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Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio
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Show an other treasure of art and history in Milan:
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 Mostly represented styles: Romanesque
The Basilica of Sant Eustorgio is one of the most important monuments in Milan and, despite looting and tampering, it retains a vast artistic heritage so that it can be considered a rich museum, as well as a place of worship.
The basilica is characterized today by a substantially thirteenth-fourteenth-century appearance, recovered and highlighted by the restorations of the second half of the last century.
HISTORY
The remains of the Roman era which came to light during the excavations of 1959 have shown that the church was built on top of or in correspondence with a pagan and then paleo-Christian cemetery.
According to tradition it was built by Bishop Eustorgius to guard the sacred relics of the Magi, after the cart that was supposed to carry them to the cathedral was no longer able to advance. According to some scholars, however, it would have been built later, in the sixth century, at the time of bishop Eustrogio II.
In any case, the first documents containing information on the basilica date back to the eighth century, while the first identified remains date back to the eleventh.
What is almost certain is that the story of the Magi is only a tradition and that the basilica has never really housed their remains. No document prior to the destruction of Milan by Frederick Barbarossa in 1162 mentions them and they were never celebrated before 1336, when Azzone Visconti instituted the feast dedicated to them.
Of the first paleo-Christian church, the remains of the apse remain visible at the back of the church, under the current apse, raised and not open to visitors. The latter is instead from the Romanesque period.
It is almost impossible to summarize the changes made inside the church up to the beginning of the thirteenth century, both due to the lack of documents and because they were too many to be reconstructed on the basis of archaeological investigations.
Until 1220 the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio, which at the time stood in an almost isolated countryside, saw the presence of a very small number of canons. However, the church was made important by the fact that it stood along the road that connected Milan with Pavia, which at the time was as important as Milan.
In 1220 the basilica was entrusted to the newborn order of the Dominicans. They built the convent attached to the basilica (1227-1235) and made changes to the basilica itself right from the start. In particular, they built the transept, including in effect only the right arm, and equipped the naves with vaulted roofs of equal height both in the main nave and in the lateral ones, in accordance with the principle of the "hall" church in which the entire space is equally high and only the rows of pillars define the division into naves.
In 1233 the friar Peter from Verona ("Pietro da Verona") was assigned to the Convent of Sant'Eustorgio and in 1234 the convent became the seat of the Inquisition Tribunal.
Pietro da Verona acquired great celebrity and prestige for his oratorical ability in preaching and for his implacable fight against the Cathar and Albigensian heresies. However, his zeal also made him many enemies, so much so that in 1252 he was assassinated in the Barlassina wood near Seveso. The fact that he was buried inside the Convent of Sant'Eustorgio and that he was already made a saint after only a year enormously increased the prestige of the convent and of the basilica.
Towards the end of the thirteenth century the construction of the four side chapels on the right side closest to the transept began. The first was built by the Della Torre family, the second by the Viscontis.
In the years 1297-1209 the bell tower of 73 meters plus the cusp was erected, at the time the highest in the city. It seems that already in 1305 it was equipped with a clock.
Basilica and convent, after an initial period of disagreements in the first three decades of the fourteenth century, had for a long time the protection of the Visconti family (and then also of other important Milanese families, starting with the Sforza). This protection brought prestige and wealth but, in the long run, also spiritual decline, so much so that the Coenvent of Sant'Eustorgio did not adhere to the Observance, i.e. the group of Dominican monasteries which undertook to return to the observance of the ancient rules. Thus, in opposition to the Convent of Sant'Eustorgio, that of Santa Maria delle Grazie was founded, which instead adhered to it and was therefore always in sharp contrast with that of Sant'Eustorgio.
In the first half of the fifteenth century Filippo Maria Visconti gave the convent a cloister built using material from a demolished palace of Barnabò Visconti. The cloister was unfortunately then destroyed in 1526 during the clashes between the Spanish and the French for control of the city.
Probably between 1422 and 1439 the second chapel on the right, known as Torelli or of St. Dominic, was built, perhaps from scratch perhaps by expanding a pre-existing structure.
In the first half of the fifteenth century, also the third chapel on the right was built, originally known as the Crotti Chapel and today dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary.
In the second half of the fifteenth century, the Florentine nobleman Pigello Portinari, administrator of the Banco Mediceo in Milan, promoted the construction of the chapel dedicated to St. Peter Martyr which still bears his name today and which he intended for his own burial.
