“Regina delle chiese lombarde.”
In a quiet plebeian1 quarter, remote from the bustle2 of the city, surrounded by a wide piazza3 and a pleasant grove4 of lime-trees, stands the old basilica of St. Ambrogio. It is reached in a few minutes from the Duomo by the S. Vittore tram. This church, architecturally and historically, ranks first among all in Milan. The Duomo, foreign in material and bastard6 in style, cannot compare in interest with this grand product of the Lombard soil and the Lombard spirit. The story of St. Ambrogio reaches back through the long centuries of Milan’s modern and medi?val life to the time of the saintly Doctor himself. It was in 386 that St. Ambrose founded it beside the already existing basilica Faust?. Here he buried, in the place which he had prepared for himself, the bodies of the martyr7 saints Protasio and Gervasio, whose resting-place had been revealed to him just at the crisis of his struggle with the Empress. Two men of marvellous stature8 such as the first age bore, so he describes the bodies in a letter to his sister Marcellina. We carried them, as the evening was falling, to the basilica Faust?.... The following day we removed them to the church which they call Ambrosianam. They were laid beneath the altar, where Christ is offered up, and Ambrose commanded that when his own time came he should be buried in all humility9 beside them upon their left hand.
257The church was dedicated10 to the martyrs11. Nevertheless, it continued to be called the Basilica Ambrosiana according to the fashion of that day, when the churches were called after their founders12, as for example the Basilica Faust?, otherwise S. Vittore in Cielo d’Oro, the Basilica Porciana, also dedicated to S. Vittore, and the Basilica Paulina, or SS. Felix and Nabor. To later centuries it has become unalterably Sant Ambrogio.
Being in a peculiar13 sense the church of the patron saint and protector of the Milanese people, the basilica held from the first a very prominent place in the life of the Ambrosian city. Here the Primates14 gathered their suffragans to those synods and provincial15 councils, in which in the days of ecclesiastical rule the affairs of North Italy were decided16. The foundation of a monastery17 of the powerful Benedictine Order in connection with the church, in 783, added to its importance. The archbishops of the reviving See of Milan, in the ninth century, restored it and bestowed20 upon it the utmost honour and reverence21, endowing it with great riches. Here Otho the Great was crowned King of Italy by Archbishop Walperto in 961, and from that time, whenever a coronation took place in Milan, it was performed in St. Ambrogio. Perhaps the curious privilege which the city enjoyed, of keeping all sovereigns excluded from its precincts, was the reason why the Cathedral church was never chosen for the ceremony. In 1186, Frederick Barbarossa was present here when with immense splendour Henry of Suabia wedded22 Constance of Sicily, the Constance who is moon-arrested in Dante’s Paradise, because of her supposed inconstancy to monastic vows23, though the old tale of her being dragged from a convent to marry the Emperor’s son has been proved a fable24.
During the factious25 age of liberty St. Ambrogio was the church in which the popular party gathered, to seek 258the sanction and protection of the patron saint and to discuss their affairs, being shut out from the Duomo by the Archbishop and the aristocratic party. Here the short-lived reconciliation26 of 1258, called the Pace di St. Ambrogio, was completed and sworn to before the Altar with great solemnity by the representatives of both factions27.
In St. Ambrogio Henry of Luxemburg, the looked-for peacemaker, was crowned in 1311, with his consort28, Margaret of Brabant, in the presence of all the great nobles of Italy and characters conspicuous29 in the history of the time. A strange and somewhat ominous30 circumstance of this occasion was that the crown always used for the coronation of the Kings of Italy—which had become, though only shortly before this time, known as the Iron Crown—was missing. With the rest of the treasure of the Cathedral of Monza—where it was kept then, as to-day—it had been pawned31 by the Torriani.[8] So a new iron crown, in the form of a laurel wreath, was forged to encircle the brow of Henry VII. The newly anointed monarch32 created two hundred knights33 in the church, the first upon whom he laid his sword being Matteo Visconte. From this time the ceremony of knighting was customarily performed in St. Ambrogio, and later on those who received the dignity there were called the Knights of St. Ambrogio.
8. The treasure was recovered later from Avignon by Matteo Visconte.
It was in St. Ambrogio that Gian Galeazzo Visconte, newly created Duke of Milan, knelt before the altar while the Archbishop of Milan and a splendid array of prelates chanted hymns34 and offices in celebration of his elevation35 to the ducal dignity, in the presence of princes and ambassadors from all the States of Italy and Europe. Here, in 1477, the young Republicans 259who had sworn to avenge37 the wrongs of their city upon the tyrant38 Galeazzo Maria Sforza, bowed themselves before the image of the Saint, patron of the Milanese liberties, and besought39 his blessing40 upon their enterprise. In the sixteenth century St. Ambrogio was the goal of the pathetic penitential processions which used to wind their way from the Duomo day after day during the visitations of the plague and the persecutions by the Spaniards.
