The Chapel of St Charles Borromeo: Bishop of Milan canonised in 1610, remembered for his work of profound reform of the Ambrosian diocese. The room is entirely frescoed by Antonio Carracci (1589-1616), nephew of Annibale. It is the last of the works executed by the painter for the basilica, around 1612-14. Damaged due to frequent flooding of the church, the frescoes were restored by Niccolò Ricciolini probably during the 18th century. At the top of the entrance arch is the coat of arms of Cardinal Tonti, who commissioned the decoration. In the sub-arch, five small compartments with the Miracles of St. Charles, also set en plein air and, in the centre, the Holy Nail, the relic of the True Cross, which the saint had solemnly carried in procession during the plague of 1576. On the vault, from left to right, The Alms of St. Charles, Christ Blessing, in an oval, and St. Charles praying before a tomb. On the right-hand wall, the fresco St. Charles Relieving a Plague Victim, a highly dramatic scene showing in the foreground the lifeless bodies of a man and a woman with her child in her arms. On the opposite wall, The Healing of the Demoniac, built on the contrast between the violent convulsions of the young man and the serenity of the landscape that forms the background to the episode. The altar frontal in polychrome marble shows the usual Franciscan symbol. On the altar is a fresco of St. Charles Borromeo at prayer by Ricciolini.

Chiudi