Between 1483 and 1489 the Brivio Chapel was built, the first on the right.
Starting from 1559 the Dominicans of Sant'Eustorgio definitively ceased to be at the head of the Inquisition.
In 1537 the pseudo-crypt was built (actually at the same height as the nave but definable as a crypt with respect to the floor of the apse in raised position above it).
Following the construction of the ramparts (Spanish walls) between 1549 and 1569, the basilica and the convent came to be found within the city walls.
In 1565 the basilica was equipped with a large sacristy where to collect the treasure resulting from the many donations over the centuries.
In 1575 the Small Chapel of the Angels was opened under the apse, with frescoes and stuccos by Carlo Urbino.
In the second half of the sixteenth century, also the Stampa Chapel was added, at the end of the right arm of the transept.
In 1609 a fire almost completely destroyed the ancient convent, which was however rebuilt almost immediately but which was definitively destroyed during the bombings of the Second World War.
In 1665 the convent of Sant'Eustorgio inherited all of Giovan Battista Marone's assets, including a collection of nearly 100 paintings mainly by seventeenth-century Lombard artists. Unfortunately, an important part of them was lost during the senseless restorations of the nineteenth century.
In 1787 Joseph II reduced the number of Milanese parishes to 30 and the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio was included in this number. In 1796 Napoleon took possession of the convent to use it for military purposes and in 1798 the Directory of the Cisalpine Republic ordered the friars of the Convent of Sant'Eustorgio to join those of Santa Maria delle Grazie or those in Como or in Pavia because the convent was destined to be used for civilian purposes.
So ended the history of the Convent of Sant'Eustorgio, but the ancient parish was resurrected.
The documents relating to three centuries of activity of the Inquisition were unfortunately destroyed.
In the second half of the nineteenth century the basilica underwent radical restoration works, unfortunately too little respectful of historical reality and too eager to recreate the medieval aspect, at the cost of inventing a fantasy one. In this way many of the changes made between the mid-sixteenth century and the end of the eighteenth were canceled and many works brought into the basilica in that period were lost. Between 1863 and 1865 the façade was rebuilt, based on a design by Giovanni Brocca and Enrico Terzaghi.
The works went on until 1874. It must be said that in reality it was not only removed, but also added, as for example in the case of the Brivio Chapel (see below).
New restoration works, this time more rigorous, were started in 1952. They led to the removal of a large part of the "in style" nineteenth-century additions. The sacristy and the chapter house, in connection with the completely restored Portinari Chapel, were transformed into a museum of the basilica. Note that, due to its artistic value, its size and the fact that a special ticket must be paid to visit it, a separate page of this site has been dedicated to the complex of the Portinari Chapel.
The cloisters of what was once the Dominican Convent of Sant'Eustorgio are now the seat of the Diocesan Museum of Milan.
STRUCTURE
The structure of the basilica reflects its history and is characterized by the presence of many asymmetries and irregularities.
Overall, the structure is that of a basilica with a partial transept, given that only its right arm was built. Behind the apse and shifted to the left, the complex of the Portinari Chapel develops, having a cruciform plan and including a central space from which two chapels branch off to the right and left (to the left that of St. Paul, to the right that of Saint Francis) and in the background the proper Portinari Chapel. This whole part of the basilica is described on the page (still to be updated to the new standards) dedicated to the Portinari Chapel.
On the right there are seven chapels, plus one at the end of the transept arm. These seven chapels are divided into two groups. On one hand the four oldest, placed closer to the apse and all of the same simple rectangular structure. On the other, the three towards the entrance, much deeper and with different structures.
The chapels on the left side are instead much shallower and they occupy only a part of the inner left side.
Another peculiarity of the basilica is represented by the fact that the apse, raised, is empty and not even open to visitors and that under it there is a sort of crypt which is not a crypt, given that, as already mentioned, it is on the same level of the naves.
A further irregularity is the fact that the seven pairs of pillars that mark the aisles of the basilica are inhomogeneous in shape and type. Starting from the facade, the first and third pairs have a cruciform structure, the fourth and sixth have a structure similar to the previous ones, but not the equal. The fifth and seventh pair consist of large cylindrical pillars. Finally, the second pair is different from all the others.
The building is entirely in exposed brick. Only a part of it is visible from the road, as the left side is visible only from the adjacent cloister and the apse is partly incorporated by the Portinari Chapel complex, partly hidden by the trees of a small garden behind it.
