Milan: San Bernardino alle Ossa

Slow Tour in Milan at the Basilica of Santo Stefano and the famous charnel house St. Bernardino, dating back till the 17th century.

The sanctuary of San Bernardino alle Ossa is a work of art: the idea of arranging the bones of the dead in a more or less artistic and decorative manner is very strange. It is both fascinating and disturbing… maybe it is fascinating because it is disturbing!

What’s the history behind this work of art?

 

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Video full text: Santo Stefano and the decorative charnel house

This is a charnel house that was very popular in the 17th century.
The idea of arranging the bones of the dead
in a more or less artistic and decorative manner is very strange.
This may even be the final resting place of Leonardo da Vinci’s somewhat strange and controversial mother, Caterina.
It’s a slightly macabre masterpiece,
and it reminds us all that death is inevitable and that life passes quickly.
And so we reduce ourselves.
Remember that you must die!
And someone might say – “Let me make a note of that!”
The Sanctuary of San Bernardino alle Ossa is a work of art.
How does it make people feel? Let me ask one of the visitors here.
It’s both fascinating and disturbing.
It’s fascinating because it is disturbing!
So what’s the history behind this work of art?
The parish priest of the nearby basilica of Santo Stefano is about to tell me.
It all began in 1145, when Goffredo da Bussero had a small hospital built,
in the meadow opposite, to look after the poor.
When the people being treated in the hospital died,
if they were really poor and had no relatives, they would be buried in the area around here.
And so the area opposite the basilica of Santo Stefano had become a graveyard.
But it was small.
Later, in the year 1210, a chamber was built to house the bones,
and, at the end of the 17th century, it became this chapel.
It had already been conceived to be like this in the 17th century.
It was the architect Merlo who came up with this work of art,
which, when all is said and done, is a conceptual work, because it expresses many meanings.
Perhaps today’s artists, if they had the raw materials at their disposal, might also be able to reproduce it.
The idea is that of inviting us to reflect on the meaning of life.
Moreover, in 1630 there was an outbreak of the plague in Milan.
In the main, those buried here were the poor, strangers,
the members of the religious orders who ran the hospital and the executed.
Many of these bear the mark of the final coup de grâce,
Piazza Santo Stefano was, for a while, a place of torture.
The painting of Our Lady of Sorrows reveals all the suffering of those left behind.
Architecture and history have left us some signs
of what we have called “A Milan with its heart in its hand”,
which was there then and still remains to this day, even if it is a bit more hidden away.
A Milan that opens its doors to the most needy.
It’s no coincidence that the diocese decided to transform the Basilica of Santo Stefano into the parish for migrants.
The first thing that migrants who are believers ask for, in addition to a job and somewhere to live,
is to be able to practise their faith.
The key to success is to help people to come together.
I’m convinced that the racism that one sees at certain levels is born of ignorance,
where ignorance means never really having looked into the eyes of a migrant.
When one succeeds in bringing people together and getting them to know one another, fear vanishes.
If there’s one thing that being in here makes me realise, it’s that we really all are equals!
It’s absurd to think that all these poor devils, that counted for nothing in life,
now lie here in this way and are visited by so many people every day.
And it is in the triumph of life after death that what we were when we were alive disappears.
Rising ever upwards towards the light, there’s the cloud where God is hiding.
We’re going to the Basilica of Santo Stefano,
where the Peruvians are preparing a great celebration!
A big procession in which a painting is carried.
Where there’s a Peruvian there’s a picture of the Lord of the Miracles.
Every three years the celebration moves to the Milan Cathedral, with the Cardinal and up to 8000 people.
8000 Peruvians come from all over Italy to have an unbelievable celebration here in Milan,
Something that brings us closer to other customs and cultures!
How Andean, how Peruvian! But in our country, how beautiful!
I really adore the Andes and it’s so strange finding them here.
The journey becomes mythical.
In our daily life it becomes the hassle of living together.
This year, at last, saw the beatification of Monsignor Romero,
the Archbishop killed in El Salvador.
Some time ago I organised a photographic exhibition in my parish.
One of the photos shows the moment he was martyred,
with the four women who were holding the dying archbishop and carrying him outside.
One of these four women came to introduce herself to me. She now works as a carer in Milan.