San Fedele is a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

church in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, northern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is dedicated to St. Fidelis of Como, patron of the Catholic

diocese of Como The Diocese of Como () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in northern Italy. It was established in the Fourth Century. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Arch ...

. Presently it remains a parish church, owned by the Jesuit order, though focusing on religious works.

History

Located in Saint Fedele Square in the centre of the city, near the

Palazzo Marino Palazzo Marino is a 16th-century palace located in Piazza della Scala, in the centre of Milan, Italy. It has been Milan's city hall since 9 September 1861. It borders on Piazza San Fedele, Piazza della Scala, Via Case Rotte and Via Tommaso Marin ...

, the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was a church). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa r ...

and the

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II (; ) is Italy's oldest active shopping arcade and a major landmark of Milan. Housed within a four-story double arcade in the centre of town, the ''Galleria'' is named after Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of ...

, the church was commissioned by

Charles Borromeo Charles Borromeo (; ; 2 October 1538 – 3 November 1584) was an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who served as Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. He was made a Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal in 156 ...

from

Pellegrino Tibaldi San Sebastiano (Milan) Pellegrino Tibaldi (1527, Valsolda - 27 May 1596, Milan), also known as Pellegrino di Tibaldo de Pellegrini, was an Italian mannerist architect, sculptor, and mural painter. Biography Tibaldi was born in Puria di Valsolda ...

(1559). Outside of the church, in

Piazza San Fedele Piazza San Fedele (''Saint Fedele Square'' in English) is sited in Milan near Palazzo Marino (Milan's Municipal office), the Vittorio Emanuele II Gallery and Piazza della Scala in a pedestrian area in the centre of the city. The square is site ...

, is a bronze statue (1883) in memory of the writer

Alessandro Manzoni Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni (, , ; 7 March 1785 – 22 May 1873) was an Italian poet, novelist and philosopher. He is famous for the novel ''The Betrothed (Manzoni novel), The Betrothed'' (orig. ) (1827), generally ranked among ...

, who lived nearby, and who died from a head injury he received after a fall while exiting mass at San Fedele on 6 January 1873. The interior is on a single nave, with tall columns in granite. The presbytery was extended in the 17th century by Francesco Maria Richino, who also designed the sacristy. The façade was completed by Pietro Pestagalli from Tibaldi's designs in 1835. It features a group of

Gaetano Matteo Monti Gaetano Matteo Monti (13 March 1776 in Ravenna – 27 May 1847 in Milan) was an Italian sculptor, working in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style. He studied in Bologna and Rome and then moved to Milan, where he worked on Milan Cathedral (Duom ...

's statues representing the Assumption. The interior is decorated with artworks that include a ''Pietà'' by

Simone Peterzano Simone Peterzano () was an Italian Mannerist painter. Born in Bergamo, he stressed his links to Venice where he probably trained. He is mostly known as the master of Caravaggio. Peterzano called himself a pupil of Titian and would sometimes sign ...

, a ''St. Ignatius'' by

Giovanni Battista Crespi Giovanni Battista Crespi (23 December 1573 – 23 October 1632), called Il Cerano, was an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect. Biography He was born in Romagnano Sesia, the son of a painter, Raffaele Crespi, and moved to Cerano with his f ...

(il Cerano) a ''Transfiguration'' by Bernardino Campi, and a Sacred Heart by

Lucio Fontana Lucio Fontana (; 19 February 1899 – 7 September 1968) was an Italian Argentines, Argentine-Italian painter, sculptor, and theorist. He is known as the founder of Spatialism and exponent of Abstract art, abstract painting as the f ...

. A ''Madonna of the Snake'' by Ambrogio Figino, once found in the church, is now in the church of Sant'Antonio Abate of the city.

Museo San Fedele

The museum and gallery was inaugurated in December 2014. It displays works that are part of the collection of the Jesuit order. The Jesuit priest, Arcangelo Favaro, founder of the Galleria San Fedele, was prompted by the speech given by Pope Paul VI in 1964 urging a dialogue between art and faith. Among the works in the gallery are modern contributions by

Carlo Carrà Carlo Carrà (; February 11, 1881 – April 13, 1966) was an Italian painter and a leading figure of the Futurist movement that flourished in Italy during the beginning of the 20th century. In addition to his many paintings, he wrote a number ...

Mario Sironi Mario Sironi (May 12, 1885 – August 13, 1961) was an Italian Modernism, Modernist artist who was active as a painter, sculptor, illustrator, and designer. His typically somber paintings are characterized by massive, immobile forms. Biography ...

, and

. Fontana's commissioned altarpiece (1956) is now in the church. Other works by David Simpson,

Mimmo Paladino Mimmo Paladino (born in Paduli on 18 December 1948) is an Italian sculptor, painter and printmaker. He is a leading name in the Transvanguardia artistic movement and one of the many European artists to revive Expressionism in the 1980s. Biograp ...

Jannis Kounellis Jannis Kounellis (; 23 March 1936 – 16 February 2017) was a Greek Italian artist based in Rome. A key figure associated with Arte Povera, he studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. Life and work Kounellis was born in Piraeus, Greece i ...

, Sean Shanahan,

Claudio Parmiggiani Claudio is an Italian and Spanish first name. In Portuguese, it is accented Cláudio. In Catalan and Occitan, it is Claudi, while in Romanian it is Claudiu. Origin and history Claudius was the name of an eminent Roman gens, the most importan ...

, and

Nicola De Maria Nicola De Maria (born 6 December 1954 in Foglianise, Italy) is an Italian painter living and working in Torino, Italy. De Maria is known for his abstract figurative works, which have been characterized as lyrical and colourful. Biography De Maria ...

are in the gallery or church.Official website of San Fedele

References

External links

Official website
{{Milan landmarks 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Fedele Jesuit churches in Italy Renaissance architecture in Milan Tourist attractions in Milan

History

Museo San Fedele

See also

References

External links