The Basilica as we see it now shows no trace, it need hardly be said, of the church which Ambrose himself built. But it still contains his bones. An interesting proof of his actual burial there beside the two martyrs, according to his directions, was the discovery, in 1864, beneath the High Altar, of two cavities of unequal size, the larger in the middle, the smaller on its left hand, evidently burial-places. There were no bodies in them, but the remains41 of the three saints were found in a sepulchre of porphyry above the cavities. It was known that they had been removed and laid in one tomb together by Archbishop Angilberto in the ninth century, probably at the time when the floor of the sanctuary42 was raised and the golden altar set up. The church appears to have been completely rebuilt at this time by Angilberto (824-859) and Ansperto (868-881), after the instalment of the Benedictines, in order to suit it to the requirements of monastic ritual. Angilberto had the main part built, it is supposed, and Ansperto added the atrium—Atria vicinas struxit et ante fores,—as is recorded in the lengthy43 epitaph of the said prelate inscribed44 above his tomb on the south side of the nave45.
But the noble building of to-day, with its grand forecourt, or atrium, is almost certainly not the ninth century church of Angilberto and Ansperto, but a reconstruction46 on the same lines in the eleventh or early twelfth century. The date of St. Ambrogio has been 260a much-disputed point, and some authorities still cherish the theory that it is in the main the ninth century building, and as such, the prototype of all the many churches of the Romanesque style scattered47 throughout Europe. But the advanced system of vaulting48, and the compound form of the pillars, as seen in St. Ambrogio, are said not to appear in other Italian churches until a good deal later than the ninth century—later, in fact, than in more northern countries. If the Basilica be of this early date, it must have remained for two hundred years a solitary49 example of a splendid style of architecture which had arrived at completeness without leaving any traces of preliminary stages. There are many tenth and eleventh century churches, however, which show what would naturally seem the early and undeveloped stages of the style, which is in favour of the belief held by most of the writers on the subject, that St. Ambrogio follows rather than precedes them in date, and stands at the zenith and not at the dawn of Romanesque architecture. The style of most of the decorative51 sculpture on the building also points to a later origin.[9]
9. The exponents52 of the ninth century theory are Dartein, Landriani, and Mongeri, among others, and more recently, Luca Beltrami; and of the theory of a later origin, Kügler, Viollet-le-Duc, Stielh, Cattaneo, Adolfo Venturi, etc.
There is no actual record, it is true, of a restoration in the eleventh or twelfth century, but the patriotism53 and fervour of vitality54 which animated55 the Milanese in that epoch56, and brought them into conflict with Barbarossa, may well have induced them to rebuild and beautify this church, which, being the resting-place of their Patron, was to them as the sanctuary of their liberties. Italian enthusiasm has always memorialised itself in brick and stone, and, moreover, in the twelfth century architecture was the only art in which they 261could fully57 express themselves. Not only in Milan, but throughout Lombardy, the churches of this period are a grand and enduring testimony58 to the great era of the Italian Communes, and in St. Ambrogio, queen if not mother of them all,[10] surely we have before us the noblest artistic59 embodiment of the spirit which produced the Lombard League.
10. Madre e regina delle chiese lombarde—Dartein.
The outward form of the church—the large Romanesque style—is in keeping with that great patriotic60 thought and resolve. It is essentially61 of the soil. The grand curves of the arches, the massive pillars, the sense of space and freedom seem the proper expression of the medi?val Lombard character, in their union of Latin breadth and clearness with the picturesque62 ruggedness63, and the rich effects of light and shade of Northern building. Above all, the material—brick and stone, that fortunate combination which produces such glory and enchantment64 of colour—is peculiarly Lombard. The effect of it in St. Ambrogio is most beautiful and satisfying. Even the newness of much of the brick at the present time—crude evidence of restoration—cannot destroy the charm.
262
SIDE AISLE65 OF ATRIUM, ST. AMBROGIO.
263
CAPITAL IN ATRIUM OF
ST. AMBROGIO.
