Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 04/06/2026 16:39:00

Beneath the unassuming pavement of the small Piazza San Sepolcro in central Milan lies one of the oldest sacred spaces in the city, the crypt of the church of Santo Sepolcro. Often described as the very centre of historic Milan, the crypt preserves a remarkable late Romanesque interior that survives largely as it was when first consecrated in 1100 by Anselmo da Bovisio, archbishop of the city. The crypt sits directly above what was once the principal Roman forum of Mediolanum, the place where the ancient city centred its civic and commercial life. Some of the original Roman paving stones are still visible at the foundations of the crypt walls, and the orientation of the upper church follows the line of the ancient forum below. The church above was originally dedicated to the Trinity, but its name and dedication changed in 1100 when the crusading Lombard knight Rotari Pusterla returned from the first Crusade with relics from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and a stated wish that the Milanese church should be dedicated to the place where Christ was laid in the tomb. The crypt has been preserved in his honour ever since. The Romanesque chamber is divided into three naves by squat columns reused from Roman buildings of the imperial period, with simple cross-vaulted bays roofing the space. The columns capitals are carved in a primitive Lombard Romanesque style, with stylised foliage and geometric motifs. A small altar at the eastern end preserves a tomb decorated with reliefs of the four evangelists. The crypt was sealed for centuries and rediscovered only in the early twentieth century, with extensive restoration carried out in the 1950s. The space was opened to visitors as part of the Veneranda Biblioteca Ambrosiana cultural complex in the 2010s, and tickets to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana now include access to the crypt and to a short rooftop walk on the upper church above. For visitors interested in the buried strata of Milan, the crypt offers an unusual glimpse of the Romanesque city beneath the modern surface, and the descent into the cool stone chamber, with its ancient columns and quiet Romanesque arches, makes a welcome counterpoint to the hectic pace of the busy shopping streets on the level above.