Overview
At the heart of Milanese Baroque
An outstanding example of Lombard Baroque, the Church of Sant’Angelo in Milan is part of the Santa Maria degli Angeli complex. Since the foundation stone was placed on 21 February 1552 by Archbishop Giovanni Arcimboldi, it has been the seat of the Franciscans of the Order of Friars Minor Observant of St Francis in Milan.
The impressive façade is divided into Doric and Ionic orders, under a high cornice supported by four columns with Tuscan capitals. Between the columns are three portals, with a larger central one. In a niche in the tympanum above the central window sits a statue of the Immaculate Conception. A triangular gable with a wrought-iron cross puts the finishing touch to the façade. The decoration is completed by statues by Gerolamo Prestinari, a sculptor who worked at Sacro Monte in Varese.
The interior of the church is in the shape of a Latin cross, with a single wide barrel-vaulted nave, off which open two rows of side chapels. These are also barrel vaulted and finely decorated by Gaudenzio Ferrari, Antonio Campi, Camillo Procaccini and Bernardino Luini, among others.
The churchyard is adorned by the Fountain of Saint Francis, featuring a bronze representation of St Francis of Assisi talking to the birds, produced by Giannino Castiglioni in 1927. To the right of the church is the convent built by Giovanni Muzio.
