The miracle of Santa Maria presso San Celso in Milan

The sanctuary of Santa Maria presso San Celso is a beautiful church hidden behind a wall, and if you walk by without paying enough attention, it’s likely you may miss it. Certainly out of the tourist path, this place is however well-known to the local brides, who just after being married, according to the tradition, would pay a visit to offer a bunch of flowers to the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary here preserved.

 

The story of this sacred site can be traced as far back as the 4th century, when the Bishop Ambrose found the bodies of the martyr Nazarus and Celsus in a cemetery located in this very same area. While the body of the former was moved to the basilica Apostolorum (today’ Saint Nazaro Maggiore), bishop Ambrose had built on this site a little chapel where to place the sarcophagus containing the body of Saint Celsus, and adorned it with a painting of the Virgin Mary in a niche. Over time, the place continued to be a destination for pilgrims and around 996-997 Landolfo II, Archbishop of Milan, commissioned a cloister and a “basilichetta” to be built in order to replace the little chapel, by now crumbling.

 

However, it was only in the first half of the 13th century that a new, larger building was constructed under the guide of Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, to house the fresco of the Virgin Mary. And it was indeed in this church that on 30 December 1485 the Virgin moved from the painting and made herself visible to those who were present, “for the space of at least a couple of Hail Marys”, so the witnesses related.

 

In 1493, following the miracle, the construction of the sanctuary we see today began, lasting for more than a century. Initially planned by Gian Giacomo Dolcebono, many other architects took part to the project, thus conferring to the building a sense of overlapping in styles, epochs and trends. As soon as you leave the main street to enter the site, you are welcomed by a fascinating square portico by Cesare Cesariano which leads the pilgrim to the church. If you just lift your head, you will be stunned by the eclectic façade, designed by Galeazzo Alessi, then later re-elaborated and realised by Martino Bassi. This latter also planned the exquisite marquetry marble floor and the Altarpiece of the Virgin Mary, where, behind the frontal that can be opened, you can still see the wall once covered by bishop Ambrose’s painting of the Virgin Mary, later become Lady of the Miracle.

 

The interior is made of three naves, with a cupola, recently restored and a presbytery encircled by the ambulatory. Walking around the church, you come across many paintings and froescos by eminent artists of the Renaissance and Mannerism, like Antonio Campi, Giulio Cesare Procaccini, Gaudenzio Ferrari, Paris Bordone and il Bergognone. With regards to statues, the milanese sculptor Annibale Fontana worked to a very large extent in the church, both decorating the façade and the interiors, to be noticed the statue of the Assunta on the altarpiece of the Virgin Mary (1586; the angeles supporting the crown are by Giulio Cesare Procaccini).

 

The church of Santa Maria presso Celso has recently undergone major restorations, which enabled to bring back to light the beauty of its vaults, dome and apse. The story of this church started long long time ago and indeed when you go inside you have a strange feeling of past and present blending together, thus creating that rare atmosphere that you could only find in sacred places, where miracles occur.

November 25, 2020