front with stones set to remember the presence, inside, of the relics of Ambrogio, Protasio and Gervasio, later transferred to the lower crypt. The artifact is topped by the Ottonian ciborium, on four red porphyry columns belonging to the old building, decorated with four high stucco reliefs representing Christ with Peter and Paul, Ambrose with Gervase and Protasius, and Saints Benedict and Scholastica.

Behind the altar is the 15th century wooden choir, crowned by the apse made by Angilberto, which contains a mosaic with the Redeemer enthroned between the martyrs Protasius and Gervase and with the archangels Michael and Gabriel, accompanied by two episodes from the life of San Ambrogio. which illustrate the close relationship between the Milanese and the Frankish Churches: in the tondos that complete it, Saints Marcellina – whose relics are found in one of the chapels of the right nave – and Candida and Saint Satyrus are reproduced.

Also in the central nave, on the left, stands out the singular presence of a column with a bronze snake on top that is believed to have been cast by Moses in the desert: donated in 1007 by the Byzantine emperor Basil II. Object of popular devotion, prayers were directed to him to ward off illnesses.

Finally, the medieval crypt located under the chapel of San Vittore bears the name of Satiro – a chapel from the 5th century and originally independent of the basilica – with a trapezoidal plan, which housed the relics of the saint and then of Satiro. The vault is covered with a mosaic of golden tiles where you can admire a bust of Victor, while on the intense blue walls six saints are represented, including Ambrose, whose portrait is the oldest known representation of him.

Roberto Bellini for URBS REGIA

– Il monastero di S. Ambrogio nel Medioevo. Convegno di studi nel XII centenario: 784-1984, Milano 1988.

– Dal monastero di S. Ambrogio all’Università Cattolica, a cura di Maria Luisa Gatti Perer, Milano 1990.

– La basilica di S. Ambrogio: il tempio ininterrotto, a cura di Maria Luisa Gatti Perer, 2 voll. Milano 1995.

BENVENUTI NELLA BASILICA DI SANT’AMBROGIO

Basílica de San Ambrosio, Patrón de Milán

La Basílica de San Ambrosio