Gothic art in Milan denotes the city's artistic period at the turn of the second half of the 13th century and the first half of the 15th century. The Gothic style, initially introduced into Milanese territory byCistercian monks, was the main artistic style of the vast patronage and self-celebrating agenda of theVisconti family, lords of Milan, whose rule over the city is usually associated with the Milanese Gothic period.

As a conventional date of the beginning of the Gothic period in the territory of the seignory of Milan, theVisconti family's rise to power in 1282 is often given.^[1] Thus, the spread of the new artistic trends from beyond the Alps came later than incentral Italy, whereCistercian Gothic had already produced almost a century earlier theAbbey of Fossanova (1187) and theAbbey of Casamari (1203).^[2] This delay in the introduction of the Gothic style in the Milanese area can be explained by the strong and deep-rooted presence ofRomanesque architecture, also by virtue of the link between this architecture and theEmpire, which was not for nothing overcome only with the new political course of the Viscontiseigniory.^[3]

The date, however, is only approximate since the first example of Gothic art appeared in Milan byCistercian monks in the first half of the 13th century: in 1221 theabbey of Chiaravalle was consecrated by BishopEnrico Settala. At the same time, the Gothic style did not spread in an appreciable way in the territory, with stylistic features strongly influenced by Romanesque, until the work ofAzzone Visconti between 1329 and 1339, who introduced artists from Pisa and Florence to his court.^[4][5]

The extensive program of support for the arts inaugurated by Azzone Visconti was continued by his successor Bernabò Visconti, but especially byGian Galeazzo: under his lordship the largest Italian Gothic building site for the construction of the new city cathedral was inaugurated. For this work, which in the duke's mind would have been monumental and grandiose, architects and artists from all over Europe were called to Milan: the continuous confrontation between local and foreign workers helped to bring to maturity the Lombard Gothic style, which before then had been anchored to the strong Romanesque heritage, creating a synthesis betweenItalian and European Gothic architecture.^[6][7]

After a setback due to a turbulent political period after the death of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Milan's artistic splendor resumed vigor underFilippo Maria Visconti, who in the first half of the 15th century transformed the Milanese court into one of the major centers ofItalian humanism, calling to his service personalities such asFrancesco Filelfo,Pier Candido Decembrio,Gasparino Barzizza andAntonio da Rho. In the last years of the Visconti seigniory, similarly to what happened in Florence, there were the first hints of the new Renaissance art with the work ofMasolino da Panicale inCastiglione Olona.^[8]

The conclusion of the Gothic period is thus indicatively made to coincide with the collapse of the Visconti seigniory in 1447, with a late Gothic style that would be grafted onto the early central Italian Renaissance developments giving rise to theLombard Renaissance.^[9][10]

In Milan, as in other places, the Gothic style was introduced byCistercian monks from France: the earliest example of Gothic art in Milan is theAbbey of Chiaravalle, built from the first half of the 13th century by monks from theAbbey of Clairvaux. The description must take into account the particular complexity of its history, which sees interventions on the church from its foundation until the 18th century: for example, of the Gothic façade only the upper order in terracotta remains, decorated with anoculus and abifora enclosed in the profile of the gabled roof decorated withLombard bands.^[11]

The church, built respecting the architectural indications for Cistercian churches provided bySt. Bernard, can be defined by its structure and part of the decoration as a compromise betweenthirteenth-century Lombard architecture andCistercian Gothic, that is, the first building to break with the Romanesque tradition and to introduce, albeit with forms much mitigated by the Lombard tradition, the forms of Gothic style.^[12]

The first interventions to bridge the transition between Romanesque and Gothic were the work on the southern cloister of the church, with pointed brick arches supported by twin stone columns. However, the most notable and most distinctive Gothic architectural intervention in the abbey was the construction of the lantern tower: the tower is octagonal in shape and rests on the square-plan presbytery to which it is connected through the use ofpendentives with descending arches. The octagonal tower consists of three vertical orders that narrow as it proceeds upward: the tower is decorated with alternatingbiforas,monoforas andquadriforas in which terracotta and white marble decorations alternate to create a contrast of colors.^[13]