The atrium or forecourt is surrounded on three sides by arcades66 supported on massive pillars. It is rather later in date than the fa?ade of the church, which rises up in a wide gable, pierced with lofty round-headed openings above the shadow of the narthex or portico68, triple-arched, which forms the eastern side of the atrium. On either hand of the church rises a campanile of characteristic Lombard type. The lower one is the Monks69’ Tower, and dates from the eighth or ninth century. It is probably the first thing which the Benedictines built on entering into possession of the church in 783, bells being a necessity of the monastic ritual. The tall tower on the left, which, with its ornamental71 arcading72 and delicate ribs73 of brick and stone, shows an advance of some centuries on the simplicity74 of the older one, was built in 1128 by Archbishop Anselmo for the Canons, to vindicate75 the ancient rights of these, the original servants and custodians76 of the basilica, against the encroaching monks, who are said to have pulled down the pre-existing belfry of the secular77 priests. The struggles between these two bodies of secular and regular clergy78, established side by side and sharing the privilege of serving the church, were very fierce and continuous through the Middle Ages. The monks are long gone now, and the Canons remain in peaceful possession of the altars and of the quiet courts and shrunken cloisters79 of the old place. Both towers have been restored in recent times. The atrium and fa?ade have also been restored, but show more vestiges82 of the original work. In the fantastic sculptured imagery which ornaments83 the capitals of the great columns, in the curling foliage84 patterns of the friezes85 on archivolts and architraves, in the endless knots and intricate web of the ribbed stems upon the lintels and jambs and columns of the great middle doorway86, in the grotesque87 beasts and human creatures which course up pillars, or writhe88 round capitals, we see the hand of the twelfth century craftsman89 still shaping the stone into the forms of religious symbolism, but expressing also his own satiric90 and pessimistic views of life, of nature ever at war with itself, and at the same time beginning to subordinate spiritual ideas to a desire for decorative effect. The attempts seen here at representing human figures are still of the rudest and most primitive91, as for example the figure—perhaps Salome—dancing, while another plays the lyre, on a capital to the left of the middle door, the Adam and Eve (?) on either side of the Tree on one of the middle capitals of the narthex, the huntsman standing92 triumphant93 above a crowd of horned beasts—symbolic94 of 264the victory of the human over the animal nature. But many of the capitals are purely95 fanciful and decorative; the grotesque creatures writhe into graceful96 and symmetric designs, and that sort of flat-ribbed cord that appears so constantly, and in its endless windings97 is emblematic98 of eternity99, is led into graceful curves and develops into leaves and stems which, growing bolder and freer, become finally beautiful foliage designs with masks and grotesques100 that seem to herald101 the Renaissance102. This more advanced decoration is probably thirteenth century. Some fragments of the more archaic103 ornament70, especially round the middle doorway, which has the appearance of being pieced together in places, seem to be survivals of an earlier existence of the church, which were embodied104 in the twelfth century reconstruction—the symbolic Lion of St. Mark, for example, and the Abbot’s Cross on a column on the right hand, which belongs perhaps to the period of the rebuilding for the monks. The name of Adam Magister, inscribed round a slender column on the left of the door, upside down, is no doubt that of the architect or sculptor105 of the present or some former phase of the building.
CAPITAL IN ATRIUM OF
ST. AMBROGIO.
The walls of the atrium and round the doorways106 of the church show everywhere traces of fresco107 paintings of various periods, from Byzantine to Giottesque and the fifteenth century Lombard school, carefully uncovered in recent times, but all hopelessly ruined. The two large half-obliterated scenes in chiaroscuro108 on 265either side, at right angles to the front wall of the church, have been attributed tentatively to the little-known painter, Zenale. They represent the story of St. Ambrose and St. Augustine. That on the right hand, which is the least spoilt, shows three devotees kneeling before St. Ambrose, who are supposed to be the three successive dukes, Francesco, Galeazzo Maria, and Gian Galeazzo Sforza. On the left of the principal door, supported on four columns, is the sarcophagus of the humanist, Pier67 Candido Decembrio (died 1477), secretary and biographer of Duke Filippo Maria, and of his successor, Francesco Sforza. It is a graceful Renaissance work, perhaps by the Lombard sculptor, Tommaso da Cazzaniga,[11] and has bas-reliefs on the front, showing the Virgin109, with Decembrio kneeling before her protected by St. Ambrose, and the journey of Tobias and the Angel, signifying the soul’s journey into eternity. A very archaic bas-relief representing St. Ambrose, with the triple-thonged scourge110 in his hand, is on the wall beyond the left-hand door. The atrium is a museum of sculpture of many periods. Here are monuments and shields of medi?val and Renaissance days—tombstones cast out from this and neighbouring churches—the broken original of the carven beasts over the right-hand door, and various unburied fragments of that dead Roman world which underlies111 Milan.
11. See Malaguzzi Valeri, G. A. Amadeo, p. 295.
The great wooden door of the church, carved all over with small scenes, and of very ancient origin, has lost its interest by a too complete restoration. An unrestored fragment which is kept in the Archivio Capitolare has been pronounced to be of the time of Theodosius.
The interior of the basilica has the same noble effect of largeness, dignity, and repose112 as the atrium. In the solemn obscurity and devout113 silence one becomes 266aware of massive arches and deep vaulting, of great spaces and dim, far-off recesses115, of rich colour and gilding116, of grotesque forms and wreathing serpentine117 stems in the pallid118 stone of capitals and pulpit and screen. The careful restoration of half a century ago has repaired as much as possible the mishandlings which the church suffered from the zeal119 of Carlo Borromeo, and again two hundred years later, though the modern decoration of the cupola cannot be admired. We now see the Lombard basilica in its twelfth century form, with a great central nave of four bays, and side aisles120 with matronei—galleries for the women—above them, an essential feature of a Romanesque church. The nave is roofed with cross vaults121 springing from enormous pilasters, except the last bay before the choir122, which opens up into a lofty cupola, whence a circumscribed123 light pours down from a circle of windows high up, illuminating124 the beautiful canopy125 of the High Altar beneath. This cupola, carried up to a height not in accord with the rest of the church, is a thirteenth century restoration, following a disastrous126 fall of the roof of this part in 1196.
267
CIBORIUM, ST. AMBROGIO.
