BASILICA OF SANT’EUSTORGIO

Description

Essentials about the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio in brief

Milan is a city of many churches. One of the oldest and most famous churches in the city, the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio is worth a visit not only for believers and churchgoers. The church dates back to the 4th century and between the 13th and 15th centuries developed into one of the most important places of worship in Milan.

The history of Sant’Eustorgio

The Basilica Sant’Eustorgio goes back to the eponymous Eustorgius I, who was Bishop of Milan from the year 344. According to a 12th century legend, Eustorgius brought to Milan from Constantinople the relics of the Magi given by the Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine II. In Lombardy Eustorgius was venerated as a saint.

At a gathering and burial place of early Christians outside the Roman city, a chapel was built as early as the early 4th century, enhanced by the relics procured by Eustorgius and bearing his name after the bishop’s burial around the year 349. In the early Romanesque period the chapel was almost entirely rebuilt, and from the 11th century at the latest the canonry became a monastery.

After the conquest of Milan by Frederick Barbarossa, the relics of the Epiphany were taken to Cologne in 1164. The canonization of the preacher and martyr Peter of Verona, buried in Sant’Eustorgio, increased their importance. In the 13th and 14th centuries the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio, which was now the seat of the Dominican Order, underwent fundamental alterations. During this period the southern arm of the transept, the large cross vaults, the noble chapels in the right aisle and the bell tower were built. The baroqueization of the church from the 17th and 18th centuries was reversed during restoration works around 1960 and the original Romanesque-Lombard form was restored.

The Cappella Portinari

The most significant interior detail of the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio are the side chapels of the church. Probably the most beautiful is the Cappella Portinari (Portinari Chapel) behind the choir, probably the most important building of the early Renaissance in Milan. It was built between 1462 and 1468 at the instigation of the Florentine nobleman Pigello Portinari, who was sent to Milan to represent the Medici’s money business.

The chapel is composed of two square rooms with a dome, and has strict lines and geometry that the master builder and sculptor Michelozzo di Bartolommeo probably brought from Florence. Also of importance is the high tomb for Peter of Verona by the sculptor Giovanni di Balduccio, placed freely in the space. Eight allegories of the virtues support the actual sarcophagus, which is surrounded by a sequence of eight reliefs on the life of the saint. Last but not least, a visit to the Portinari Chapel should include a look at the beautiful frescoes by Vincenzo Foppa.

The Epiphany Relics

By the way, even after the loss of the Epiphany relics, the Basilica of Sant’Eustorgio remained the center of Milan’s Epiphany devotion. In 1903, the Cardinal Archbishop of Cologne returned a small part of the relics to Sant’Eustorgio, where they are venerated in the Cappella dei Magi. Every year on January 6, Epiphany, a scenic procession leads from the forecourt of Milan Cathedral to Sant’Eustorgio. The tradition dates back to medieval origins and is still one of the favorite events of the Milanese, who line the route in their thousands.