The story of this place
Founded in 386 by St Ambrose, the formidable bishop of Milan who baptised St Augustine, this Romanesque basilica is one of the oldest churches in the city. Ambrose was so powerful that in 390 he excommunicated Emperor Theodosius I after imperial troops massacred thousands in Thessalonica, forcing the ruler of the Roman world to do public penance—a landmark assertion of church authority over the state. Ambrose's skeletal remains, dressed in vestments, still lie in the crypt beside two early Christian martyrs. Rebuilt in its present form around 1080, the church's austere brick facade, atrium, and golden altar shaped Lombard Romanesque architecture across northern Italy. It stands where Milan's Christian identity was forged in the twilight of the empire.