Santa Maria del Carmine is a 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 ...

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 was built in 1446.

History

In 1268, the

Carmelites The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

obtained a site near the

Castello Sforzesco The Sforza Castle ( ; ) is a medieval fortification located in Milan, northern Italy. It was built in the 15th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on the remnants of a 14th-century fortification. Later renovated and enlarged, in the 1 ...

where, starting from the 14th century, they built a convent with an annexed church. The latter was, however, destroyed in a fire in 1330. The rebuilt church fell into disuse before the end of the century, after the friars moved to another convent. The new church was built from 1400, under the design of friar Bernardo da Venezia. Milanofotografo website, ''Church of Santa Maria del Carmine''
/ref> Works were completed in 1446. The vault crumbled down three years after completion and a restoration was necessary. In the mid-15th century, the church became a favourite destination for aristocratic burials, as testified by the numerous noble tombs in the chapels and niches. In the 17th century, the presbytery was remade in the

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

. The current façade was designed by

Carlo Maciachini Carlo Francesco Maciachini (; sometimes spelled Maciacchini; 2 April 1818 – 10 June 1899) was an Italian architect and restorer. Born near Varese, he studied in Milan, where he also realized some of his most important works, most notably the C ...

and completed in 1880. The church has two parishes, the Spanish-speaking parish of Santa Maria del Carmine and the English-speaking parish of San Carlo in Santa Maria del Carmine.

Description

The interior has a nave and two aisles. They are covered by crossed vault ceilings and separated by large circular pillars. The appearance of face brick is produced by painted plaster. In the naves and transepts are several artworks, including works by

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. Bo ...

Carlo Francesco Nuvolone Carlo Francesco Nuvolone (1608 or 1609 in Milan – 1661 or 1662 in Milan)Carlo Fiamminghino. One of Procaccini’s works depicts ''St Charles Borromeo Praying'' (1585) and there are other works by the painter in the Chapel of Madonna del Carmine, as well as a Madonna statue at the altar. The high altar has a small temple inspired by that in the

Milan Cathedral Milan Cathedral ( ; ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary (), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombardy, Italy. Dedicated to the Nativity of Mary, Nativity of St. Mary (), it is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdi ...

External links

Official website

References

{{coord, 45, 28, 14, N, 9, 11, 10, E, source:kolossus-itwiki, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1446 Churches completed in the 1440s 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1880 Maria Carmine Gothic architecture in Milan