Inside, the most interesting pictorial decorations include fragments of fourteenth-century frescoes of theEvangelists in the space of thedome and the sixteen figures ofSaints, by an author identified as the First Master of Chiaravalle.^[12][14] In the lower part of the dome, on the other hand, are theStories of the Virgin, a refined and elegant composition of Giottesque style attributed toStefano Fiorentino and based on theGolden Legend byJacobus de Voragine.^[15]

Founded in 1176, much ofViboldone Abbey was built between the late 13th and 14th centuries. The brick facade, completed in 1348, has a gabled structure bordered by hanging arches and is divided vertically into three partitions defined bybuttresses. The portal has a rich marble decoration with sculptures of theMadonna and Child among Saints of the Campionese school and is sided by two hangingaedicules and two narrow monoforas with cusped frames in terracotta; the decoration of the upper order consists of a circular window and three biforas, of which the two side ones are purely decorative as they do not lead onto the lower aisles. The interior is divided into threerib-vaultednaves.^[16]

Subsequent to the mid-1400s is the interior pictorial decoration: the oldest work is the fresco of theMadonna and Child with Saints in theapse by an anonymous Lombard master with Tuscan influences. Also on the apse walls is theLast Judgment byGiusto dei Menabuoi in which the scheme ofGiotto'sLast Judgment at theScrovegni Chapel is taken up.^[17] Finally, mention can be made of theStories from the Life of Christ by an anonymous Lombard painter in which Lombard naturalistic accuracy is influenced by Giusto dei Menabuoi's use ofchiaroscuro, and theMadonna Enthroned among Saints byMichelino da Besozzo.^[18]

Although outside the municipal territory, undoubtedly related to the city is theabbey of Morimondo, which, as with the abbeys just mentioned, came into being in the first half of the 12th century due to the arrival of Cistercian monks from France. Also in this case one is confronted, in the original remaining parts of the church, with a very primitive Gothic style, discernible, for example, in the slender proportions when compared with those of Romanesque art. The facade is in exposed terracotta with biforas and a rose window, made in a very simple manner as dictated by the rules ofCistercian architecture.^[19]

TheMirasole Abbey complex, among the few Lombard examples offortified religious architecture, was founded in the 13th century, while the church dates from the late 14th century. The façade is in terracotta with very simple decorations, consisting of a rose window, twomonoforas, and a lowered-arch terracotta portal; the interior has a single-nave hall ending in a quadrangular apse where theAssumption of the Virgin is frescoed by an anonymous painter probably related to the style of Michelino da Besozzo.^[20]

In the early 14th century LordAzzone Visconti inaugurated a full-fledged program of patronage that had its centerpiece in Gothic architecture. Among the earliest achievements is thechurch of San Gottardo in Corte, built as a ducal chapel dedicated to the patron saint of thegout that would affect Azzone, though greatly remodeled in appearance in the 18th century.^[21] Of the original exterior appearance, theoctagonalbell tower and the semi-octagonalapse are preserved: the decoration is made by alternating terracotta elements, already typical ofLombard Romanesque architecture, and white marble elements.^[22] The outstanding element of the complex is the octagonal bell tower attributed to Francesco Pegorari from Cremona: the use of terracotta is prevalent in the lower levels of the bell tower to leave room for white marble in the higher parts up to the crowning, probably taken from the lantern tower ofChiaravalle Abbey and at the top of theTorrazzo of Cremona.^[23]

The interior, according toGalvano Fiamma's chronicles of the time, was completely frescoed byGiotto, called to Milan by Azzone Visconti, and his school: of the cycle of paintings only theCrucifixion remains nowadays, attributed by some directly to the Tuscan master,^[24] while according to another hypothesis some features of the painting, such as realism and attention to detail, would suggest an anonymous, though extraordinary, master of the Giotto sphere with Lombard influences.^[25]