The eastern portion of the basilica, which has three apses, is a survival of the ninth century building. The apses do not exactly correspond in direction with the later built body of the church, as is easily seen in looking up from the nave to the central apse. That they belong to the church built for the monks, and not to an earlier basilica, as their obvious priority to the rest of the building has led the supporters of the ninth century theory to suppose, is shown by there being three apses, and by the prolongation of the space in front of them for the choir, to accommodate the monks, who needed a place apart from the people for their special functions. In a very early basilica there would be but one apse, and it would start from the nave. The sanctuary is raised a few steps above the level of the nave, and in its midst, conspicuous and alone as it should be, beneath the noble curves of arch and cupola rises the four-sided canopy of the High Altar, upon four antique columns of red porphyry, glowing with deep colour 268and gilding against the rich darkness of the great mosaic127 in the tribune behind. The decoration of the canopy is of stucco. Moulded upon the flat pediments above the semicircular arches are gilded128 figures in relief against a background of deep blue; on the front, facing into the nave, Christ enthroned, giving the keys to Peter, and the law to Paul; on the back St. Ambrogio, protected by an angel behind him, stands between SS. Gervasio and Protasio, who present to him two kneeling Benedictine monks, one of whom holds in his hands a model of the canopy, and is thought to be Abbot Gaudenzio, appointed head of the monastery in 835; on the left side Madonna, with the Dove of the Holy Spirit on her head, is standing between two kneeling princesses, who lift their hands in supplication129 to her; on the right is St. Ambrogio and two princes, who also kneel and seem to beseech130 him. The friezes and bands of ornamentation are exceedingly rich, and very beautiful in design. At the corners are eagles, with their wings spread and fish between their claws. The canopy is an early thirteenth century restoration of a pre-existing one produced by Byzantine artists, probably in the time of Archbishop Angilberto, and wrecked131 by the fall of the cupola in 1196, little but the columns and the capitals surviving. The new work kept the Byzantine character of the old—the rigidity133 of the figures, the conventionalised draperies, the sacred symbols, though the spirit of a later age is visible in a certain rude attempt to give life to the heads.
Beneath the canopy the treasure which it was built to shelter still stands, the famous golden altar of Archbishop Angilberto. This altar is the largest and perhaps the most beautiful example known of the goldsmith’s art in the Carlovingian period. It is kept enclosed in a massive case, and a fee of five francs 269must be paid to the sacristan to see it. On St. Ambrose’s Day only is it uncovered to public view. The front of the altar is entirely134 faced with plates of fine gold divided into panels by borders of exquisite135 mosaic of enamel136, and gold filigree137 work of delicate and various design, enriched with thickly-set gems138, rubies139, opals, sapphires140, topaz and turquoise141, cats’-eyes and every sort of strange-hued stone, some of great size, and edged with pearls. The panels are filled with figures in relief. In the middle, in a panel of oval form is Christ, with a jewelled halo, enthroned amid stars formed of precious stones. Around Him are the four Evangelic Beasts and the Apostles, three and three together. On either side are scenes from the Gospel story. The Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost are sixteenth century restorations, quite out of keeping with the archaic character of the rest. The back and sides of the altar are of silver and of silver-gilt. On each of the sides there is a Greek cross of gold filigree set with gems and bordered with exquisite enamel, and around are figures of saints and angels, SS. Ambrose, Simpliciano, Gervasio and Protasio appearing on the right side, and on the left SS. Martin, Nabor, Nazario and Magno, the three latter being Milanese martyrs in the time of Diocletian and Decius. The back is divided into panels like the front, but in the middle there are four medallions. The two upper ones contain figures of the angels Michael and Gabriel. The two below are of great interest, as evidence of the origin and antiquity142 of the altar. In one is shown St. Ambrose crowning Angilberto, who has a halo of rectangular form, which signifies that he was living at the time of the representation; he offers a model of the altar to the Saint. The names Sanctus Ambrosius and Dominus Angilbertus are inscribed beside them. In the companion 270medallion we see Ambrose again, crowning Volvinus magister phaber (Master Volvinus the Smith), as the inscription143 describes him, the German artificer whom the Archbishop charged to make this altar, art at that time being far more advanced beyond the Alps than in Italy. The panels contain scenes from the legend of St. Ambrose; the Saint as a babe in the cradle attracting a swarm144 of bees by his honeyed mouth; journeying on horseback into Liguria, where he was prefect; flying at full gallop145 from Milan to avoid being Bishop19, and admonished146 by a voice from on high to return; being baptized and ordained147 Bishop; celebrating Mass, while a cleric touches him on the back, showing how, as the legend relates, sleep has fallen on him and he is being transported in a vision to Tours, where in another panel he is represented laying the dead St. Martin in his tomb; again he appears preaching, inspired by an angel; treading beside the altar on the gouty foot of a bystander and healing it; seeing Christ in a dream, who announces to him his approaching death; offering his body to God as he dies; lastly, his dead body is being carried to Heaven by angels. These reliefs are very reminiscent of classic forms and have a surprising grace and freedom for the period. The representations of St. Ambrose’s story in particular are full of life and vigour148, and show much beauty of composition and modelling, though they betray the era of their origin in certain awkwardnesses of proportion and grotesque attitudes. Here and there cameos of exquisite and evidently antique workmanship are let into the borders, and gems with Greek words cut in them; but perhaps the greatest beauty of all is the enamel—just beginning at that time to be used extensively in decorative art—and the delicate designs in which it is composed.
