Santa Maria in Strada is a church in

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, northern Italy.

History

According to the chronicler Bonincontro Morigia, the church was begun in 1357 over a pre-existing Franciscan convent. The original edifice was subsequently enlarged and enriched with a choir, a sacristy and a bell tower in 1421. In 1610, by order of archbishop Charles Borromeo, the barrel-vault was added, and the mullioned windows were closed. In 1756, architect Giovanni Battista Riccardi added a frame at the base of the vault and several stucco fake columns, reconstructed the high altar in marble and gilded bronze, and opened several chapels. Beginning in 1862, the convent served as a kindergarten. The façade was restored in 1870 on a design by Carlo Maciachini.

Description

The brickwork façade is triangular at the top, with numerous decorations and geometric elements. It is formed by horizontal bands separated by frames. The portal has a brickwork arch and marble

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...

dating to the 19th century. Over the portal is a series of fake niches with (apart from the three central ones, which are windows) traces of 14th-century frescoes. In the third band are rich terracotta decorations, while in the middle of the façade is a

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

with concentric decorations, flanked by two ogival double mullioned windows with square frames. The decoration of the façade's summit includes a statue of the "Madonna with Child", between two circles and Lombard bands crowning the upper edge. The bell tower, originally of the same height as the façade, is decorated with mullioned windows, Lombard bands and a cusp. The interior has a rectangular hall, a semi-octagonal choir and a presbytery. The secondary altars on the sides are decorated with frescoes and a canvas of the ''Moving of the Icon of Madonna del Buon Consiglio'' (1756), by Francesco Ferrario. The High Altar is also from 1756, and is made of marble, hardstones and bronze. The presbytery and the choir are decorated with frescoes by Giambattista Gariboldi, including an ''Assumption of the Virgin'' (and a ''Glory of St. Augustine'', respectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria in Strada Monza 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy Roman Catholic churches completed in 1421 Towers completed in the 15th century Roman Catholic churches in Monza Gothic architecture in Monza