14 Churches to Explore in Lombardy

The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio is a church in the centre of Milan, northern Italy. One of the most ancient churches in Milan, it was built by St. Ambrose in 379–386, in an area where numerous martyrs of the Roman persecutions had been buried. The first name of the church was in fact Basilica Martyrum. The monastery and church became a large landholder in northern Italy and into what is now the Swiss Canton of Ticino.

The Basilica of Sant'Andrea is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral and minor basilica in Mantua, Lombardy. It is one of the major works of 15th-century Renaissance architecture in Northern Italy. . Though later changes and expansions altered Alberti's design, the church is still considered to be one of Alberti's most complete works. It looms over the Piazza Mantegna.

The Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore is an ancient Catholic basilica that is considered to be the largest of the churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Rome. It is one of the city’s four major basilicas. An absolute Early Christian masterpiece of art and architecture. You will be taken aback by the beauty of its mosaics, frescoes and sculptures.

The Basilica of Sant'Abbondio is a Romanesque church in Como. Next to it there is a monastery built in the Middle Ages, which today, after being restored, houses the Faculty of Law of the University of Insubria. The church has two notable bell towers rising at the end of the external aisles, in the middle of the nave. The sober façade, once preceded by a portico, has seven windows and a portal. Notable is the external decoration of the choir's windows.

The Basilica of San Lorenzo was established during the fourth century and is the oldest church in Milan which was dedicated to San Lorenzo and is built with enormous blocks that were taken from other Roman sites. One of the church's highlights is the Chapel of Saint Aquilino with its fourth-century Byzantine mosaics, adjoining the main church. In the center of the courtyard, Emporer Constantine stands in bronze, a tribute to his Edict of Milan in 313, which ended Christian persecution within th

The Colleoni Chapel, a Renaissance work by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, is located on the Piazza del Duomo in upper Bergamo, leaning against the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. it was built between 1472 and 1476 as the personal shrine for the condottiere Bartolomeo Colleoni which was dedicated to the saints Bartholomew, Mark and John the Baptist. One of the main pilgrimage centres in this area and also a nice tourist attraction too.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, better known as Como Cathedral, is the main place of worship in the city of Como. It is one of the most important buildings in the region. It is commonly described as the last Gothic cathedral built in Italy. The interior has some important tapestries, and others of the 16th and 17th centuries, made in Ferrara, Florence and Antwerp. There are also a number of 16th-century paintings by Bernardino Luini and Gaudenzio Ferrari.

The Certosa di Pavia Gra-Car is a historical monumental complex that includes a monastery and a sanctuary. It is located in the municipality of the same name of Certosa di Pavia, a town about eight kilometers north of the provincial capital. Built at the end of the 14th century at the behest of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, lord of Milan.

Santa Maria presso San Satiro is a church in Milan. The church is known for its false apse, an early example of trompe-l'œil, attributed to Donato Bramante.

San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore is an old church that dates back to 1503. The church is often called "Sistine Chapel of Milan" due to its stunningly beautiful interior paintings. Literally, everywhere you look is covered with artwork. Built in the 16C, the exterior of this Benedictine monastic church is very plain. The main attraction of the monastery are frescoes, including a beautiful cycle of the 15th Century as well as wall paintings by Bernardino Luini.

The cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete. It is the largest church in Italy, the third-largest in Europe and the fifth-largest in the world. The roof is open to tourists for a fee, which allows many a close-up view of some spectacular sculpture that would otherwise be unappreciated.

The Sacro Monte di Varese located in Varese , in the Santa Maria del Monte hamlet , consists of fourteen chapels, dedicated to the mysteries of the Rosary , which lead to the sanctuary of Santa Maria del Monte, a place of pilgrimage since the Middle Ages , which serves as the fifteenth chapel. It belongs to the group of nine Sacred Mountains of Piedmont and Lombardy included in 2003 by UNESCO in the world heritage of humanity.

The Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, situated in the heart of Milan, is an outstanding work of architecture, and an emblem within the Catholic tradition. The Church is one of Renaissance art's most important testimonies and a shining symbol of creative human genius. Duke of Milan Francesco I Sforza ordered the construction of a Dominican convent and church at the site of a prior chapel dedicated to the Marian devotion of St Mary of the Graces.

The church of San Bernardino alle Ossa is a church in Milan, located in Piazza Santo Stefano. Also mentioned in the past as San Bernardino ai Morti, the church is known for its ossuary, whose walls are mostly covered with bones to form real decorations. The ossuary was considered a sinister but popular place, where the interior walls were decorated with human bones and skulls. It is very similar to the church in Rome called Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.