San Babila
Encyclopedia
San Babila is a church in Milan
, northern Italy
. It was once considered the third most important in the city after the Duomo
and the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio. It is dedicated to saint Babylas of Antioch.
At the beginning of the 5th century, the bishop of Milan Marolus
probably took in Milan from Antioch the relics of saints Babylas of Antioch and Romanus of Caesarea, and he founded a church in Milan known as Basilica Concilia Sanctorum or church of San Romano, which stood until the 19th century a few meters south the church of San Babila, over a pre-existing Roman temple dedicated to the Sun.
The church of San Babila was erected in the same complex in about 1095. In the 16th century, the church was prolonged with the addition of a further frontal section, and a new Baroque façade.
The whole complex was renovated in the 19th century with the intent of restoring the forms of the Medieval basilica, and in the early 20th century the Neo-Romanesque façade by Paolo Cesa-Bianchi was built. The bell tower is from 1920, a replacement of the original one, crumbled down in the 16th century.
The interior has a nave and two aisles. Nothing of the original edifice has remained after the restoration and reconstruction carried on in the following centuries. The two side chapels are from Late Renaissance. The right aisle has an image of the Madonna which is highly venerated by the Milanese population.
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. It was once considered the third most important in the city after the Duomo
Duomo di Milano
Milan Cathedral is the cathedral church of Milan, Italy. Dedicated to Santa Maria Nascente , it is the seat of the Archbishop of Milan, currently Cardinal Angelo Scola....
and the Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio. It is dedicated to saint Babylas of Antioch.
At the beginning of the 5th century, the bishop of Milan Marolus
Marolus
Marolus was Archbishop of Milan from 408 to 423. He is honoured as a Saint in the Catholic Church and his feast day is April 23.-Life:According to the writings of Ennodius, bishop of Pavia in early 6th-century, Marolus was born on the banks of the Tigris in Mesopotamia. Probably due to the...
probably took in Milan from Antioch the relics of saints Babylas of Antioch and Romanus of Caesarea, and he founded a church in Milan known as Basilica Concilia Sanctorum or church of San Romano, which stood until the 19th century a few meters south the church of San Babila, over a pre-existing Roman temple dedicated to the Sun.
The church of San Babila was erected in the same complex in about 1095. In the 16th century, the church was prolonged with the addition of a further frontal section, and a new Baroque façade.
The whole complex was renovated in the 19th century with the intent of restoring the forms of the Medieval basilica, and in the early 20th century the Neo-Romanesque façade by Paolo Cesa-Bianchi was built. The bell tower is from 1920, a replacement of the original one, crumbled down in the 16th century.
The interior has a nave and two aisles. Nothing of the original edifice has remained after the restoration and reconstruction carried on in the following centuries. The two side chapels are from Late Renaissance. The right aisle has an image of the Madonna which is highly venerated by the Milanese population.