Basilica · Italy · Restored

Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio

Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio

The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio is an ancient Romanesque Roman Catholic church in central Milan, originally founded by St Ambrose in the late 4th century and largely rebuilt in the 11th–12th centuries. The complex includes a three-naved basilica with apses, a forecourt quadriportico, two unequal bell towers, monastic buildings and several early-Christian chapels and crypts.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

First raised

AD 300

Its prime

1144

Today

Restored

As it stood in 1144

What Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio looked like in its prime.

A broad, low gabled brick façade with two orders of arcaded loggias sits behind a rectangular quadriportico paved in stone. Two unequal brick campanili flank the roofline: a tall western tower with paired arched bell openings and a shorter, stouter eastern tower with small slits. The portico and surrounding cloisters form an open courtyard lined by round arches on stone columns with carved capitals; roofs are shallow, clad in terracotta tiles; masonry shows varied reds and pale stone details.

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11 places to explore in 1144.

The record describes 11 distinct spots at Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, including 5 interiors: central nave looking to presbytery, presbytery beneath the ciborium and high altar, ambon (pulpit) and stilicho sarcophagus base and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more photos, more angles and more of the immersive experience.

Quadriportico, central approach (exterior)Portico, left aisle undercroftPortico, right aisle undercroftNarthex and central portalCentral nave looking to presbyteryPresbytery beneath the ciborium and high altarAmbon (pulpit) and Stilicho sarcophagus baseOratory of San Vittore in Ciel d'Oro (interior)Crypt beneath the high altarTorre dei Monaci, base and lower shaft (right tower)Left (canons') tower, upper belfry

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