Lombard Romanesque and the golden altar
The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio is the oldest church in Milan and the model of Lombard Romanesque architecture. It was founded in 379 by St Ambrose, the bishop and patron saint of the city, who is buried here, and rebuilt in its present form between the ninth and twelfth centuries. St Augustine was baptised by Ambrose in Milan.
You enter through a large atrium with arcades, which once offered shelter to pilgrims, in front of a gabled façade with a double loggia flanked by two bell towers of different heights: the "monks' tower" and the "canons' tower", a sign of the rivalry between the two communities that shared the church. Inside, under a ciborium supported by porphyry columns, stands the Golden Altar (Altare d'Oro), a masterpiece of Carolingian goldsmith work from the ninth century, covered with gold and silver plates, enamels and precious stones. In the crypt lie the remains of St Ambrose, together with the martyrs Gervasius and Protasius. The Sacello di San Vittore in Ciel d'Oro has fifth century mosaics with one of the oldest portraits of Ambrose.
Tip: around 7 December, the feast of Sant'Ambrogio, the streets nearby host the Christmas market of the "Oh bej! Oh bej!".
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