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When in Milan, everyone ensures a visit to the Duomo, the city’s wondrous cathedral.
There are, however, a great many other churches throughout the confines of the city limits, each with their own special notoriety.
Having made many trips to the Duomo, I have made it my mission to mark off each of the others on my map during my visits to Milan. One by one, I researched and chose carefully for the particularities of each. As I set out from my hotel, I made my way toward the the one that I had my eye on and it was actually just around the corner from the Duomo…Santa Maria presso San Satiro.
This Italian Renaissance structure was built from 1476 to 1482 and houses the early medieval shrine to Satyrus, brother of Saint Ambrose. Constructed on the site of a primitive place of worship, dating back to 879, the church was commissioned by the Duke Galeazzo Maria Sforza and designed by Donato Bramante. It was once an important pilgrimage site during the 13th and 14th centuries when word reached the masses that it contained an image of the Madonna that shed real blood when stabbed.
Though there are many interesting features, the one that everyone comes to see is the false apse, one of the early examples of trompe l’oeil. Working with a small plot of land within the city, there was not enough space to build the choir, the space behind the altar. The church’s dimensions had to be abridged, making the space awkwardly short. Bramante’s solution was to formulate an area by creating an optical illusion. As I walked into the space, indeed, there appears to be a real apse behind the altar, but as I made my way throughout the church and to the side of the altar, it was evident that it is only a relief applied to the back of the wall.
I must admit, I was so intrigued, I made three or four trips back and fourth from the entrance of the church to the side of the altar to compare what I was seeing.
After resolving my visions, I spent a great deal of time discovering the other treasures within the multi-naved church, including an image of Virgin with Child and Two Donors, the 15th century baptistry, several terracotta busts in the sacristy, an altarpiece of the Extasis of St. Phillip Neri by Guiseppe Peroni and outside, the Romanesque bell tower that dates back before the 1480s construction. Besides the main attraction, however, is one other major piece of artistic importance, the Cappella della Pietà, the chapel built in the 9th century to honor Saint Satiro, brother of Saint Ambrose. This chapel houses the 15th century terra-cotta Pietà and lovely Byzantine frescoes and Romanesque columns. As is throughout the rest of the church, the lighting is dim, but you can drop in 1 euro into the box so that the space will be illuminated.
The rich decorations throughout the church intrigued me as I wondered throughout investigating every niche. The ceiling of the main nave was golden and lent to the warm glow throughout and the beautiful tri-chrome floor under the magnificent dome was spectacular.
Exiting the church, I turned to re-examine the facade which remained largely unfinished, until the 19th century, due to disagreements between the architect and the executor Giovanni Antonio Amadeo. Tucked away behind the gates, on Via Torino, its quite easy to realize how many people would walk on by, mesmerized by lure of the great Duomo which lies a short distance away.
Don’t walk on by. Don’t go to the Duomo.
Step through the gates and discover this work of artistic and archaeological importance!
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Santa Maria presso San Satiro
- Address: Via Torino 17-18, 20123 Milan Italy
- Hours: 0900-1200 and 1430-1800, daily
- Admission: free
- Getting There: Metro, M1 line to Duomo station.