Santa Maria della Passione is a late

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

-style church located 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 h ...

, Italy.

History

It was initially built in 1496 for the

Order of Canons Lateran The Canons Regular of the Lateran (CRL), formally titled the Canons Regular of St. Augustine of the Congregation of the Most Holy Savior at the Lateran, is an international congregation of an order of canons regular, comprising priests and lay brot ...

. The church plan as we see today was based on initial designs of Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, but realized as a centralized greek cross design by

Giovanni Battagio Giovanni Battagio was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect. A follower of Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, from 1483 he worked on Santa Maria presso San Satiro and other buildings in Milan. He designed the Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Croc ...

. The architect Cristoforo Lombardo designed the large dome to replace the prior crumbling structure. By the late 16th century, under the design of Martino Bassi, the nave acquired a longer longitudinal axis, conforming with the structure of post-

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

churches. The facade has a series of panels depicting the Passion of Christ. The late Baroque architect and sculptor Giuseppe Rusnati designed the ornate facade.

Interior

The interior and the canon's rooms contain a cycle of monumental frescoes by Ambrogio Bergognone completed in around 1510–1515. They depict ''Christ and the Apostles'' in the church, and ''Saints'' and ''Popes'' in elsewhere. The basilica has two organs: the one on right by the Antegnati Family, the one on left, by Valvassori. The church contains the following canvases: *''St Charles Borromeo Fasting'' (over the main door) by

Daniele Crespi Daniele Crespi (159819 July 1630) was an Italian painter and draughtsman. He is regarded as one of the most original artists working in Milan in the 1620s. He broke away from the exaggerated manner of Lombard Mannerism in favour of an early Bar ...

. *''Annunciation'' and ''Assumption'' (fourth chapel to left) by

Simone Peterzano Simone Peterzano (c. 1535–1599) was an Italian painter from Bergamo, but stressed his links to Venice where he probably trained. He painted in Mannerism, mannerist style and is mostly known as the master of Caravaggio. Peterzano called himself ...

. *''Last Supper'' by Gaudenzio Ferrari. *''Pieta'' by

Bernardino Ferrari Bernardino Ferrari (1495–1574) was an Italian painter of the 16th century. Born in Milan, he flourished in Vigevano, Italy, from 1514 to 1524 where many of his more well known works were produced, the best of which are located in the Vigevano Cat ...

. *''Crucifixion'' by

Antonio Campi Antonio Campi (c. 1522 – 1587) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. He was born in Cremona. His style merges Lombard with Mannerist styles. In Cremona, his extended family was the foundation of the Cremonese school of painting. Gi ...

. *''Christ in the Garden'' by

Ambrogio Figino Giovanni Ambrogio Figino (1548/1551 – 11 October 1608) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Milan. Biography An important representative of the Lombard school of painting, he had been taught by Gian Paolo Lomazzo. Best known as a drafts ...

. *Frescoes by

Ambrogio da Fossano Ambrogio Borgognone (variously known as ''Ambrogio da Fossano'', ''Ambrogio di Stefano da Fossano'', ''Ambrogio Stefani da Fossano'' or as ''il Bergognone'' or ''Ambrogio Egogni''

in capitular room. *''Christ on the Column'' by Proccacini and ''Madonna of the Caravaggio'' a fresco attributed to Bramantino in chapel on the right. *Paintings depicting events mainly relating to the ''Passion of Christ'' by Daniele Crespi on pillars of the cupola: these include a ''Ecce Homo''; a ''Crucifixion''; a ''Dead Christ supported by an Angel''; an ''Angel displays the Sacra Sindone''; a ''Washing of the Feet''; a ''Raising of the Cross''; and ''Descent from the Cross''.Guida artistica di Milano: dintorni e laghi
by Tito Vespasiano Paravicini (1881), page 176. The adjacent monastery now houses the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory, which houses performance areas and thousands of original musical manuscripts.

Sources

*
Milan Tourism Site
* Roman Catholic churches completed in 1496 Maria 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Tourist attractions in Milan Renaissance architecture in Milan {{Italy-church-stub

History

Interior

See also

Sources