Santa Maria Presso San Satiro

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Dated back to the 9th century,  a sacellum (a small shrine) was standing at Via Torino 17 of Milan.  It was dedicated to Saint Satyrus, an old saint and the brother of Saint Ambrose, patron saint of the city Milan. This little shrine was already an important place. Apart from this fact, a miracle occurred here in 1241: a young man attached with a dagger the fresco of a Madonna and Child, and the wound had started to bleed.


At the end of the 15th century, duke of the city, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, duke of the city at time, commissioned Donato Bramante to build a church. Bramante was one of the best architects of that time. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan an dHigh Renaissance style to Rome. His other works include the cloister and apse at Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan), Palazzo Caprini (Raphael's House) in Rome, Saint Peter's Basilica of Rome, Cortile del Belvedere of the Vatican.


Building a church at Via Torino 17 was a big challenge, almost an non-achievable mission. The place was very tiny. And there stood the small shrine already.  And the surrounding buildings limited the space to build a church. But Bramante managed to have all key elements built for Santa Maria Presso San Satiro.






Bramante gave space and volume to Santa Maria Presso San Satiro.  When you step inside the church, it looks like a normal church.  But it is just out of visual deception. Trompe-l'ceil, or architectural optical illusion was popular in the late Renaissance and Baroque period.  But Bramante took the visual deception to an entirely new level. Standing at the entrance you will have an impression of much deeper space. The illusion is aided by the light conditions inside the building. When you get closer, you will see a very narrow apse, 40 inches only. But it interacts with the other elements nicely.  A small church, has everything a normal one possesses, and beautiful.




The sorrow, forlorn expressions seen on Mary and followers.  Impressive!



The sculpture above is frightening.  To me, it's a man who did not get the love from his beloved woman.  As so, he killed her.  Huge suffering........




Location: Via Torino, 17, 20123 Milano, Italy

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