Four Remarkable Churches of Milan, Italy
The Four Best Churches to See Besides Milan’s Duomo!
When you go to Milan - and you really should, because it’s a stunning little city - you will visit or at least walk by the world-famous Duomo. With its monumental Gothic white facade and endless detail, the Milan Cathedral is the main draw for tourists visiting the city.
But far too many people do Milan as a day trip, missing out on her world-quality museums and stunning churches. This may be because Milan is the financial and fashion hub of Italy, but that’s not all she is. Wander her easy-to-navigate streets to appreciate her hidden gems, the small churches that are not as in-your-face as the Duomo.
If anything, the massive size of the Duomo will allow you to reflect on how quiet and manageable many of the smaller churches on this itinerary were. It can be frustrating to be overwhelmed by tourists around the Duomo; yet because many of them do not venture far on their day trips, you can avoid them by checking out these smaller, but no less impressive, Milanese churches.
Santa Maria delle Grazie
west of the Castello Sforzesco
This red-brick Gothic/Renaissance church opens with a lovely facade backed by a beautifully designed dome. Santa Maria delle Grazie was built in the 1460s for a member of the Sforza family, who dominated Milanese politics and patronage. The open Gothic interior features geometric decoration, as well as a Titian painting of a scene from the life of Mary.
If you’re at this church, it’s likely you are visiting the renovated refectory (dining hall) of the attached convent - it’s here, almost hidden away, where you’ll find Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, one of the most famous frescos of the world (actually, it's a tempura, but you'll have to come to learn the difference). This wall even survived fire bombing in WWII because it was sandbagged, and has been fastidiously restored to as close to its former glory as possible.
Visiting the church is free, and worth doing before taking your preset tour of the refectory to see The Last Supper. Because human breath damages the paint, there are a limited number of tickets per 15-minute time slot. This means…
CHLOE’S TIP: You cannot just walk up to the museum ticket booth and buy a ticket. Honestly, it’s easier and cheaper to get into Mordor. The tickets to The Last Supper sell out online weeks in advance, sometimes within minutes of being released. You must prepare early.
I highly recommend taking a tour that includes The Last Supper (it is extremely difficult to get tickets without a tour) and some of the other churches on this list - they are often offered together.
Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio
Less than 10 minutes walk southeast from Santa Maria delle Grazie
This is Milan’s oldest church, built by St. Ambrose in 379–386CE, before Christianity was the dominant religion of the region. As Christians were persecuted by the Romans after the death of Christ, this church was built on the site where many Christian martyrs had been buried and venerated.
The Romanesque church, constructed at the end of the 11th century, is clunky and imposing. The church has two heavy bell towers, dating from the 10th and 12th centuries, and they mark this otherwise largely hidden basilica. The red brick exterior feels municipal rather than religious.
The interior is best marked by its appreciated mosaics. Otherwise, you’d get caught up in the number of tombs and memorials scattered around the small interior. The austerity and an air of seriousness that seem very in character for a certain side of Milan: business, order, and a lack of ceremony.
San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore
Less than 10 minutes walk northeast from Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio
If Sant'Ambrogio represents Milan’s business interests, then San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore is the fashion-forward church for the city. My tour guide described it as “more beautiful than the Sistine Chapel,” and while I cannot entirely agree with the assessment, San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore does boast a most excellent interior.
And unlike the Sistine Chapel, you can take all the photographs you want, you don’t have to hurt your neck staring at the ceiling, and you can sit or walk in appreciation for as long as you like. It’s a really lovely environment.
The church itself was technically built in the early 16th century as an attachment to a pre-existing nunnery, but much of the nunnery was built using pre-existing Roman structures, so… the building is old in places. The facade is unassuming and you’d almost miss it along its very busy street.
Inside, though, your breath will be taken away. The first room is the church itself, with a small altar. Every inch of wall space is covered in stunning frescos in vivid color, focusing on a number of topics from the life of Christ, Old Testament stories, Christian history, and Milanese society culture. They were created by a wide range of Italian artists, blending together different styles into one harmonious interior.
You’ll have to spend several minutes walking around, appreciating the frescos and enjoying the marked lack of tourists also sharing the space. It was only renovated a few years ago and isn’t big in the guidebooks yet. Pass through the doorway on the left (facing the altar) to make your way behind to the women’s area, which was screened off from the main church to avoid male-nun contact.
The ladies’ area may feel a bit closed off, but there was no skimping on the decoration - it is truly magnificent. The entrance wall has the small offering window through which the Eucharist was passed during Mass at the altar on the other side. This wall is covered with stunning images of the female martyrs: look for St. Agatha and her breasts on a plate!
This room is really something special, and you’ll want to appreciate the many different frescos along the wall. I adored the Noah’s Ark one, which not only showed the animals going in, but also the flood damage and return. Great unicorn there too. As you can probably tell, this is my favorite Milanese church to sneak into and spend far too much time getting lost in the art.
Santa Maria presso San Satiro
15 minutes walk southeast of San Maurizio
After San Maurizio, you’ll head southwest to our final stop, Santa Maria presso San Satiro - a church of optical illusion.
The church stands on the site of an old church dedicated to St. Satyrus (brother of the St. Ambrose mentioned in the earlier Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio). In the 15th century, the Sforza family commissioned the church, built adjacent to the important road Via Falcone. Because of this, the space behind the altar had to be seriously truncated, creating a very strange perspective.
Milanese Renaissance mastermind Donato Bramante had an answer: he painted the choir with a trompe l'oeil - a false painting that tricks the eye into changing perspective. Created in 1482, this painting is one of the first paintings of its kind to create the illusion of 3D architectural elements.
This Italian Renaissance trick is a very unassuming church from the outside (as is common with Milanese churches), and you should stop when you first enter and appreciate the view. Look straight ahead, and you’ll see the altar and the choir. The view is straight, so you’ll appreciate the dome and columns, along with the space behind the altar.
But walk to either side of the pews, into an apse, and stand close to one of the side altars. Now look over at the main altar, from this sharp angle, and see the illusion laid bare. Now we see the strange painting from the wrong spot, and we see there is no space behind the altar, only a geometric painting to be viewed directly from the front.
The effect is unique and comical - I’ve seen this kind of trick used in other churches before, but never one as old as this. Take a few minutes to sit and appreciate the mental challenge it must have been to create this optical illusion without modern technology.
Honorable Mentions
Santa Maria del Carmine Church - take a moment to appreciate the lovely exterior of this 15th century aristocratic favorite. Sponsored by the Sforza family from the late 13th century onward, this Carmine convent and church features a smart red brick exterior.
San Bablia - this small, ancient 11th century church is conveniently located near a red metro stop, making it easy to visit on the way to or from the Duomo.
Basilica of San Carlo al Corso - with its Neo-Classical features, this 19th century church feels very reminiscent of the Pantheon and San Carlo al Corso in Rome.
And Off to the Big One…
5 minutes walk east to the Milan Cathedral
If you’ve followed this tour all the way through, you’ve made a trek west to east across central Milan… and you’re now just a few minutes away from the famed Duomo of Milan. If you haven’t walked to her square and enjoyed her grandeur, now is the time.
Of course, the Duomo of Milan, like her companions in Siena and Florence, is not just a church: it’s a complex of a church, a museum, a crypt, and a tower to climb. Therefore, you might want to plan your visit ahead of time by utilizing a guided tour of the grand Duomo!