art
The interior of the Sanctuary actually constitutes a rich panning of Lombardia’s art from late Mannerism to the beginning of 20th Century.
Some works deserve a specific visit: San Giuseppe’s chapel, decorated by Camillo Procaccini, with some helps, within 1603, with the splendid altarpiece of the Rest while escaping in Egypt; San Giorgio’s chapel, with the valuable cycle of frescos by Morazzone (1614-1615), the notable plasters and the altarpiece showing San Giorgio and the dragon painted by Giovanni Ambrogio Figino toward 1606; the sumptuous San Carlo’s chapel, among the most successful episodes of Baroque style in Lombardia, decorated by Andrea Lanzani in 1684.
Several paintings of the 18th Century are distributed among the Sacristy, the Penitentiary and side chapels, among which a Martyrdom of Saint Caterina by Camillo Procaccini, the altarpiece of St. Giovanni Battista’s chapel attributed to Giovanni Mauro della Rovere called “il Fiammenghino”, and the beautiful altarpiece of Sant'Anna painted by Carlo Vimercati in 1714.
Great fresco’s cycles of the XIX Century were painted in aisle by Giuseppe Carsana (1868-1889) from Bergamo, coming from Carrara’s academy, and by Luigi Morgari (1890-1895) from Turin with refined decorations and quadratures by Achille and Angelo Secchi.
Notable XIX Century sculptural groups decorate the insides, among which the two great plaster models by sculptor Pompeo Marchesi "The Religion" and "San Carlo communicates San Luigi Gonzaga" directly come from the Milanese study of the sculptor in 1868. Other beautiful plaster groups complete the neoclassic side chapels, among which stands out for the executive quality the one of Grazioso Rusca on the completion of the chapel of Sant'Ambrogio, executed toward 1806.
Among the 19th Century paintings there are works by Giuseppe Sogni, Raffaele Casnedi and Roberto Galperti from Verolanuova.
A visit can’t be missed in Christmas period, occasion to see the spectacular Presepio with painted shapes by Giuseppe Carsana (second half of the 19th Century), constituted by 20 full size paper shapes, studied for the double mounting for Christmas and Epiphany.
Noteworthy is the monumental greater altar, dating back to 17th Century and widened at the end of the 19th Century on project of architect Gaetano Moretti, with Carrara’s marble sculptures by Antonio Carminati and bronzes by Eugenio Bellosio and Giovanni Lomazzi. In the altar backside a beautiful altar piece from the second half of 17th Century painted by Cristoforo Storer represents San Carlo that lays the foundation stone of the Rho Sanctuary.
The post-conciliar altar has been consecrated by Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini on April 24th 1998, and done in Candoglia’s marble on models by the sculptor Floriano Bodini.
Notable woodworks and wooden sculptures, especially from 18th Century, decorate the inner of the basilica, among which stand up, above the arc of the presbytery, the great Crucifix with two angels carved by Giuseppe Antignati in 1765, then the elegant choir in walnut-tree wood of the 1747 by Antonio Maria Pozzi and the notable pulpits and organ boxes in gilded wood done by Benedetto Cazzaniga in the second half of the 18th Century.
In the Sacristy and in the Penitentiary grandiose closets and furnitures from 18th and 19th Centuries.