Thechurch of San Cristoforo sul Naviglio is composed of the union of two buildings dating from the late 12th century and the late 14th century, respectively. The façade, which is also divided in two, has on the left apointed arch portal in terracotta with arose window inscribed in the arch, according to some interpretations in a Lombard style of the side portal of thechurch of Santa Maria della Spina inPisa, while on the right there is another pointed arch portal that is less decorated but of more slender proportions and sided by two windows with pointed arches. On both sides of the facade are remnants of frescoes. Inside, the right side of the church has a rectangular-shaped hall with a wooden roof and semicircularapse, while the left side has across-ribbed roof withmonoforas on the wall that provide lighting. Fragments of frescoes visible in the church include theCrucifixion of theZavattari.^[26][27]

To the second half of the 12th century dates the church of San Lorenzo inMonluè, built by theHumiliati order in a very simple style probably borrowed fromCistercian architecture. The façade is very slender in exposed terracotta, and the portal has a round arch surmounted by a mockprothyrum sided by two narrowmonoforas. The church bell tower, with a square plan, consists of four horizontal orders: the top floor is decorated withbiforas with arches resting on stone columns.^[28] The simple interior has a single nave and originally had a wooden truss roof: on the walls are remnants of frescoes on the theme of plant elements, typical of Lombard pictorial decoration in the early 14th century.^[29]

Thechurch of St. Mark was founded in the late 12th century byAugustinian monks; however, heavy interventions undergone by the church since the 16th century have largely distorted its appearance, which was minimally recovered in the exterior with the 19th-century restorations byCarlo Maciachini.^[30] Of the original structure, the broken-line structure marked vertically by buttresses can be seen today: also original are the terracottarose window and the white marble portal surmounted by three statues ofSaints Augustine, Mark and Ambrose.^[31] To the early 14th century dates the quadrangular masonry bell tower, which takes up one of the typical architectural models of the Milan area of the time already used, for example, in theabbey of Mirasole and theArengario of Monza.^[32]

Of the original pictorial decoration, a few fragments of a fresco in the left apse chapel dedicated to theVirgin Mary remain visible, namely theMadonna and Child Enthroned and Saints dating from the late 13th century, from the style influenced by Byzantine art but also by the frescoes of the construction site of thebasilica of St. Francis of Assisi and the later fresco ofMagdalene and a knight saint, whose stylistic similarities with the construction site of theChiaravalle Abbey lead to attributing the work to the so-called First Master of Chiaravalle.^[33] Finally, inside the church are many important sculptural works dating from the Gothic period, including theFuneral Monument to Lanfranco Settala, and theArche Aliprandi.^[34]

Although founded at the end of the 14th century, thechurch of Santa Maria del Carmine has no significant elements of Gothic architecture with the exception of the plan: the facade is in fact the result of a 19th-centuryneo-Gothic restoration while the interior was decorated mainly between the 15th and 17th centuries. The floor plan has aLatin cross with three naves, a form taken from theCertosa di Pavia by the same architectBernardo da Venezia. From reading the plan, the construction of the building rule "ad quadratum," which uses a square as the basic element for defining proportions, is evident: the main nave is composed of three squares, as is the transept, while the aisles and side chapels have the area of a quarter of the elementary square.^[35][36]

In thebasilica of Sant'Eustorgio is the Visconti chapel that was started in 1297 byMatteo Visconti. Of the original pictorial decoration, only the figures of the fourEvangelists remain in good condition, while there are traces of later frescoes such as theTriumph of St. Thomas,St. George Freeing the Princess and sevenSaints, attributed to the so-called Master of Lentate, author of the cycle of frescoes in theOratory of Santo Stefano inLentate. Finally, the chapel contains theArk of Matteo andValentina Visconti.^[37] Also in Sant'Eustorgio, late Gothic frescoes dating from 1440 ofEvangelists andSaints attributed to theZavattari circle can be found in the Torriani chapel.^[38]