271This gorgeous jewelled work, flashing out beneath the splendour of the canopy, seems to gather into a point all the glory of this rich interior. From the choir, which is raised several steps above the sanctuary, one can get a complete view of the mosaic decoration of the apse, a grand and imposing149 composition, with a colossal150 figure of Christ enthroned in the centre, lifting His hand in benediction151, and on either side of Him SS. Gervasio and Protasio, and the Archangels Michael and Gabriel above. The names of the two martyrs are written beside them, letter beneath letter. Under the central figure there are three medallions; S. Satiro, brother of St. Ambrose, in the centre, and S. Marcellina, their sister, and S. Candida to right and left. The sides of the composition depict152 the story related by S. Gregory of Tours about St. Ambrose and represented on the altar; how he fell into a trance as he celebrated153 Mass and was rapt in spirit to Tours, where he performed the burial rite50 over the body of S. Martin. This mosaic is of the twelfth century, and though it follows the Byzantine style in arrangement and general treatment, it shows a tendency to abandon the old rigid132 conventions for the sake of more life and expression in the attitudes and draperies of the figures, and so sacrifices something of the decorative effect. The colour is very sombre, lacking the richness and glow of the best mosaic.
There is a marble episcopal seat of the ninth century in the choir. The stalls are very beautiful. Some are of the fourteenth century, as is also the triple seat on the right hand of the altar; the other stalls date from 1507. The designs carved upon them—trees and foliage, with small figures of men and animals, a peasant gathering154 grapes, a neglectful swineherd munching155 acorns156, while the pig climbs the tree to reach some for itself, a man and a bear facing each other with 272comical hesitation157 beneath a tree, and other rustic158 scenes—are very graceful and delicate, and show a Renaissance spirit of gaiety.
The richly sculptured pulpit carries us back again to the earlier ages of the church. It is a very late twelfth century restoration of the pre-existing pulpit, which was ruined by the fall of the roof in 1196. An inscription on the side facing down the nave records that Guglielmus de Pomo, Superstes—chief priest or superior of the church—caused this and many other works to be done. It rests partly upon a Christian159 sarcophagus of the fifth or sixth century, and partly upon columns. The cover of the sarcophagus is crowded with figures in bas-relief, among which appear the effigies160 of the unknown couple, apparently161 of high rank, buried in it. On the side facing into the middle of the church, Christ is represented, seated among the Prophets, and on the other side He appears with the Apostles. Abraham sacrificing Isaac is the subject sculptured on one end, Elijah ascending162 in the chariot of fire on the other. These sculptures of the late Roman age, showing the decadence163 of a developed style, contrast strangely with the exuberant164 twelfth century decoration upon the other parts of the structure—ornamental borders and friezes with the characteristic curling stems that enmesh strange animals in endless pursuit of one another, innocent creatures, stags and hares chased by savage-fanged beasts, birds and grotesque humans forming caryatids, an ass36 playing the lyre, an eagle pecked by another bird, etc. Art has died and been born again in the interval165 between the old and the late work. In the twelfth century sculpture we see the wild rush of a new life, vigorous, cruel and merry, but at the same time penetrated166 by the pessimistic consciousness of youth. The difficulty of the sculptor in dealing167 with human figures is shown by 273the absurdly childish way in which the little scenes of Adam and Eve’s history, in the spaces beneath the arches, are represented. On the parapet of the pulpit at the back a Christian feast is sculptured.
The crypt beneath the choir was originally built in the ninth century, but is now completely modern. Descending168 into it you may look into the hallowed recess114, where in an ornate silver shrine169 of very recent date lie the bodies of St. Ambrose and of the twin martyrs, Gervasio and Protasio, still beneath the high altar, where long ago the great bishop willed to lie.
SCULPTURE ON PULPIT IN ST. AMBROGIO.
Beside the door leading into the crypt, on the north side, there is a fresco, by Borgognone, of the Child Jesus among the elders in the Temple, and being found by His Mother. The sweet seriousness and devoutness170 of the painter are charmingly shown in this painting; the colour, warmer and gayer than he often uses, seems a forecast of his famous pupil Luini. A painting on the wall opposite of Madonna with Saints, placed so much in the dark that little can be distinguished171 in it except its unmistakable Lombard character, has been attributed to Zenale, but without sufficient evidence.
A chapel172 on the south side of the church leads to the small sanctuary which is all that remains of the Basilica Faust?, or San Vittore in Cielo d’Oro, afterwards dedicated to S. Satiro, who was buried there in 379 by his brother St. Ambrose. The present 274chapel, restored in 1859, is the easternmost bay of the original church, which was probably rebuilt in the eighth century. The deep cupola is covered with gold mosaic, with a figure of San Vittore in the centre, whence the name San Vittore in Cielo d’Oro. The Evangelic Beasts are represented round the cupola, and on the walls below are stiff figures of bishops18 and saints of the Milanese Church. These mosaics173 are fifth century, but have been restored.
