Heritage and History of Milan #7: "Bergognone at San Simpliciano"

This video for yesmilano.com is about the basilica of San Simpliciano. An Italian edition of it is available on Andrea Rui’s YouTube channel and on the website yesmilano.com. The English text and narrating voice are those of Carlo Rolle, whose YouTube channel deals with medieval history and ancient literature.

In San Simpliciano we can admire the Coronation of the Virgin, painted around 1508 by Ambrogio da Fossano, also known as the “Bergognone”. He was born in 1453 in Fossano, in Piedmont. Unconcerned by the innovations of masters like Leonardo and Raphael, Bergognone adhered to the old Lombard school: he painted his figures in different dimensions, according to their place in the hierarchy.

In the centre of this fresco the divine images form a triangle. At the summit of it, is the face of God. Jesus and the Virgin emerge from the drapery of their wide cloaks. Jesus is is emaciated and with his hands he places a crown upon Mary. She is, like him, pale as ivory, as if shining with inner light.
The angels are arranged to form a large almond, aligned on concentric bands. Those of the outer bands appear in full and in different postures. The angels of the second order of triads are closer together. Behind the divine figures, heads of Cherubs and Seraphim are also arranged in groups of three, in a whirlwind of ever warmer colours. The figures and their haloes are embellished with gilding. The musician angels on the outer side of the composition create a youthful animation around the majestic stillness of the central group.

In the foreground, just above the lower edge of the cupola, 20 figures of Saints, Prophets, Martyrs and Virgins are lined up. They are represented in vivid portraits. On the left of this line of figures, close to St. John the Baptist, we can see Dante Alighieri holding a long scroll. An old man with a white beard, might represent the painter.

San Simpliciano, or Basilica Virginum, is the best preserved among early Christian buildings in Milan. According to the tradition, it is one of the 4 basilicas founded by Ambrose in the IV century outside the city walls, in the 4 cardinal points, together with that of Sant'Ambrogio (Basilica Martyrum), San Nazaro (Basilica Apostolorum) and San Dionigi (Basilica Sanctorum).

The paleo-Christian building had a single nave. On the outer walls of the building, a double row of arcades set on pilasters had both an aesthetic and a structural function. In the upper arcades there were large windows. On both extremities of the transept, a few windows opened also in the lower order of the arcades. A portico surrounded the front and the sides of the church.

In the VII century, the single nave was divided by creating side aisles, obtained by constructing quadrangular pillars that helped to bear the weight of the wide roof.

In the age of Romanesque architecture, the basilica underwent drastic renovation works. The pillars were reduced in number but enlarged in size. Internal buttresses were created and the windows were walled up, in order to reinforce the structure and to better support the new vaulted ceiling and its ribs.

Also the transept was divided into aisles and its windows were made smaller. The last step of the renovation was the creation of the octagonal lantern surrounded on the outside by a slender loggia. Also the façade was restructured, with a beautiful portal and richly sculpted capitals.

In 1552 the bell tower was lowered in order to prevent anyone from looking into the castle.

The history of the basilica is linked to the Battle of Legnano, in which the Lombard League prevailed upon Barbarossa with the help - according to the legend – of martyrs, whose relics are still venerated in the church. In the XV century side chapels were added and the porticoes were demolished.
An abbot provided that a fresco of the Coronation of the Virgin was painted in the apse. In the XVI century the Benedictine monks took over from the Cluniacs. To this period dates the creation of the two cloisters and of the wooden choir, designed by Giuseppe Meda.

In 1841 the church was severely altered by a restoration. An altar was installed, which partially hides the fresco of Bergognone. In 1870 architect Maciachini restored the façade.

Post-war restorations have returned the basilica to its former glory.

Видео Heritage and History of Milan #7: "Bergognone at San Simpliciano" канала Carlo Rolle