The Visconti chapel was, however, left aside byBarnabò Visconti, who moved the family chapel to the now-demolishedchurch of San Giovanni in Conca: the exterior architecture and interior layout were taken from the architecture of the abbeys of the time, as evidenced by the facade moved before demolition with a rose window and monoforas on the model of the Viboldone abbey. Among the remains of pictorial decoration taken before the demolition of the church are theAnnouncing Angel and theVirgin Annunciate by an anonymous early 14th-century painter with Venetian influences. By contrast, of more markedly Tuscan influence are theStories of St. John the Evangelist, kept in the collections of theSforza Castle, in which use is made of bright colors with hints of perspective construction; attributed to an anonymous master of the circle ofGiusto dei Menabuoi.^[39][40]

In thebasilica of San Calimero isLeonardo da Besozzo's fresco of theMadonna and Child, a painting executed in the late Gothic fifteenth century by the forms of the characters inspired by the frescoes of theBorromeo Games in theBorromeo Palace and his own work in thechurch of San Giovanni a Carbonara inNaples. Leonardo, son of Michelino da Besozzo, collaborated with his father in the creation of theMadonna dell'Idea preserved in the cathedral in Milan.^[41]

Of the many churches built in the Gothic style between the 12th and 15th centuries, only a few examples survive today, while most were either completely transformed between the 16th and 17th centuries during the work of theBorromeo cardinals or demolished with theJosephine suppressions in the 18th century. Among the demolitions carried out in the latter period was thechurch of Santa Maria in Brera: the façade was designed byGiovanni di Balduccio and contemplated a gabled front built with black and white marble forming bands of alternating colors, while the internal division into three naves was emphasized on the outside withbuttresses. The portal featured a round arch with splay crowned by a spire containing a small rose window; the decoration was then completed bybiforas andtriforas and various groups of statues including thewimperg group. Only a few traces of the interior remain in theBrera Art Gallery, including some side bays of the church in which frescoes ofSaints and Prophets attributed to Giusto dei Menabuoi are visible.^[42] The church had a three-aisle interior divided bycolumns with zoomorphic capitals typical of late 13th-century Lombard sculpture.^[43]

Finally, another famous Gothic church that no longer exists is thechurch of Santa Maria alla Scala: the building had a gabled facade composed of three vertical partitions marked by four buttresses ending inpinnacles. As typical of Lombard Gothic architecture, the facade was decorated with alternating terracotta and marble elements to create a chromatic contrast, such as the white marble rose window or the monoforas and biforas in terracotta and marble. The church also featured a polygonal bell tower similar to that of the church of San Gottardo in Corte.^[44]

The vicissitudes of theMilan Cathedral, anInternational Gothic masterpiece, were complex from the time theFabbrica was founded in 1386 and would continue for many centuries to come: original to the Gothic period are only the apse, the sacristies and part of the transept, with the rest of the church executed later in a manner more or less adherent to the original design. A very strong push in a patronage direction toward the construction of a grandiose building came fromGian Galeazzo Visconti, recently crowned duke by the emperor, who financed part of the work and worked to raise other funds from the population and called in architects from all over Europe, especially from France, Germany andFlanders.^[45]

The initial design, which is now lost, was probably by anAlsatian architect, but after a few years the architect was replaced to give way to a period of continuous changes in architects and designs: within a few years the French Nicolas de Bonaventure, the ItaliansAntonio di Vincenzo and Gabriele Stornaloco, and the Germans Giovanni da Fernach andHeinrich Parler, among others, were called to the cathedral's construction site. Among the main reasons for the various disagreements was the choice of proportions for the façade, which would be inscribed in a square ("ad quadratum" construction) or in a triangle ("ad triangolum" construction).^[46]

The disputes can be summarized with the Italians in favor of the "ad triangolum" construction, which would eventually prevail leading to the construction of a lower church with more squat proportions, and the German and French master builders in favor of an "ad quadratum" construction that would allow for a taller and more slender façade.^[47] A similar debate arose again with the Parisian architect Giovanni da Mignot, who was also ousted after a short time, over the proportions and statics of the vaults: these debates, which went far beyond the normal parochialist hang-ups, were mainly related to the resistance of the Italian tradition still linked toRomanesque architecture and the consequent delay with which the Milanese territory incorporated the novelties of European Gothic architecture.^[48]

