HISTORIC LANDMARKS & MONUMENTS
PINACOTECA AMBROSIANA
THE BASILICA AND COLUMNS OF SAN LORENZO One of the city’s oldest churches, the Basilica di San Lorenzo was founded in the fourth century, built using masonry from a number of Roman buildings. Standing near the church are sixteen Corinthian columns, ancient Roman ruins that are thought to have once been part of a Roman bathing complex. The church houses a large organ that is still used during ceremonies. @colonnedisanlorenzomilano Corso di Porta Ticinese, 35 +39 02 8940 4129 sanlorenzomaggiore.com
Piazza Pio XI, 2 +39 02 8069 21 ambrosiana.it
@pinacotecaambrosiana
Established in 1618 by Cardinal Federico Borromeo when he donated his prestigious collection of statues, paintings and drawings to the Ambrosian Library, the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana proudly boasts one of the world’s greatest collections of art. Its twenty-four rooms display masterpieces from the Renaissance to the 20th century, with works by Da Vinci, Caravaggio, Botticelli, Tiepolo and Hayez, among others.
CHIARAVALLE ABBEY Via Sant’Arialdo, 102 +39 02 5740 3404 monasterochiaravalle.it Tucked away in the southern outskirts of Milan, the Chiaravalle Abbey was commissioned by San Bernardo di Chiaravalle, a member of the Order of Cistercians. Founded in 1135, the abbey is one of the earliest examples of Gothic architecture, with beautifully frescoed cloisters and a striking terracotta and marble tower, known as the Ciribiciaccola . The grounds also house the 15th century Cappella di San Bernardo , a chapel reserved only for women. A small hamlet developed around the abbey, and has been inhabited ever since.
ARCO DELLA PACE AND PARCO SEMPIONE
BASILICA DI SANT’EUSTORGIO Piazza Sant’Eustorgio, 1 +39 02 5810 1583 santeustorgio.it It is thought that the city’s first Christians were baptised at the ancient font of this basilica, which was built in the fourth century to house the bones of the Three Kings. The church was later destroyed by Frederick Barbarossa, who stole the relics and took them to Cologne’s cathedral. Some of the bones were returned in the early 20th century, and are kept in a reliquary above the altar.
Piazza Sempione
Inaugurated in 1837, Milan’s Arco della Pace (triumphal arch) is located at the beginning of Corso Sempione. Built in white marble and bronze, it is today one of the city’s most important neoclassical monuments. In June 1859, Napoleon III and Vittorio Emanuele II made a triumphant entrance through the arch to a jubilant Milanese crowd. The arch is located by Parco Sempione, one of the city’s most attractive green spaces.
CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA DEL CARMINE
TORRE VELASCA Piazza Velasca, 3/5 @torrevelasca
ROTONDA DELLA BESANA
Via Enrico Besana, 12
@rotondadellabesana
Piazza del Carmine, 2 +39 02 8646 3365 chiesadelcarmine.it
An iconic Milanese landmark, the 26-storey Torre Velasca was Milan’s first skyscraper. Housing both public spaces and private apartments, the mushroom- shaped building was built in the 1950s by the BBPR architectural partnership. A tribute to Milan’s brutalist architecture, the building was designed to be a modern reinterpretation of the Sforza Castle’s Filarete Tower.
A former cemetery, the Rotonda della Besana is a late Baroque building complex with a colonnaded portico and a garden housing the small deconsecrated Church of San Michele , which is today home to the Milan Children’s Museum (MUBA). One of the city’s most unusual sites, the Rotonda della Besana is a haven of peace, offering a quiet spot to enjoy a peaceful stroll.
Characterised by a striking terracotta facade, the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine is a historic landmark in the heart of Brera. A wonderful example of Lombardy’s Neo-Gothic architecture, it was built on the ruins of the 13th century Chiesa Carmelitana and eventually completed in 1880 by architect Carlo Maciachini.
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