Church of the Holy Eustorgius Milan

Church of the Holy Eustorgius

The beginnings of the church of Sant Eustorgio date back to IV century, when the 9th Bishop of Milan, Eustorgius was living. Under the floor of the Basilica can be visited a pre-Christian cemetery with grave stones of the martyrs.

Sarcophagus of the
Holy 3 Kings

The church became famous because Bishop Eustorgius received on his journey to Constantinople the relics of the Magi from the East (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) as a gift from a son of Constantine.

With great difficulty Eustorgius carried the relics in a cart from Constantinople to Milan.
Suddenly the donkey refused the service. Eustorgius took this as a sacred sign and erected exactly at this point a new church.

In the church of Eustorgius, the relics were placed in a coffin, where they remained for 700 years almost forgotten. When Frederick Barbarossa invaded Milan in 1164, he plundered the church and destroyed it almost completely.

The relics of the Magi from the East

The bones and relics of the Magi were kidnapped by Barbarossa to Cologne and partially returned to Milan only centuries later. Today, the relics of the Magi are located in the Cologne Cathedral, which was built exactly for this reason.

Basilica di Sant Eustorgio

In 1220, the Dominicans assumed the church in the meantime rebuilt. The Triptych and the frescoes inside tell about the life and of the transfer of the sarcophagus of the Holy 3 Kings.

On the day of the Three Kings (Epiphany), this event is commemorated with a pilgrimage from Milan Cathedral to the Basilica di S. Eustorgio.

San Pietro and the Portinari Chapel

Altar in Sant Eustorgio

The church Saint Eustorgio from the 4th Century is located at Corso di Porta Ticinese, that was an important junction from Milan to Pavia, in the past the capital of Lombardy . Each new bishop of Milan begins his procession at the church of St. Eustorgio and reaches the Milan cathedral Duomo as a sign of the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

Portinari Chapel

The churchwardens, the Dominican priest Pietro da Verona was murdered and canonized. His vestments are persevered in the marble sarcophagus in the Portinari chapel, a jewel of the Church of St. Eustorgio.

The marble sarcophagus is all around decorated with figures and symbols. The masterpiece was crafted in the 14th Century by the sculptor Giovanni di Balduccio​​. In a small room of the chapel there can be visited the original cracked cranium of Saint Pietro.

Portinari Chapel

His portrait can be admired beside those of Saints Peter, Paul, and Domenico in the little sacristy in the church of S. Maria delle Grazie.

Marble sarcophagus in the
Cappella Portinari

Visits of Sant Eustorgio

Chiesa di Sant Eustorgio

Piazza Sant'Eustorgio, 1, 20123 Milan (View on the map)

open:

• 7.45 am to 5.00 p.m.
• On Sunday 9.30 - 11.00 a.m. and 12.30 - 5.00 p.m.

Visits of Museum Sant'Eustorgio and Portinari Chapel:

• Every day, 10.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.