A chapel lower down on this side of the church is frescoed174 with the legend of St. George, by Lanino, a follower175 of Gaudenzio Ferrari. Near a side door further down still is a painting, in very bad condition, attributed to Ferrari—Christ bearing the Cross, with the Three Maries—and some late and inferior frescoes176 of the same school. A coloured stucco image of St. Ambrose, of the eleventh century, done from a portrait of him taken from life, as the inscription informs us, is to be seen on the wall nearer the west end. Beneath it is the stone sarcophagus of Archbishop Ansperto, and the famous epitaph referring to the building of the atrium. On the north wall, opposite, a relic177 of the pagan past is placed over the door leading into the belfry, a bas-relief of the Vintage, exquisitely178 decorative and gay. It is supposed to be a vestige81 of a Temple of Bacchus, which, according to tradition, stood upon the site of this church and was swept away by Ambrose. The last chapel on this side is the baptistery, and here is a fresco by Borgognone over the altar—the Risen Christ between two Angels. The long, slender figure of the Christ, graceful but nerveless, the general expression of pensiveness179 and sweetness, the colour no longer grey and pallid, as in his earlier pictures, but rich and harmonious180, are very characteristic of this artist in his late period.
Two columns standing in the nave are surmounted181, 275one by a serpent of bronze, the other by the cross. The serpent, if we may believe the eleventh century chronicler Landolfo, is that very one which Moses set up in the wilderness182, and was brought in the writer’s own day from Constantinople by Archbishop Arnolfo, who had gone thither183 to seek the hand of the Emperor’s daughter for Otho III., and to whom the Greeks, who owned the sacred treasure, had presented it. Women used to bring their sick children to the column to be healed by the serpent.
In the Sacristy of the Canons may be seen some beautiful illuminated184 books, the most precious of which is the famous Missal of Gian Galeazzo Visconte, of the late fourteenth century, which commemorates185 the coronation of that prince as first Duke of Milan. It is exquisitely illuminated, in clear brilliant colour, by a Lombard miniaturist, Annovello da Imbonate. The front page depicts186 the scene of the coronation; a beautiful composition in which the Duke appears kneeling in crimson187 robe and ermine at the feet of the imperial legate, with his subjects gathered below. In the ornamental border the emblems188 of the Visconti are introduced; the snake, the dog chained beneath a tree, the dove with the motto, A bon droit, etc. There are other pages fully miniatured with scenes of Gian Galeazzo’s career. Among several Corali of the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century, there are two with very fine and delicate miniatures, attributed to Borgognone and suggestive of that painter in the sentiment and pose of the figures.
The Teca degli Innocenti, a silver casket of the late fifteenth century, containing relics189 of the Innocents, and very elaborately decorated with bas-reliefs of the Massacre190, and other New Testament191 scenes, is kept in the sacristy, and also a silver pax, called Filippo Maria Visconte’s, with a bas-relief of the Dead Christ, 276of Lombard workmanship; a fifteenth century ostensory, of beautiful Gothic form, and a processional cross, given by S. Carlo to the church, but of earlier date.
A door on the north side of the church leads into the canonica, and one steps out from the grand old Lombard basilica into a beautiful portico of the Renaissance period. Lodovico il Moro intended to raise here a stately residence for the Canons. He charged Bramante of Urbino with the work, but the much occupied architect had little time to devote to it, and it dragged on, so that only this one side of the cloister80, and that unfinished, was built before the Moro’s fall put an end to all his ambitious schemes. This fragment, at once so noble and so graceful in its proportions, and showing a fine and restrained taste in the capitals, is almost certainly of Bramante’s design, which is more than can be said of most of the work attributed to him in this city. The delicious putti, in every charming pose, and plastic as life itself, which decorate the labels upon the arches, show the development of Italian art in the three centuries which divide them from the grotesque sculptures in the church. How interesting, too, the contrast between the treatment of arch and pillar, of brick and stone, by the learned and sophisticated Quattrocentist, and the same forms, the same materials in the hands of the rude, vigorous, and deeply religious generation which built the church. The cloister, in its incompleteness, leaning up against the old basilica, monument of democratic fervour and strength, is a poignant192 relic of the aristocratic and exclusive ideas of the Renaissance, and of the incomparable grace and joyousness193 of their brief reign5 in Milan. The profiles of the two presiding spirits of that moment, Lodovico and Beatrice, are moulded on either side of the doorway by a mediocre194 Lombard sculptor of the Renaissance period.
277A quaint195 chimney, upon the house facing the cloister, is an interesting example of a type once common in Milan, and still often seen in the neighbouring towns.
Adjoining the basilica is the old convent, now a military hospital, with two fine cloisters, designed, it is thought, by Bramante.
