The basilica of San Nazaro in Brolo or San Nazaro Maggiore is a church in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
, northern
Italy.
History
The church was built by St.
Ambrose
Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promot ...
starting from 382 on the road that connected Milan (then ''Mediolanum'') to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
...
. It was originally dedicated to the Apostles, and thus known as ''Basilica Apostolorum''.
Overview
As explained by an inscription in the church written by Ambrose himself, the church's plan was on the Greek Cross with apses on the arms, a feature present only in the
Church of the Holy Apostles
The Church of the Holy Apostles ( el, , ''Agioi Apostoloi''; tr, Havariyyun Kilisesi), also known as the ''Imperial Polyándreion'' (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman E ...
in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
. In front of the basilica was a porticoed atrium. Under the basilica's altar were housed the relics of the Apostles, which are still present. In 397, when the body of
St. Nazarus was discovered, a new apse was created.
Serena, niece of emperor
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
, donated the marbles for the ''
sacellum
In ancient Roman religion, a ''sacellum'' is a small shrine. The word is a diminutive from ''sacrum'' (neuter of ''sacer'', "belonging to a god"). The numerous ''sacella'' of ancient Rome included both shrines maintained on private properties by fa ...
'' housing the relics and also embellished the rest of the church.
The apse of the right arm has a portal with a false porch. The ceiling of the nave, originally consisting of wooden spans, was replaced by a groin vault during the Middle Ages. The walls are original. Also in this age the Romanesque-style octagonal
tambour
In classical architecture, a tambour ( Fr.: "drum") is the inverted bell of the Corinthian capital around which are carved acanthus leaves for decoration.
The term also applies to the wall of a circular structure, whether on the ground or raise ...
, featuring a circular loggia with small columns, was added over the arms' crossing.
Starting from 1512,
Bramantino
Bartolomeo Suardi, best known as Bramantino ( – ), was an Italian painter and architect, mainly active in his native Milan.
Biography
He was born in Milan, the son of Alberto Suardi, but his biography remains unclear, and was long complicated ...
built the Trivulzio Mausoleum, which obstructs the Palaeo-Christian façade.
Gallery
Image:0485 - Milano - San Nazaro - Cappella Trivulzio - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 5-May-2007.jpg, Trivulzio Chapel.
Image:0376 - Milano - San Nazaro - Transetto sin, affreschi sec. XV - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 5-May-2007.jpg, 15th-century frescoes.
Image:0438 - Milano - San Nazaro - Epigrafe per S. Nazaro - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 5-May-2007.jpg, Remains of St. Ambrose's inscription.
See also
*
History of medieval Arabic and Western European domes
The early domes of the Middle Ages, particularly in those areas recently under Byzantine control, were an extension of earlier Roman architecture. The domed church architecture of Italy from the sixth to the eighth centuries followed that of th ...
*
History of early modern period domes
Domes built in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries relied primarily on empirical techniques and oral traditions rather than the architectural treatises of the time, but the study of dome structures changed radically due to developments in mathemati ...
*
Early Christian churches in Milan
Further reading
*
Weitzmann, Kurt, ed.,
Age of spirituality: late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century', no. 585, 1979,
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the List of largest art museums, largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. ...
, New York,
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brolo, San Nazaro
San Nazaro
4th-century churches
San Nazaro
San Nazaro