The first element of detachment of the cathedral from the earlier Milanese churches was the perimeter structure, which unlike the other churches, which provided for an eventual covering of the brick structure with more noble materials, is composed exclusively of blocks of Candoglia marble: the supporting structure presents theflying buttress system typical of Gothic architecture, with the outer perimeter walls decorated with an enormous number of statues andcorbels.^[49] The external statuary decoration is presented, relative to Gothic-era commissions, as a sampler of European sculpture with works carried out by local,Burgundian,Bohemian, German, and French craftsmen: in particular, the ninety-sixGiants that adorn the structure's gargoyles can be attributed to the last two groups. Among the main Lombard artists to handle the dense array of exterior statues are Jacopino da Tradate andMatteo Raverti.^[50]

Two of the exemplary works by the two main Italian sculptors active on the site areJacopino da Tradate'sSt. Bartholomew the Apostle and Raverti'sSaint Bishop: in the former case there is extensive use of drapery and there is particular attention to detail, for example in the rendering of the beard, without, however, giving excessive expressiveness to the face, which is the case in Raverti's statue, which restores a suffering saint with hollowed-out cheeks, the result of careful study and modeling.^[51]

The apse is, for the aforementioned temporal reasons, the part most adherent to the stylistic features of the International Gothic: the three pointed-arched windows are deeply decorated with the central theme of theRaza Viscontea, or the radiant sun, symbol of the family, designed by Michelino da Besozzo: the stained-glass windows are decorated with the cycle featuringStories from the Old Testament in the northern stained-glass window, theApocalypse in the central stained-glass window, andEpisodes from the New Testament in the southern stained-glass window, the work of Stefano da Pandino and Franceschino Zavattari.^[52][53] More generally, starting from the early fifteenth century the cathedral can be considered as one of the major European laboratories of the art of stained-glass windows, in which the major Lombard painters of the various periods would participate until its conclusion.^[54]

The interior has aLatin cross plan with the hall divided into five naves, with a slightly projecting transept divided into three naves and a semi-octagonal apse. Therib vaults are supported by polystyle pillars with capitals decorated withsaints placed in niches by Giovannino de' Grassi.^[55]

The portal of the southern sacristy, carved from 1392 by Giovanni da Fernach with decorations of theStories of the Virgin, is a perfect example of GermanInternational Gothic. Above a soberarchitrave made byGiovannino de' Grassi decorated with four-lobed panels withHeads of Prophets, there is the most exuberant decoration, on the theme ofStories of the Virgin, inserted in an ogival arch sided by two pinnacles and ending at the top with aCrucifixion. Finally, theextrados of thelunette features the traditional Gothic decoration of large curled leaves. Among the original decorations, inside the sacristy is the washbasin with a cuspeddossal, also by Giovannino de Grassi.^[56][57] A similar decoration can be found in the entrance of the northern sacristy, beyond which one finds oneself in the only room of the cathedral where one can admire the original flooring of the church, dating back to the early 15th century, made byMarco Solari, along with remains of contemporary terracotta decorations.^[58][59]

As a whole, therefore, the cathedral turned out to be the point of detachment from the last links with Romanesque architecture in the Milanese territory, yet the church, despite the influences that Italian architecture had on its construction, remained unique not only in the territory of the duchy but also in all of Italy:

The church as it was built remains foreign to the Italian architectural tradition [...] Just as St. Mark's in Venice is Byzantine-based, so the cathedral in Milan is French or German, but not Italian. Only by the fact that it is built in Milan and also adorned by Italian sculptors can it be said to be an Italian church: this does not detract, of course, from the fact that it is a distinguished monument and that the sense of mystery communicated by its stained-glass penumbra is absolutely unique on Italian soil

Among the first interventions that established the spread of Gothic in Milan wereMatteo andAzzone Visconti's work in theBroletto Nuovo, today'sPiazza dei Mercanti, which had long been the seat of civic power.^[60]