The facade of the church appears ancient, but it is actually from the 19th century and therefore devoid of authentic historical and artistic value, even if the style refers to Lombard Gothic. At the far left is a marble pulpit built in 1597 to replace the original one from which, according to tradition, St. Peter the Martyr had preached.
The apse is original Romanesque (built between 1000 and 1050). Semi-circular in shape, it was originally equipped with three large single-lancet windows, which were then closed internally. Externally it is marked by two pilasters, of which only one is still visible. Under the roof it is decorated with a series of small arches, similar to other apses built in the same period, in particular that of the Basilica of Saint Ambrose.
The right side is characterized by the presence of the chapels. The four oldest all recall the arm of the transept, as a general structure, with a flat facade, large monoforas in the lower part, biforas and smaller monoforas in the upper part and hanging arches under the junction of the roof. However, each chapel differs from the others in detail. On the facade of the fourth chapel on the right, originally the Visconti Chapel and today the Chapel of St. Thomas, there is a bust of Matteo Visconti and the embossed coat of arms of the family in a niche. They date back to 1316, the year the chapel was founded.
Completely different from them, and even more differentiated from each other, are the three more recent chapels. Note that the first, the Brivio Chapel, is in fact moved forward significantly with respect to the facade.
The bell tower is behind the church, to the left of the apse. It consists of a slender tower with a square section 75 meters high in very dark terracotta with inserts in light stone on the corners and in correspondence with the biforas of the belfry. The surfaces are divided into quadrants decorated with pilasters and hanging arches. On the top, above the conical brick cusp, there is an 8-pointed star in place of the usual cross, symbol of the star that guided the Magi to Bethlehem.
The interior of the basilica is hall-shaped, i.e. the side aisles are approximately as high as the central one. One consequence is that the light only comes from the chapels and the facade. In this way the internal space is rather dark, but also dilated and poorly defined. This effect is further enhanced by the great width of the transept, combined with its asymmetry, and by the fact that in the four oldest chapels the vaulted roof extends beyond the dividing walls to also include the side span, blurring the boundary between chapel and nave, especially since in correspondence with these chapels the dividing wall present above between the pillars that delimit the naves was also eliminated.
The roof of the naves is cross vaulted with cylindrical ribs in exposed brick.
The pillars are equipped with Romanesque capitals of very varied shapes ranging from representations of leaves and branches to those of real and fantastic animals. A capital represents the legendary arrival of the "Ark of the Magi" on a cart pulled by oxen.
In many places there are remains of Romanesque frescoes on the pillars.
The crypt at the back (Fig. 3) is occupied in the center by the remains of the early Christian cemetery church. The vaults of the crypt rest on stone columns, recycled material from one of the cloisters. On the walls there are various frescoes of the sixteenth century. On the wall towards the nave a St. Eustorigius and a St. Magnus, probably painted in 1558 by an anonymous artist when the remains of these two saints were transferred behind the altar. Among them the sacellum that contained their bodies. On the right wall the Legend of the Seven Sleepers, also by anonymous, and on the back wall theories of male and female saints painted by Carlo Urbino in 1578.
At the back of the crypt is the Small Chapel of the Angels (Fig. 4), built by Gaspare Bugati in 1575 to house his burial. The internal decoration, made up of frescoes divided by stucco frames, was created by Carlo Urbino in 1575. The depictions include the Fall of the Rebel Angels, the Annunciation, the < i>Jacob's fight with the Angel, the Jacob's Dream and then hosts of saints and blesseds. The altarpiece is entitled The Three Archangels.
The high altar (Fig. 6), located at the end of the central nave, in the center of the slightly raised presbytery, is very bare and is dominated by the late Gothic Retable of the Passion. It was commissioned by Gian Galeazzo Visconti between 1395 and 1402 and consists of eight reliefs on two floors with stories of the Passion, plus the Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John in the middle which occupies two registers. At the top are five ornamental shells interspersed with six statues. Four other statues, of apostles, are found at the ends of the two registers.
On the back there is a fresco from the school of Bernardino Luini commissioned by Donato da Barlassina in 1537 and depicting St. Thomas Aquinas on the left and the donor Fra Donato da Barlassina on the right, both kneeling and surrounded by angels.
The altarpiece was probably made by several artists, given that the quality level is not homogeneous. The panels of the Crucifixion and the Agony in the Garden are the most valuable and are attributed to Jacopino da Tradate. The arches on either side of the altar are decorated with frescoes from 1865 by Agostino Caironi depicting a Nativity and a Deposition in the tomb.