Among the lime-trees on the piazza, near the church on the north side, stands an antique column, a relic of some pagan building, either the Roman temple, which is supposed to have preceded the basilica, or of a summer palace of the emperors, which stood beside it. An ingenious thirteenth century chronicler, one Daniele, in an imaginary description of the coronation of the medi?val kings in St. Ambrogio, makes this column play an important part in the ceremony. The King must swear the oath outside the church, where a marble column stands.... He must kiss the said column, because as the column is upright, so must the judgment196 of the sovereign be upright. A more faithful account of the ritual at the coronations is given by the tenth century chronicler, Landolfo the Elder.
CHIMNEY, CANONICA OF ST. AMBROGIO.
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1
plebeian
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| adj.粗俗的；平民的；n.平民；庶民 | |
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bustle
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| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
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piazza
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| n.广场；走廊 | |
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grove
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| n.林子，小树林，园林 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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bastard
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| n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子 | |
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martyr
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| n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲 | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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humility
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| n.谦逊，谦恭 | |
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10
dedicated
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| adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的 | |
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martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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12
founders
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| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) | |
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13
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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14
primates
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| primate的复数 | |
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provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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16
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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17
monastery
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| n.修道院，僧院，寺院 | |
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18
bishops
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| （基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象 | |
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19
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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20
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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21
reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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22
wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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23
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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24
fable
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| n.寓言；童话；神话 | |
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25
factious
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| adj.好搞宗派活动的，派系的，好争论的 | |
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26
reconciliation
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| n.和解，和谐，一致 | |
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27
factions
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| 组织中的小派别，派系( faction的名词复数 ) | |
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28
consort
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| v.相伴；结交 | |
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29
conspicuous
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| adj.明眼的，惹人注目的；炫耀的，摆阔气的 | |
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30
ominous
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| adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的 | |
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31
pawned
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| v.典当，抵押( pawn的过去式和过去分词 )；以（某事物）担保 | |
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32
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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33
knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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34
hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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35
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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36
ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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37
avenge
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| v.为...复仇，为...报仇 | |
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38
tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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39
besought
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| v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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40
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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41
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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42
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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43
lengthy
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| adj.漫长的，冗长的 | |
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44
inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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45
nave
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| n.教堂的中部；本堂 | |
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46
reconstruction
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| n.重建，再现，复原 | |
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47
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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48
vaulting
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| n.（天花板或屋顶的）拱形结构 | |
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49
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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50
rite
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| n.典礼，惯例，习俗 | |
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51
decorative
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| adj.装饰的，可作装饰的 | |
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52
exponents
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| n.倡导者( exponent的名词复数 )；说明者；指数；能手 | |
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53
patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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54
vitality
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| n.活力，生命力，效力 | |
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55
animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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56
epoch
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| n.(新)时代；历元 | |
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57
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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58
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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59
artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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60
patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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61
essentially
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| adv.本质上，实质上，基本上 | |
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62
picturesque
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| adj.美丽如画的，（语言）生动的，绘声绘色的 | |
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63
ruggedness
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| 险峻，粗野； 耐久性； 坚固性 | |
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64
enchantment
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| n.迷惑，妖术，魅力 | |
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65
aisle
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| n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道 | |
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66
arcades
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| n.商场( arcade的名词复数 )；拱形走道（两旁有商店或娱乐设施）；连拱廊；拱形建筑物 | |
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67
pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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68
portico
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| n.柱廊，门廊 | |
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69
monks
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| n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 ) | |
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70
ornament
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| v.装饰，美化；n.装饰，装饰物 | |
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71
ornamental
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| adj.装饰的；作装饰用的；n.装饰品；观赏植物 | |
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72
arcading
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| 连拱饰 | |
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73
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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74
simplicity
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| n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯 | |
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75
vindicate
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| v.为…辩护或辩解，辩明；证明…正确 | |
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76
custodians
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| n.看守人，保管人( custodian的名词复数 ) | |
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77
secular
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| n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的 | |
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78
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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79
cloisters
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| n.（学院、修道院、教堂等建筑的）走廊( cloister的名词复数 )；回廊；修道院的生活；隐居v.隐退，使与世隔绝( cloister的第三人称单数 ) | |
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80
cloister
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| n.修道院；v.隐退，使与世隔绝 | |
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81
vestige
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| n.痕迹，遗迹，残余 | |
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82
vestiges
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| 残余部分( vestige的名词复数 )； 遗迹； 痕迹； 毫不 | |
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83
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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84
foliage
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| n.叶子，树叶，簇叶 | |
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85
friezes
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| n.（柱顶过梁和挑檐间的）雕带，（墙顶的）饰带( frieze的名词复数 ) | |
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86
doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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87
grotesque
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| adj.怪诞的，丑陋的；n.怪诞的图案，怪人（物） | |
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88
writhe
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| vt.挣扎，痛苦地扭曲；vi.扭曲，翻腾，受苦；n.翻腾，苦恼 | |
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89
craftsman
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| n.技工，精于一门工艺的匠人 | |
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satiric
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| adj.讽刺的，挖苦的 | |
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91
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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92
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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94
symbolic
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| adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的 | |
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95
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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graceful
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| adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的 | |
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97
windings
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| （道路、河流等）蜿蜒的，弯曲的( winding的名词复数 )； 缠绕( wind的现在分词 )； 卷绕； 转动（把手） | |
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emblematic
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| adj.象征的，可当标志的；象征性 | |
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99
eternity
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| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
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100
grotesques
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| n.衣着、打扮、五官等古怪，不协调的样子( grotesque的名词复数 ) | |
