Overview
Following a miraculous event that occurred in ancient times, the exact account of which has been lost due to a lack of documents, the Marian shrine known as the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of Miracles was built in Saronno. The inscription, engraved on the door connecting the church and the cloister, recalls the laying of the foundation stone: the date is uncertain, but it is most commonly believed to have taken place in May 1498. According to a tradition that has not yet been questioned, that door would have been the original entrance to the sanctuary. At the beginning of the 16th century, the sacred building was embellished with Bramantean and Mannerist stylistic elements thanks to a central-plan design by Amadeo, made by local craftsmen. Between 1511 and 1516, the architect Paolo della Porta erected the bell tower. Bernardino Luini was instead called upon in 1525 to fresco the main chapel and the anti-presbytery, while Gaudenzio Ferrari was responsible for decorating the pendentives and the dome in 1534, inspired by those of S. Maria presso S. Celso in Milan. Between 1556 and 1566, Vincenzo Seregni extended the original layout in a longitudinal direction. Finally, Lelio Buzzi, supervised by Pellegrino Tibaldi, erected the façade in 1596, in which sculptures and statues were inserted, including those of Bussola and Bono from 1658 for the crowning with the Madonna and four angels. In 1822, a marble deposition by Pompeo Marchesi was placed on an altar by Canova in the square in front of the church.
