Does a church’s story change when it moves a few hundred meters? This is the story of Chiesa di San Bartolomeo Apostolo in Milan. It stood near Piazza Cavour. Now it stands in Via Moscova. The original Chiesa di San Bartolomeo was more than just a building. It was a reflection of Milan’s evolving identity.
The first Chiesa di San Bartolomeo emerged in the 11th century. It sat near the Navigli canal. This location was close to the medieval Porta Nuova. Archbishops like San Carlo and Federico Borromeo wanted it expanded. They hired Francesco Maria Richini for the project. An 18th-century engraving by Marc’Antonio Dal Re shows us how it looked back then.
Interestingly, the Chiesa di San Bartolomeo became popular with the city’s aristocracy. In 1683 Contessa Teresa Gordone Serbelloni donated an icon. It was a copy of the Madonna del Buon Aiuto. Lucas Cranach the Elder supposedly painted the original.
Before 1804 Chiesa di San Bartolomeo was a burial site. Prominent Milanese families were buried here. Names like Bascapè, Brivio and Simonetta filled its grounds. In 1805 the nearby church of San Francesco di Paola became a subsidiary of Chiesa di San Bartolomeo.
During Milan’s Cinque Giornate in 1848 soldiers stormed Chiesa di San Bartolomeo. They were searching for a revolutionary. Failing to find him they killed the parish priest for refusing to help.
But progress has its price. To make way for Via Turati the old church was demolished in 1861. A new Chiesa di San Bartolomeo was built in Via Moscova. It housed all the treasures of the old church including Karl Joseph von Firmian’s tomb.
Carlo Porta Milan’s famous poet was baptized in the old Chiesa di San Bartolomeo. The church faced the Naviglio canal. Francesco Maria Richini renovated it after the plague of 1630. The old church was demolished to widen Via Principe Umberto now Via Turati.
San Bartolomeo himself was from Cana. His name means son of Talmai. He was one of Jesus’s twelve apostles. He preached in many countries and was martyred in Armenia. He was flayed alive.
Inside the new Chiesa di San Bartolomeo the high altar features the Madonna del Buon Aiuto icon. Adrian Paci created the Stations of the Cross in 2011. Daniele Crespi painted the altarpiece of San Bartolomeo. It depicts his martyrdom. The church also houses the tomb of Karl Joseph von Firmian.
Today Chiesa di San Bartolomeo stands as a testament to Milan’s past. It embodies faith art and the relentless march of progress. It is a place where history whispers and beauty endures.