Description

The Sanctuary of Santa Maria alla Fontana rises on an ancient source considered miraculous. In 1506, Charles II d’Amboise, governor of Milan under French rule, ordered the construction of the sanctuary after receiving a miraculous cure: the building became one of the most important health structures of the city, together with the Lazzaretto at the Ca ‘Granda, of which it takes up the planimetric scheme.

The architectures, of broad classical and Renaissance style, were long attributed even to the hand of Leonardo and then of Bramante; today it is believed to be the work of Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, an architect much appreciated at the time and also active in the Duomo of Milan, in Santa Maria delle Grazie and at the Certosa di Pavia.

The sanctuary is characterized by an architecture that refers to metaphysical and kabbalistic meanings and to cosmological symbologies, in large part still to be studied. The beautiful arcaded courtyards are also characteristic, with in the center the underground tanks decorated with 17th century frescoes.

In the room of the miraculous fountain, re-arranged with gushing water jets, there are instead unusual sixteenth-century frescoes attributed to the workshop of Bernardino Luini.

The guided tour will lead you to discover this beautiful but little-known Milanese church.