The transept includes two chapels: the Magi Chapel and the Stampa Chapel.
The Magi Chapel is located along the left wall and corresponds to the union of two initially independent chapels. The entrance wall is decorated above with a large Adoration of the Magi by a Lombard master from the end of the fifteenth century. In the right corner there is a large sarcophagus from the Roman era (Fig. 8) whose lid is decorated with a comet star and with the inscription "SEPULCRUM TRIUM MAGORUM". According to tradition it housed the remains of the Magi until Frederick Barbarossa stole them and brought them to Cologne.
On the left side is the altar, above which is the Retable of the Magi (Fig. 7), a marble triptych with cuspidate tiles. At the top of the central one there is a tondo with the Crucifixion, and above the lateral ones two all round angels. The panels depict evangelical episodes linked to the history of the Magi, with the Adoration of the Child at the centre. Today it is attributed to the area of Bonino da Campione.
The Stampa Chapel opens onto the back wall and was completed in 1558. The walls and vault are completely frescoed. It is currently under restoration and cannot be visited.
Hanging from the ceiling of the sixth span of the central nave is a large crucifix (larger picture) attributed to the Master of the Dotto Chapel, the painter of unknown name of the frescoes that once decorated the Dotto Chapel in the Church of the Eremitani in Padua. The crucifix was probably made between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and represents a happy marriage between Byzantine stylistic elements and the new trends that arose in Western Europe and were aimed at greater realism. Over the centuries it was repeatedly retouched and modified. In particular, the Mary Magdalene under the cross was added in the fourteenth century by lengthening the lower arm of the cross and the feet of Magdalene in particular date back to the nineteenth century. With the restorations of 1975, the work recovered its original appearance as much as possible.
There are seven chapels on the right side. Starting from the facade:
Brivio Chapel: It is dedicated to Saints James and Henry. This is the most markedly Renaissance chapel. Built between 1483 and 1489, it includes a square room with a semicircular apse protected by a wrought iron gate. The roof consists of a circular dome, externally surrounded by an octagonal tiburium with a lantern. Internally the dome is divided into sixteen segments by terracotta beams. All the lines of conjunction between the various surfaces, both inside (all surfaces are white inside) and outside, are underlined by more or less thick and decorated terracotta frames.
The back wall of the apse houses a polyptych by Ambrogio da Fossano known as il Bergognone. Only the seven paintings of it remain today, given that the wooden retable with an architectural structure that originally contained them has been lost. The three larger paintings depict St Henry (the one on the left), a Virgin and Child with angels (the one in the centre) and St James (the one on the right). The four smaller paintings are in monochrome and of decidedly lower quality and were not painted by the Bergognone. They depict the saints John the Baptist, Sebastian, Catherine and Alexander.
Against the left wall is the monument to Giacomo Brivio, consisting of a rectangular urn with five bas-reliefs: Annunciation, Birth of Jesus, Adoration of the Magi, Circumcision, Flight into Egypt. The latter rebuilt in stucco after the tomb was tampered with at the time of San Carlo. The sarcophagus is surmounted by a domed aedicula and the figure of the Almighty between two angels. Finally, at the top, a small statue of a Virgin with Child. The sarcophagus rests on four candelabrum columns at the base of which there were originally eight medallions (six of which remain) with six ancient fables and two emperors' heads.
The chapel underwent many alterations during the nineteenth century restorations: in particular, the heads at the base of the dome and the busts of four Doctors of the Church inside the pendentives were added. Note that one of these has typically nineteenth-century features.
Torelli Chapel (Fig. 10): It was built by the Torelli family between 1422 and 1439 and is dedicated to St. Dominic. However, the decorations of the interior of the chapel are from the Baroque period:
- The apse was frescoed by Giovan Mauro della Rovere in 1636: on the apsidal basin there are represented St. Peter and St. Paul interspersed with angels. On the left wall Dream of the Mother of St. Dominic and on the right Birth of the saint. All enriched by cherubs and decorative motifs.
- The lunettes and side walls were frescoed a short time later by Giovan Battista del Sole with stories of St. Dominic.
- The vault was frescoed in the second half of the seventeenth century by Carlo Cornara with a glory of saints.