The first building to be rebuilt was theLoggia degli Osii in 1316: the façade is made of black and white marble, a choice that broke with the traditional use of exposed terracotta though already used in thechurch of Santa Maria in Brera, and is set on two horizontal orders originally porticoed. The ground floor has round arches supported by octagonal stone columns, and this configuration is repeated on the upper floor with the use of arches of equal width but with pointed arches, while there is a parapet decorated with Visconti coats of arms. Finally, the building is crowned by a highcornice where there arebarrel-vaulted niches containing all-round statues: subjects includeMadonnas with Child, and varioussaints, includingSt. Ambrose andSt. James.^[61][62]

Starting in 1433,Casa dei Panigarola was built, greatly remodeled over the years, of whose original structure remain the pointed arches with terracotta edging on the ground floor, supported by columns withcapitals decorated with leaf motifs, while on the upper floor there is a terracotta window that is not original but echoes the original design with decoration typical of early 15th-century Lombard architecture.^[63]

Another intervention in the square, now completely lost as it has been replaced by thepalace of the Scuole Palatine, was the portico of the Banchieri, built starting in 1336 with a porticoed structure similar to that of the Loggia degli Osii.^[64]

Among the few private Gothic palaces preserved in the city is theBorromeo Palace built from the late 15th century. Of the original structure is part of the exposed brick facade with apointed arch portal decorated with Candoglia marbleashlar andred Verona marble enclosed by a creasedfrieze.^[65] The courtyard of honor isporticoed on three sides with ogival arches supported by octagonal columns with capitals decorated with leaves. On the non-porticoed side there are six monoforas in terracotta with pointed arches, while on the walls there are traces offrescoes with heraldic motifs of the palace patrons.^[66] Inside are traces of late Gothic frescoes of theBorromeo Games, attributed by some toPisanello. Once present in the palace and later removed are several fragments of frescoes, including theHarvest of Pomegranates attributed toMichelino da Besozzo, now preserved at thefortress of Angera.^[67][68] An equally valid alternative hypothesis, however, attributes the creation of theBorromeo Games complex to an author called Master of the Borromeo Games: this attribution differing from Pisanello or Michelino was made following the analysis of a rediscoveredSt. John in Sorrow, a fragment of the frescoes in the Borromeo Palace with stylistic references toMasolino'sChrist in Pity while showing influences from the Lombard school.^[69]

Of the numerous towers of the time, which were built along with the noble palaces, only the Gorani tower and the Morigi tower have survived to the present day.^[70]

From the historical descriptions of the Royal Palace, at that time Broletto Nuovo and later Ducal Palace, the work ofGiotto, who was called to court by Azzone Visconti, can be mentioned.^[71] Among the various works described by chroniclers of the time is the fresco ofIllustrious Men with a mythological theme, modeled after his own work in theHall of the Barons at the Maschio Angioino inNaples, decorated with gold and enamels typical of French Gothic painting:^[72]

Finally, among the examples of civil architecture, albeit for the use of religious power, mention must be made of the Archbishop's Palace. As with the neighboring palace, remodeling over the various eras has almost completely obliterated the original construction commissioned byOttone Visconti andGiovanni Visconti, archbishops of Milan: among the few Gothic remains are a few terracotta biforas on the facade toward the cathedral and on the west side. During some post-World War II restoration of the palace, fragments of frescoes of the Giotto school emerged.^[73] Also preserved in the archbishopric are fragments of frescoes that survived by pure chance from the reconstructions of thechurch of Santa Maria Podone, rediscovered and removed in the 20th century, depicting aprocession of the Magi, whose attribution to Michelino da Besozzo or his workshop has not been possible because of the fragmentary nature of the work, though with designs that can certainly be traced by model and outline to those of theLibretto degli Anacoreti by Michelino.^[74]

