Basilica di San Nazaro in Brolo (Basilica of St. Nazarus), Milan

The Basilica Apostolorum, built in 382 AD, is one of the oldest in Milan, with Saint Ambrose himself believed to have founded it. The church houses the relics of the apostles beneath its altar, and its layout in the shape of a Greek cross reflects the typical form of the early Christian martyrium derived from the East. After a fire in 1075, the church was rebuilt and later transformed during the Renaissance under Carlo Borromeo's direction. The interior was given a neoclassical look in 1830, and a further radical transformation occurred after World War II.

On the counter-facade, supported by powerful marble corbels, visitors may see the Baroque wooden choir, which houses an 18th-century organ, while along the walls are paintings by various artists depicting saints and scenes from the life of Jesus. Inside the main apse, is the imposing Baroque-style high altar. Made of polychrome marbles (especially black marble), it consists of the altar table with a golden altarpiece, the tabernacle, and the baldachin supported by twisted Corinthian columns, inside which is the white marble statue of the Risen Christ. The right transept preserves some important artistic episodes: the "Crucifixion" by Bonino da Campione (on the left side) and a Renaissance "Last Supper" by Bernardino Lanino (on the right side).

The interior of the basilica is preceded by the Trivulzio Chapel, a significant architectural work by Bartolomeo Suardi, known as Bramantino, built on the site of the church's ancient quadriportico.

From the left transept, through a door, climbing some steps, one enters the magnificent Chapel of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, built to a design by Antonio da Lonate around 1540, which was inspired by the architectural works of Brunelleschi and Bramante. The room, rectangular in plan, covered by a semi-spherical dome in which some windows open in the form of small rosettes, houses two works: the statue of the Addolorata on the altar and the fresco depicting the "Martyrdom of Saint Catherine", a work by Bernardino Lanino.

A basilica worth seeing!