Percorsi

Other Churches

The churches of Monza

Many other churches were built within Monza’s walls during the Middle Ages. The oldest (no longer extant) are San Martino, Sant’Ambrogio, San Salvatore, Sant’Agata and San Michele (the latter was the coronation site of Conrad III of Swabia in 1128). In the 13th century other ecclesiastical buildings destined to play an important role in the town’s history were erected in for the new religious orders, in particular the Penitent (Umiliati) and Mendicant orders (Franciscans, Dominicans, and Augustinians). The most important of the eight Penitent monasteries was founded in 1252-59 next to the newly built church of Sant’Agata (later known as Santa Maria del Carrobiolo) and would accept the pledge of the Cathedral Treasury from the archpriest Raimondo in 1273. The leading Franciscan convent was situated in the western side of the town, near the pratum magnum (now Piazza Trento e Trieste), and owned a huge church that became the model for the new cathedral when it was rebuilt in the 14th century. The Dominican church of San Pietro Martire, and the churches of the Disciplini of Santa Marta and Santa Maria in Strada all date to the 14th century; the latter, erected by Franciscan Tertiaries on the ancient road joining Monza and Milan, has one of the loveliest surviving Lombard Gothic façades. Many of the sculptures and frescoes now in the museum originate from these buildings, which have been demolished or remodeled over the centuries.