Sant'Alessandro in Zebedia is a parish church in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. It is a distinctive example of the early Lombard Baroque.

History

The original church was built in the 5th century, on the ruins of the Pretorium which tradition holds was the prison that held the martyred Sant'Alessandro. The name in Zebedia derives from the name of the prison in which the martyr was imprisoned."Chiesa di Sant Alessandro in Zebedia", SettembreMusica
/ref> Its construction for the

Barnabite The Barnabites (), officially named as the Clerics Regular of Saint Paul (), are a religious order of clerics regular founded in 1530 in the Catholic Church. They are associated with the Angelic Sisters of Saint Paul and the members of the Bar ...

order began in 1601 to a design by Lorenzo Binago.

Francesco Maria Richini Francesco Maria Richini (also spelled Ricchini) (9 February 1584 – 24 April 1658) was an Italian Baroque architect. Biography He was born in Milan, Italy, and trained under Lorenzo Binago. He was patronized by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, Arch ...

also contributed to the project. The first church of Sant Alessandro was demolished, along with the nearby San Pancrazio. The first stone of the church was laid on 30 March 1602 by Cardinal

Federico Borromeo Federico Borromeo (; 18 August 1564 – 21 September 1631) was an Italian cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milan, Archbishop of Milan, and prominent figure of the Counter-Reformation in Italy. His acts of charity, ...

. It comprises a principal building on the

Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...

plan with a central dome, and a separate presbytery which also has a dome. By early 1627, the center dome had developed deep cracks and was demolished. Architect

Fabio Mangone Fabio Mangone (1587–1629) was an Italian architect. Born in Caravaggio, he was a pupil of Alessandro Bisnati, and succeeded him as architect for the Duomo of Milan. Later he was professor architecture at the Accademia Ambrosiana. He was ass ...

was brought in as a consultant. Richini redesigned the dome, and carried out Mangone's recommendations. The

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

, with decorations in

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

, has two

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

s. The interior includes works by important artists including

Camillo Procaccini 300px, ''Nativity'' by Camillo Procaccini Camillo Procaccini (3 March 1561 at Parma – 21 August 1629) was an Italian painter. He has been posthumously referred to as the ''Vasari of Lombardy'', for his prolific Mannerist fresco decoration. Bo ...

(an

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Town ...

, a Nativity and a

Crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

) and

Daniele Crespi Daniele Crespi (159819 July 1630) was an Italian painter and draughtsman. He is regarded as one of the most original artists working in Milan in the 1620s. He broke away from the exaggerated manner of Lombard Mannerism in favour of an early Bar ...

Flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, Birching, rods, Switch (rod), switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, floggin ...

). There is also an altarpiece in the first chapel on the right by Ossana.Portal del Turismo della Città di Milano
Entry on the church.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alessandro In Zebedia 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1601 Alessandro in Zebedia Baroque architecture in Milan 1601 establishments in Italy

History

See also

Notes