Among the many initiatives promoted by Azzone Visconti should also be mentioned the completion of work on the city's medieval walls along with the gates, which were designed to be veritable monuments. In each of the six gates of Milan, Azzone had a tabernacle dedicated to theVirgin Mary placed, usually alongside saints holding up the model of the citysestiere in relation to the gate: three of these were made by Giovanni di Balduccio, and the other three by the so-called Maestro della Lunetta di Viboldone, a sculptor among the most prominent of the circle of Campionese masters. To the former would be attributed theVirgin andSaints ofPorta Ticinese and the statues taken from the demolished Porta Orientale and Porta Comasina, while to the latter would belong the tabernacles ofPorta Nuova and the demolished Porta Romana and Porta Vercellina.^[75]

Along with the development of the city walls, the Visconti were responsible for the construction of the Porta Giovia castle, on whose remains theSforza Castle would be built. The fortification was begun in 1368 byGaleazzo II Visconti, while Gian Galeazzo added to it an outer fortified citadel not connected to the central core, which was, however, connected, along with the construction of the Ghirlanda (a second outer fortification wall connected to the central core of the castle) byFilippo Maria Visconti starting in 1420. Of the ancient Visconti castle, which was attacked during the period of theGolden Ambrosian Republic and completely rebuilt by theSforza dynasty, no trace remains other than the serizzo base of the Sforza castle.^[76]

The transition from Romanesque to Gothic marked the abandonment of sculpture as an essence exclusively functional to architectural decoration in favor of autonomous works for which a separate analysis from the architectural context may be worthwhile. Milanese Gothic sculpture can thus be divided into two main strands, obviously never entirely separate and with mutual influences: on the one hand the Tuscan school ofGiovanni di Balduccio with his workshop, and on the other the Campionese Masters, the name given to a group of sculptors from families originating inCampione d'Italia whose style is difficult to distinguish and who often worked in collaboration, though for the school's major artists it is sometimes possible to indicate the author precisely.^[77]

Among the oldest Gothic sculptural monuments in Milan is theFuneral Monument to Ottone Visconti by an unidentified Campionese Master, dating from the late 13th century and preserved in the Milan Cathedral. The monument is made of red Verona marble with the structure of the sarcophagus with sloping pitches, a clear reference to Roman funeral monuments made of porphyry: the monument, supported by two columns added in the late 14th century, has the figure of the archbishop lying on the front pitch. This solution finds extensive precedents in French sculpture of the time, but especially inArnolfo di Cambio'sFuneral Monument of Cardinal De Braye at thechurch of San Domenico inOrvieto.^[78] The sarcophagus was the model of inspiration for theark of Berardo Maggi, also of the Campionese school, preserved at theold cathedral inBrescia.^[79]

The greatest work by Giovanni di Balduccio and his workshop is theArk of Saint Peter, preserved in thePortinari Chapel in thebasilica of Sant'Eustorgio. TheCarrara marble tomb, of monumental proportions and complex iconographic content, rests on eight pillars ofred Verona marble on which are placed statues of theVirtues; the sides of the sarcophagus are decorated with eightbas-reliefs of theEpisodes in the life of St. Peter separated by statues ofSaints and Doctors of the Church. The lid is in the shape of a truncated pyramid, the gables of which are decorated with reliefs ofSaints, crowned by a cusped tabernacle containing statues of theVirgin with Saints Dominic and Peter.^[80]

The composition introduces to the Lombard area the isolated complex funeral monument, that is, of the monument visible and decorated on all four sides:^[81] theArk of St. Augustine, another among the most famous sculptural monuments of Lombard Gothic, was in its tripartite decoration marked by statues of saints crowned by a tabernacle inspired by Balducci's masterpiece, although in even more monumental forms.^[82]

On the other hand, the masterpiece and highest expression of sculpture by the Campionese Masters is theEquestrian Monument to Bernabò Visconti byBonino da Campione, originally placed at thechurch of San Giovanni in Conca. The monument, made from a single block ofCarrara marble, consists of asarcophagus supported by twelve columns of various shapes and sizes: as in the previous work, all four sides of the monument are visible and decorated with reliefs, respectively with theCoronation of the Virgin, theEvangelists, theCrucifixion with Saints and thePietà with Saints. The sarcophagus is surmounted by the imposing equestrian statue of Bernabò, once painted, sided byallegories ofFortitude andWisdom.^[83]

