The Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore

The Basilica, probably started in 1157, was erected on an even more ancient church site. In 1187 the east wing with the chancel and east apses of the transept were completed but serious economic problems slowed down the works. In the thirteenth century, work started on the west wing using less valuable materials. In the fourteenth century, work to finish the basilica was started again by craftsmen from Campione, whilst in the next century, the bell tower was raised, the old vestry demolished and a new one built. A final touch to the exterior was given in 1521 by Piero Isabello with the south west portal, known as the fountain portal. The two superb prothyra (column-edged doorways) by Giovanni da Campione, in particular the northern one (1350) facing piazza del Duomo (Duomo square) and next to the Colleoni chapel, are especially important and merit particular attention. The interior is arranged in a primitive Romanesque form of three naves separated by pillars and is decorated very luxuriously with ornamentation, paintings, marble and stuccoes. The tapestries, the monument to Gaetano Donizetti by Vincenzo Vela, the Baroque confessional with its fretwork by Andrea Fantoni, the wonderful wooden marquetry panels made from the designs of Lorenzo Lotto and the beautiful Giotto-style fresco “L’Albero della vita” (The tree of life), painted by an unknown artist in 1347, are also extremely interesting.