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Augustinian Library of the Incoronata
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Show an other treasure of art and history in Milan:
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 Mostly represented styles: Renaissance
The library belongs to the complex of the Augustinian Monastery of St. Mary the Crowned which also includes the famous double church of Santa Mary the Crowned. It deserves a special mention because of its uniqueness and its historical interest.
The Augustinian Library was built between 1480 and 1490 and is located on the first floor. It is one of the few examples of painted library arrived to the present day. It is divided into three naves supported by slender columns in gneiss, some of which still have part of the original fake marble decoration. On the vaults of the central nave the rayed sun is visible, Augustinian symbol, while in the lunettes the fathers of the church are depicted. The latter frescoes were rediscovered only after the restoration completed in 2000, after being freed from layers of plaster and lime behind which they had been hidden in the past centuries.
The library walls are colored in green to ensure the most favorable to the work of miniaturists of light conditions. The walls are decorated with cartouches depicting Augustinian motions.
The library had been forgotten for centuries after that, after its suppression, it was architecturally modified and used for cells, with the addition of walls to connect the columns.
Beautiful also the eighteenth-century staircase and the hallway containing the access to the library, it also enriched with frescoes and decorations.
This part of the convent was for a long time an important reference point for the city's culture, with important Milanese characters donating entire collections of books and precious codes, many of which are now preserved in the Ambrosiana Library.
If you are interested in a guided tour of this monument send an email!
Categories: Others
Corso Garibaldi 116, 20121 Milano |
Further pictures of the Augustinian Library of the Incoronata in the section Photography |