Sant'Alessandro in Zebedia is a church in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
.
History
The original church was built by the Barnabite order in the 9th century, on the ruins of the Pretorium which tradition holds was the prison that held the martyred Sant'Alessandro.
Its construction for the
Barnabite
, image = Barnabites.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = One version of the Barnabite logo. "P.A." refers to Paul the Apostle and the three hills symbolize the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
, a ...
order began in 1601 to a design by
Lorenzo Binago
Lorenzo Binago (1554–1629) was an Italian late Mannerist/early Baroque architect in Milan. He was by vocation, also a Barnabite monk.
One of his pupils was the future architect Francesco Maria Richini. His major work is the influential church ...
,
Francesco Maria Richini
Francesco Maria Richini (also spelled Ricchini) (9 February 1584 – 24 April 1658) was an Italian Baroque architect.
Biography
He was born in Milan and trained under Lorenzo Binago. He was patronized by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, Archbishop o ...
also contributing to the project. It comprises a principal building on the
Greek cross
The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a '' crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' ( ...
plan with a central dome, and a separate
presbytery which also has a dome. The
façade
A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means 'frontage' or ' face'.
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...
, with decorations in
bas-relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
, has two
campanile
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church (building), church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many ...
s.
The interior includes works by important
Lombard Baroque
The term Lombard refers to people or things related to Lombardy, a region in northern Italy.
History and culture
* Lombards, a Germanic tribe
* Lombards of Sicily, a linguistic minority living in Sicily, southern Italy
* Lombard League, a medi ...
artists including
Camillo Procaccini
300px, ''Nativity'' by Camillo Procaccini
Camillo Procaccini (3 March 1561 at Parma – 21 August 1629) was an Italian painter. He has been posthumously referred to as the ''Vasari of Lombardy'', for his prolific Mannerist fresco decoration.
Bor ...
(an
Assumption
Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven.
Assumption may also refer to:
Places
* Assumption, Alberta, Canada
* Assumption, Illinois, United States
** Assumption To ...
, a
Nativity and a
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Cartha ...
) and
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 B ...
(a
Flagellation
Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on ...
). There is also an altarpiece in the first chapel on the right by Ossana.
Portal del Turismo della Città di Milano
Entry on the church.
See also
* 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 ...
Notes
17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1601
Alessandro in Zebedia
Baroque architecture in Milan
1601 establishments in Italy
{{Italy-church-stub