San Marco is among the most important churches in Milan thanks to its artistic and historical richness. It was founded in 1254 by the friar Lanfranco Settala, prior of the order of the Hermits of St. Augustine, in the same place where before stood a building dedicated to St. Mark in honour of the Venetians who had fought alongside the Milanese Barbarossa.
The church combines different artistic styles. The first one that stands out is on the external facade made by Maciachini according to the neo-Gothic canons but enriched by the medieval portal and the statues of saints. Continuing the path outside you can see the Roman style on the right side and the transept and the Gothic bell tower. Mozart was housed in his rectory during his first stay in Milan, when he was just fourteen years old. He played the organ of the church which dates back to 1506 and is the largest in Lombardy. The church that from the outside would seem small, internally it reveals itself very large striking for its size (96 meters long).
Paintings and frescoes have been made over the years by artists such as Vincenzo Foppa, while the Legnanino who made the altarpiece depicting St. Mark’s. Finally in the church is placed the crib of St. Mark’s which was attributed to Londonio and dates back to the 18th century. The peculiarity of the work is its technique of realization: it seems in fact that it is made of paper according to the traditions widespread in the seventeenth century with oil paintings on papier-mâché then glued on wood.
