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A marvellous example of Romanesque art, this basilica is as powerful as it is harmonious and contains precious decorations and a rich treasure.
A testimony to 16 centuries of history and considered one of the most famous examples of Lombard Romanesque art, Sant'Ambrogio is Milan's principal basilica dedicated to the city's patron saint. Built in 379 by St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, to house the bodies of the martyrs Gervais and Protais, it was completed much later. It was destroyed and rebuilt many times, particularly in the 12th century and following the bombings of the Second World War. A magnificent atrium with finely carved capitals precedes the main body of the building; on the façade, an18th-century bronze portal still displays some fine 9th-century leaves.
The interior houses a unique 12th-century ambo (pulpit for reading sacred texts), decorated with two rare gilded copper sculptures, an eagle (symbol of St. John) and an angel (symbol of St. Matthew), making the structure one of a kind. The ambo rests on a first-century AD sarcophagus, the walls of which are entirely decorated with bas-reliefs. The gold and precious stone high altar, sculpted by Vuolvinius (9th century), is a fine example of medieval goldsmithing. Above it rises a canopied ciborium supported by four antique red porphyry columns. The chapel of San Vittore in Ciel d'Oro, a remarkable example of an earlier early Christian building, stands at the far right. It was commissioned in the early5th century to house the remains of the martyr Vittore. It was incorporated into the basilica in the 15th century, and retains a fine mosaic decoration; the portrait of San Vittore appears in the center of the dome, surrounded by a garland of ears of corn and flowers, while the walls feature several effigies of saints and bishops, including Ambrose. The crypt houses the remains of the three saints in a19th-century glass case. There's also a small Treasure Museum, where you can admire a fine collection of liturgical items from the basilica. At the far end of the nave, on the left, an exit leads to Bramante's harmonious portico and the small Romanesque chapel of San Sigismondo. A curious feature of the church square is a strange white marble column pierced with two small holes, known as the "Devil's Column". The story goes that the devil, in despair at his failure to lure St. Ambrose into sin, blew his horn into the column...
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The church is preceded by a large quadriportico, overlooked by the gabled façade, with two levels of arches, and the two bell towers, that of the Monks and that of the Canons. Under the portico is the treasure of Sant'Ambrogio, which includes goldsmith's objects, fabrics, tapestries, marble, stucco, mosaics, wooden fragments and paintings. Pause in front of the so-called " Devil's Column ", which owes its name to the legend according to which the devil, fighting with Saint Ambrose, stuck his horns right into the column, on which two side-by-side holes are still visible today.
Inside the church, along the left nave, in the first chapel there is a valuable fresco by Bergognone, the risen Christ and angels. In the lower apse, however, you can admire the crypt in which the bodies of saints Ambrose, Gervasio and Protasio are preserved.
The basilica is accessible to disabled people and often hosts groups and schools, as long as the visits are conducted by private guides. Inside the architectural complex you will also find a small museum and a bookshop.