Against the left wall is the funeral monument of Pietro Torelli. It includes an urn supported by six twisted columns in turn supported by three lions. On the front side of the urn there is a high relief with the Madonna enthroned with Child and four saints, each in a careened arched niche. Two other niches with saints are present on the side. On the upper side a relief representation of the deceased, protected by a curtain supported by two angels. On the top, a sumptuous aedicule with the blessing Almighty inside. The monument is attributed to Jacopino da Tradate or to his workshop.
The polychrome marble altar is from the eighteenth century.
Crotti Chapel (today Chapel the Virgin of the Rosary): Built, depending on the source, in 1424 or 1444. It underwent two radical renovations, one in the sixteenth century and one in the years 1732-1734, so that its original structure is no longer recognizable.
The chapel includes a hall and an apse both square and with a domed roof. The small dome of the apse is decorated with a Glory of angels painted by Giovan Battista Sassi in 1736, the year in which he also frescoed the mysteries of the Rosary on the lower face of the entrance arch. The dome was instead frescoed by Reinino in 1781. Four Doctors of the Church are represented in the pendentives.
On the left wall is the sarcophagus of Protaso Caimi, from the mid-14th century. The work belongs to the Campione masters and is typically Gothic in style. The front facade includes three scenes in three panels. In the central panel we recognize the Virgin and Child welcoming a kneeling warrior. The monument was originally located in another position and was enriched by statues of saints that have been lost.
Above it is the painting from the second half of the sixteenth century St. Ambrose Defeating the Arians by Ambrogio Figino.
On the right wall there is a painting by an anonymous artist probably from the beginning of the seventeenth century depicting a Madonna with Child in the clouds with St. Thomas standing underneath in the act of writing helped by two angels, as well as by St. Catherine.
Visconti Chapel or of St. Thomas: Built in 1297 at the behest of Matteo Visconti. The vault is entirely occupied by a large fresco depicting the four evangelists, represented seated inside aedicules which are in fact too narrow and characterized by geometries full of inconsistencies. Nonetheless, the figures appear expressive and engaging. The fresco is attributed to an Emilian artist, who probably painted it in the second decade of the fourteenth century.
The upper part of the right wall is occupied by a St. George and the princess, the work of the Master of Lentate (the author of the frescoes of the Oratory of Santo Stefano in Lentate sul Seveso). Immediately below, a Visconti coat of arms from an era prior to the fresco, which partially covers it.
The left wall is instead occupied by a Triumph of St. Thomas (Fig. 9) from the second half of the fourteenth century. In the center is St. Thomas blessing with an open book in his hand, symbol of the doctrine. Above Christ blessing, the evangelists and the prophets, all with the book in hand. They represent knowledge as the fruit of divine inspiration. In the middle, together with St. Thomas, are the Doctors of the Church. In the lower part various characters symbol of learning: the disciples of St. Thomas, but also a group of heretics, on the left. Immediately above the head of St. Thomas two angels hold up two crowns, one of lilies and one of stars. The author of the fresco is not known with certainty.
Against the right wall is the complex sepulchral monument of Stefano and Valentina Visconti from 1359. It consists of a two-story aedicule resting on four twisted columns, the first two of which in turn rest on two lions. The marble case is placed in the aedicule, surmounted by a statuette of the Virgin with Child holding an apple. Each side of the case is occupied by figures in relief by the Campione Masters. In the cusp of the aedicule, richly decorated with floral and abstract Gothic motifs, there is a tondo with Christ blessing.
Originally the monument was not placed against the wall and was enriched by other elements now ended up in other parts of the basilica.
On the back wall there is a precious ciborium in the shape of a small temple in black marble and semi-precious stones made in 1643.
Chapel of San Vincenzo Ferrer: It was originally dedicated to St. James. It was chosen in 1558 by the Spanish nobleman Francesco Juara to bury his son there. The frescos of the vault and the stucco decoration were begun by Carlo Urbino but completed only in 1593 by Andrea Pellegrini, who painted The Transfiguration, prophets and female allegorical figures in accordance with the original project. The altarpiece is a Mannerist Virgin and Child with Saints Francis and Lucy by Giovan Mauro della Rovere known as il Fiamminghino. On the side walls two large canvases by Antonio Lucini from 1732: Apparition of the Savior to San Vincenzo and The woman whom he resurrects who declares him the angel of the Apocalypse.
Visconti or San Giovanni Chapel: It was the chapel of a branch of the Visconti family different from that of the patrons of the fourth chapel. On the right is the sepulchral monument to Gaspare Visconti who died in 1427. The monument probably dates back to the same period and as seen today is presumably the result of an arbitrary recomposition. It was probably made by someone who was inspired by the works of the Campione masters in the Cathedral and is rather naive in its execution, with evident disproportion between the figures visible in the panels. The central panel depicts an Adoration of the Magi with the client.