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101
herald
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| vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎 | |
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102
renaissance
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| n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴 | |
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103
archaic
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| adj.(语言、词汇等)古代的，已不通用的 | |
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104
embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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105
sculptor
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| n.雕刻家，雕刻家 | |
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106
doorways
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| n.门口，门道( doorway的名词复数 ) | |
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107
fresco
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| n.壁画；vt.作壁画于 | |
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108
chiaroscuro
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| n.明暗对照法 | |
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109
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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110
scourge
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| n.灾难，祸害；v.蹂躏 | |
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111
underlies
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| v.位于或存在于（某物）之下( underlie的第三人称单数 )；构成…的基础（或起因），引起 | |
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112
repose
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| v.(使)休息；n.安息 | |
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113
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) | |
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114
recess
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| n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处） | |
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115
recesses
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| n.壁凹( recess的名词复数 )；（工作或业务活动的）中止或暂停期间；学校的课间休息；某物内部的凹形空间v.把某物放在墙壁的凹处( recess的第三人称单数 )；将（墙）做成凹形，在（墙）上做壁龛；休息，休会，休庭 | |
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116
gilding
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| n.贴金箔，镀金 | |
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117
serpentine
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| adj.蜿蜒的，弯曲的 | |
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118
pallid
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| adj.苍白的，呆板的 | |
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119
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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120
aisles
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| n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
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121
vaults
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| n.拱顶( vault的名词复数 )；地下室；撑物跳高；墓穴 | |
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122
choir
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| n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱 | |
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123
circumscribed
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| adj.[医]局限的：受限制或限于有限空间的v.在…周围划线( circumscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；划定…范围；限制；限定 | |
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124
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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125
canopy
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| n.天篷，遮篷 | |
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126
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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127
mosaic
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| n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的 | |
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128
gilded
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| a.镀金的，富有的 | |
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129
supplication
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| n.恳求，祈愿，哀求 | |
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130
beseech
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| v.祈求，恳求 | |
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131
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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132
rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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133
rigidity
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| adj.钢性，坚硬 | |
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134
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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135
exquisite
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| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
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136
enamel
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| n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质 | |
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137
filigree
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| n.金银丝做的工艺品；v.用金银细丝饰品装饰；用华而不实的饰品装饰；adj.金银细丝工艺的 | |
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138
gems
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| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
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139
rubies
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| 红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色 | |
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140
sapphires
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| n.蓝宝石，钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 )；蔚蓝色 | |
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141
turquoise
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| n.绿宝石；adj.蓝绿色的 | |
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142
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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143
inscription
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| n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文 | |
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swarm
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| n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入 | |
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145
gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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146
admonished
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| v.劝告( admonish的过去式和过去分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责 | |
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147
ordained
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| v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定 | |
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148
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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149
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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150
colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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151
benediction
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| n.祝福；恩赐 | |
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152
depict
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| vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述 | |
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153
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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154
gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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155
munching
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| v.用力咀嚼（某物），大嚼( munch的现在分词 ) | |
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156
acorns
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| n.橡子，栎实( acorn的名词复数 ) | |
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157
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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158
rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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159
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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160
effigies
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| n.（人的）雕像，模拟像，肖像( effigy的名词复数 ) | |
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161
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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162
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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163
decadence
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| n.衰落，颓废 | |
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164
exuberant
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| adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的 | |
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165
interval
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| n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息 | |
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166
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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167
dealing
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| n.经商方法，待人态度 | |
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168
descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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169
shrine
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| n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣 | |
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170
devoutness
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| 朝拜 | |
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171
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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172
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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173
mosaics
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| n.马赛克( mosaic的名词复数 )；镶嵌；镶嵌工艺；镶嵌图案 | |
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174
frescoed
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| 壁画( fresco的名词复数 )； 温壁画技法，湿壁画 | |
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175
follower
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| n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒 | |
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176
frescoes
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| n.壁画( fresco的名词复数 )；温壁画技法，湿壁画 | |
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177
relic
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| n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物 | |
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178
exquisitely
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| adv.精致地；强烈地；剧烈地；异常地 | |
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179
pensiveness
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| n.pensive（沉思的）的变形 | |
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180
harmonious
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| adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的 | |
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181
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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182
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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183
thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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184
illuminated
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| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
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185
commemorates
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| n.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的名词复数 )v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的第三人称单数 ) | |
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186
depicts
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| 描绘，描画( depict的第三人称单数 )； 描述 | |
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187
crimson
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| n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色 | |
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188
emblems
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| n.象征，标记( emblem的名词复数 ) | |
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189
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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190
massacre
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| n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀 | |
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191
testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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192
poignant
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| adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的 | |
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193
joyousness
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| 快乐，使人喜悦 | |
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194
mediocre
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| adj.平常的，普通的 | |
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195
quaint
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| adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的 | |
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196
judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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