Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio - Milan, Italy - Medieval Churches on Waymarking.com

In the centuries after its construction, the edifice underwent several restorations and partial reconstructions, assuming the current appearance in the 12th Century, when it was rebuilt in the Romanesque style.

he church is mostly built in brickwork of different origins and colors, with parts of stone and white plastering. The current Romanesque church was begun around 1080. The nave dates to about 1128 and the rib vaults of the nave are from about 1140.

The original edifice, like the great churches of Rome of the same epoch, belonged to the basilica type; it consisted of a central nave lighted from the clerestory, two side aisles, an apse, and an atrium. Investigations made in 1864 have established the fact that the nave and the aisles of the existing basilica correspond with those of the primitive church; the atrium, however, which dates from the 9th century, and two smaller apses, flanking a new central apse of greater depth than the original, were erected. The altar occupies about the same place as in the time of St. Ambrose, and the columns of the ciborium over the altar appear never to have been disturbed; they still rest on the original pavement

The façade has the typical Lombard Romanesque triangular pediment, and it consists of two orders, the lower of which in continuous with the portico. The Basilica has two belltowers: the oldest is the one on the right, known as the “Torre dei Monaci” (Monks’ tower) or the “old tower”, dating back to the 9th century; the tower on the left is called the Torre dei Canonici (priests’ tower), and this is in Lombard style, dating to 1128.

Visitors are inevitably drawn to the focal point of the Basilica, the Ciborium, a decorative canopy with Byzantine Lombard stucco work, supported by four Ancient Roman columns. The canopy highlights the “Golden Altar” underneath, a masterpiece of Carolingian goldwork.

This remarkable altar was made by Volvinio, and it was donated to the church in 830 by archbishop Angilberto II. The altar is shaped in the form of a sarcophagus. On the front, it depicts episodes from the life of Christ, and on the sides, the life of Saint Ambrose. It was in fact a cladding for a porphyry sarcophagus containing the bodies of Saints Ambrose, Gervasio and Protasio.

Building Materials: Brick

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/15/2021 Simãopwr visited it