On the left wall, the sepulchral monument attributed by tradition to the lords of Fontaneto and Angera, it too rearranged in an arbitrary and heterogeneous way. The relief of the coronation of Mary on the facade of the sarcophagus and the dead Christ above it are from the 14th century. The tombstone of Agnese Besozzi, wife of Gaspare Visconti, was was joined to it between its columns.
The altarpiece, with St. Thomas before the Crucifix, is by an artist from the circle of Camillo Procaccini.
Torriani Chapel or of St. Martin: It was built by Cassone I della Torre in 1277 and dedicated to St. Martin. It then passed to the Visconti family and in 1440 to Giorgio Aicardi. Also in this chapel the vault is completely occupied by a fresco depicting the evangelists, this time, however, in international gothic style. It was painted during the patronage of the Visconti, as the coats of arms on the sails attest. In the one dedicated to San Marco we recognize Bianca Maria, daughter of Filippo Maria, depicted as a young lady with a voluminous hairstyle according to the fashion of the time. St. Martin, saint dedicatee of the chapel, is depicted in the act of donating half of his mantle in the sail in which San Matteo is depicted. The frescoes, unfortunately very ruined, are attributed to Michelino da Besozzo who would have painted them between 1388 and 1450.
On the left wall hangs the large canvas by the Baroque painter Giovan Cristoforo Storer The Massacre of the Innocents.
The left side is much poorer. All the proper chapels present are closed by wrought iron gates.
Starting from the facade:
Baptistery: The back wall is decorated with a neoclassical trompe l'oeil retable with a painting depicting St. John the Baptist in the centre.
Chapel with the Ecce Homo altar: The name of the altar, built in 1737 to a design by Carlo Giuseppe Merlo using polychrome marble in rather dark shades, is due to the fact that it houses, in a niche in the center of the retable, a large statue from the mid-seventeenth century depicting Christ scourged and with the crown of thorns.
Under the altar there is a part of the remains of Sant'Eugene.
Chapel containing an altar dedicated to Santa Rita from Cascia.
Chapel with polychrome marble altar dedicated to St. Joseph. It was designed by Carlo Nava in 1742 in a style that could be defined as half baroque and half neoclassical. The altarpiece depicts the transit of the saint.
First empty chapel: Various noteworthy objects are kept here. Against the left wall there is an ancient confessional. On the back wall, starting from the left, there are:
- Tombstone of Regola Galeazzi Visconti, who died in 1440. It is very worn, because it was originally on the floor in a passage position.
- Tomb of Bishop Federico Maggi from the first half of the fourteenth century.
- Above it a ripped sinopia from the Giotto era depicting a Virgin with Child curiously resembling the Polynesian women painted by Gauguin.
- Chiseled figure of an unknown monk.
On the right wall is the sixteenth-century monument by an unknown author to Giovanni Pietro Varese of the Counts of Rosate. The deceased is represented in a very realistic bust flanked by two geniuses in the act of extinguishing the overturned torches they are holding. Above there is also the relief of a Pietà.
The lion that forms the basis of the offering box was originally part of the sepulchral monument of Stefano and Valentina Visconti.
Second empty chapel: Contains a confessional, various tombstones and three panels with ripped frescoes from the Chapel of St. Dominic.
Third empty chapel: In it are preserved an ancient confessional and two kneelers, some tombstones and, in the form of a ripped fresco, all that remains of the frescoes that originally decorated the apse and which were senselessly removed during 19th century restorations. It is an Assumption of the Virgin unfortunately mutilated of her head. The fresco is from the late fourteenth century and the Madonna is depicted against a background of turreted castles and angels in glory.
Space opposite right arm of the transept: Ancient confessional and fragment of an ancient Gothic fresco. On the wall next to the apse there are three life-size wooden statues of the Virgin, of Christ on the Cross and of John the Evagenlist. Built in 1540, they were originally part of a Calvary added to the high altar in the sixteenth century. Two other saints who were part of it are in the sacristy while Mary Magdalene has been lost.
For the interested ones, we also propose the la guided tour of Sant Eustorgio.
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Categories: Churches / Religious buildings
Piazza Sant Eustorgio, 20122 Milano |
Further pictures of the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio in the section Photography |