Bonino and his workshop, while incorporating the influences of Giovanni di Balduccio's Milanese work, show in the work a continuation of the Lombard naturalistic tradition, giving strong emphasis to minor details and decorations, while the main character is portrayed in a deliberately solemn and hieratic manner, far from the intensity and finesse of the Tuscan Balduccio tradition.^[84]

It was theFuneral Monument of Azzone Visconti by Giovanni di Balduccio, preserved in thechurch of San Gottardo in Corte, that introduced the funerary monument with a canopy supported on columns in the Lombard area: the decoration of the sarcophagus is very rich and consists of figures ofsaints, while at the top there areAngels holding a funeral curtain. The model was reproposed a few years later by the Campionese Masters in the creation of theFuneral Monument to Franchino Rusca.^[85]

In the basilica of Sant'Eustorgio is theFuneral Monument of Stefano and Valentina Visconti, an imposing composition where the sarcophagus is inserted in an aedicule with a cusp supported bytwisted columns, attributed to Bonino da Campione for the attention to detail and in the decorative motifs.^[86] Also in the basilica is theArk of the Magi, a marbletriptych with compartments and theAncona of the Passion withScenes from the Life of Christ with convex ogival cusps at the top.^[87]

Other interesting fourteenth-century sculptural monuments are theArk of Martino Aliprandi, theArk of Salvarino Aliprandi and theArk of Rebaldo Aliprandi, preserved in thechurch of San Marco, sculptural works with high attention to detail of Lombard naturalism attributed to unspecified Campionese masters.^[88] Also in the same church is theFuneral Monument of Lanfranco Settala, a late 14th-century monument exemplifying the influence of Giovanni di Balduccio in the Milanese area.^[89]

As for late Gothic 15th-century sculpture, mention may be made of theFuneral Monument to Pietro Torelli by Martino Benzoni and Luchino Cernuschi located in the chapel of the same name in Sant'Eustorgio.^[90] The sarcophagus rests on six elegant twisted columns, to which three stylophoric lions form a base: the case punctuated by five niches echoes the typology of theFuneral Monument to Marco Carelli by Jacopino at Milan Cathedral, in both cases with niches ending in a cusp. Above the sarcophagus lies the deceased and a canopy crowned by a funeral curtain held up byAngels, a structure taken fromAzzone Visconti's Funeral Monument in San Gottardo, crowned by anaedicule with thebenedictory God the Father inside. The composition, due to the softness of the robes and curtain, departs from the hieratic and solemn statuary production of the early Lombard Gothic period.^[38]

• Gothic art
• Gothic architecture
• History of architecture and art in Milan

• Maria Grazia Balzarini (2000).Il Gotico. Milano: Nodo Libri.
• Miklos Boskovitz, ed. (1988).Arte in Lombardia tra gotico e rinascimento. Milano: Fabbri.
• Cesare Brandi (2013).Disegno dell'architettura italiana. Roma: Castelvecchi.
• Roberto Cassanelli, ed. (2002).Lombardia gotica. Milano: Jaca Book.
• Francesco Paolo Fiore, ed. (1998).Il Quattrocento. Milano: Electa.
• Maria Teresa Fiorio (2006).Chiese di Milano. Milano: Electa.
• Paolo Mezzanotte; Giacomo Bascapè (1968).Milano nell'arte e nella storia. Milano: Bestetti 1198.
• Maria Cristina Passoni; Jacopo Stoppa (2000).Il tardogotico e il Rinascimento. Milano: Nodo libri.
• Marco Rossi, ed. (2005).Lombardia gotica e tardogotica. Milano: Skira.
• Laura Cavazzini (2004).Il crepuscolo della scultura medievale in Lombardia. Firenze: Leo Olschki editore.

• Gothic art
• Culture in Milan
• Milan

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