This morning, at the end, the great adventure began: walking from Milan to Finisterre! Like all the great travels, it started with the first step, in front of the Basilic of Sant’Ambrogio. The beautiful surprise was that I arrived there together with my mum, my first Camino mate, and we found there some other friends: Patrizia and Lino, who contacted me in the latest weeks and I finally met in person! Later Valeria – who will be spiritually by my side -, Luigi – who will soon have his own part of adventure – and Stefano arrived. After some pictures and the last hugs, Stefano and I left in direction of Pavia.
Today, the first 35 km flew away, while we were chatting and we were also joined by Luca who was riding his bike. The weather was nice and the legs worked well… So, some time past 17, we were already facing the covered bridge in Pavia with a red fruits granita in our hands! This first day was one of those that worried me most… so, I am very satisfied! Now, after a quite dinner with a very kind family who host pilgrims in Borgo Ticino, I can sleep and rest waiting for tomorrow!
It is true that we live in Segrate only since 2012 and I do not really feel to be “from Segrate”, but I always say that I’m from Milan. It is true that I was born 500 metres from the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio and that I’ve always been bound to my diocese, which is particular, autonomist, innovative and often frowned upon… In short, the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio, where the Archbishop who did not hesitate to scold the emperors rests, was the natural place from which to start my walk.
But… but… now I live here… and so? So, today I’ve walked from my home to the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio with Alessandro, my husband. It’s only a short prologue of 12 km and something more, but it was important. We went out of the door and we started walking on our Way. It was good and right to start it together, in the same way we will finish it, together, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean…
Between Segrate and Milano
The Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio
The facade of the Basilica
The nave
The ciborium
The pulpit and the re-used Roman sarcophagus
The pulpit
The altar and the ciborium
Sant’Ambrogio between the holy martyrs Gervaso and Protaso
What did we see?
The Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio was built by Bishop Ambrogio from 379 to 386 AD: the Bishop wanted to dedicate it to the martyrs who suffered persecutions under the Romans and took the name of Basilica Martyrum. Only after the Bishop’s death, when his remains were buried under the main altar along with the remains of the Martyrs Gervaso and Protaso, the church was rededicated in his honor. The Basilica was rebuilt at the end of the XI century, according to the canons of the Romanesque, and the works were wanted by Bishop Anselmo, another great bishop of Milan. The new building maintained three naves and three apses, and didn’t have a transept.
The altar of Sant’Ambrogio is particularly ramarkable: it is a Carolingian masterpiece made in gold, silver gilt, enamels and precious stones. It lies just above the relics of the saints, placed under the altar itself and visible through a window on the back side. The altar was made by the Masters of the Stories of Christ (who decorated the front side), and the Master Vuolvinio (who decoradet the back side), between 824 and 859. The Basilica is, today, an isolated case of the Lombard Romanesque style, as other contemporary examples (such as the Cathedrals of Pavia, Novara and Vercelli are now destroyed or have undergone major transformations.
A curiosity: on a granite column, presumably Roman, inside the Basilica, stands Moses’ Snake, who escaped the inconoclastic wrath of King Hezekiah. It is a bronze sculpture (in the past it was believed to be the Moses’ original one) donated by the Emperor Basil II in 1007. Prayers are directed to the snake to ward off certain types of ailments and it is said that the end of the world will be announced by its descent from this column.
