The church of Saint Magno: the heart of the city of Legnano  

Between all monuments in Legnano mainly comes to us envied for its artistic maturity it is sure the Church of S. Magno. When in the 1504 began the jobs under the sponsorship of the families Lampugnani and Vismara, the citizens of Legnano as soon as the romanic church of S. Salvatore had been unravelled of, that it was is structurally that culturally non-recoverable, neither sufficiently dignitous for a well-off village like ours.

The Reinassance had brought back in architecture to their full splendor makes you structural of the roman imperial age. Towards the end of a 1400 great tormented talent, Leonardo da Vinci, obeying to one its inner requirement, tried in its works to express the spirit and the movement of the things.

Donato Bramante universal indicated like inventive father of our church, could not avoid this lesson of spirituality transmitted from the young Leonardo.

The means that he use more for transmit life and movement in the architectonic shapes was the plants formulation of the churches, with visual outline centers them.

While in ancient always it had been traced the chuch's shape (also in S. Salvatore) with a perspective monodirectional inner towards the altar, in the new churches to plant centers them the faithfuls is found dipped in a space who give every side reserve ends, visual, plays architectonic always various with mirable geometries.

The attribution of the paternity of ours temple to Donato Bramante of Asdrualdo (Urbino) is born from two factors. The first one is represented from one citation in the History of the churches of Legnano (1650) of priest of S. Magno Agostino Pozzo. According to factor that renders the ancient attribution credible, it is born very simply from the critical reading of the architectonic composition of the church.
As we have before pointed out is after Leonardo da Vinci that the taste and the structure invention are born observed in Legnano.

Also the Pozzo, than architect it is not, endured characterizes the square and the octagon legacies, astonishes of the fact that they give every side the altars can be seen without that they are disturbed.

All the architectonic system is a hymn to the stiff geometry to make and also to turn the look in a continuous one of always new visual perspectives remaining the observer always in the same point of the building.

4 May 1504 the first stone similar, but later Examples, is found in Lodi, Saronno, Pavia, Crema. To Busto Arsizio the news of the building makes endured much fuss that immediately they copy it in smaller scale building up S. Maria of public square.

These churches, all to plant center them, are not made from Bramante, but from its it follows to us, and in fact also being much beautiful, lack the essentiality, cleanly and harmony present instead with mirable equilibrium in the S. Magno di Legnano.

We do not forget that the citizens of Legnano began in 1495 to programming the elimination of S. Salvatore and therefore the true date in which S. Magno was thought is nine 4 years very previous to those May 1504 in which the first stone was mail.

To realize the church it supplied a master builder placed side by side from our greater artist of that time, citizen of Legnano for adoption (lived in Milan), young painter Gian Giacomo Lampugnani. Far away relative of the Lampugnani di Legnanello and the owners of the Castello, Gian Giacomo was the craftsman more adapted for experience and artistic sensibility that could assume the delicate task to transpose in walls the designs and the indications of Coveting.

The building came begun with large work in 1504 and finished, in the structures building, the 6 june 1513. Endured it was provided to equip it of inner decorations that made it to be the best between the constructions. For much time instead it regards the outside the citizens was arrested with the jobs in 1513.

Perhaps moneies lacked (remember that the village then was little inferior to the 2000 spirits), perhaps the decorative ideas lacked, or attended lumes aesthetic from Bramente, but these lumes never did not arrive since the great architect had extinguished itself to Rome, in 1514.
Famous is that norm the great artists wanted to personally execute the decorations and the external architectonic reasons of their creations.

It was in fact necessary one tightened collaboration between the artist and the executory ones for being able to rifinire a monument, moreover the professional jealousy of the architects of the time made yes that nobody of they anticipated with yard designs the aesthetic external of the building that, is for the long times of construction, is for the economic uncertainties of financing, was a lot little expectable like completion dates.

Also the participations of the Richini were not that marginal and at a distance very one hundred years from it rests of the first stone. The church remained therefore orphaned of its external aspect. To the contrary it can be asserted that in its inside it is of one difficultly wealth and splendor.

Before and the more important operates never painted came executed from master Gian Giacomo Lampugnani, in 1515, with candelabre and grotesque executed one of remarkable force and elegance. Obtained with inks grey white women and in light games on a blue bottom, the decorations are of a scenography very rarely eguagliate.

The historian Muntz, remained very well from this good work, defined by writers the beautifulst in Lombardy.

It frames itself perfectly in the concept of centrality of plant, expressed from the building. It does not have in fact a directionality of the design, but it specularly repeats the scansion of equal segments of the pavement and invites to rotate the look with circulation movement that man hand knows them like in a spiral that finishes under the spider mail to the apex of the roof.

reasons to animals and plants respect also the remarkable overhong of the structure building. It is constructed in tiles strong like all the rest of the church, except made for the ancient bell tower. Like already said the part of foundations and the Romanesque bell tower of the S. Salvatore, they were red-use in 1504. Indeed the same bell tower skillfully was taken advantage doing to act as the smaller nail head in the skillful side of the wall south. The nail head of S. Maria and S. Giuseppe who close to he found again itself was respected in its shape and dedicates. This later on received in the 1640 Antegnati organ when it came closed the big door turned towards it puts into effect them town hall. The increased same organ from the Carrera and then from the Maroni found place in the new widening of the facade operated in the 1914 from architect Perrone.

Insufficient news and little documents exist on this from Milan, elect archbishop to protecting celestial of the city of the Carroccio.

If all know more or less the history of the church of Saint Magno, whose given of beginning of the factory on the ruins of the Romanesque church that was called Santo Salvatore and San Magno (4 May 1504), and completed the 6 june 1513, little instead know who were the Saint patron of our city, exactly Saint Magno.

But before one precisation. For Santo Salvatore it must agree not already the saint, but Cristo Redentore, in honor of which in coupling to Saint Magno the church was dedicated Longobarda.

Near Milan church of S. Eustorgio they figure on the greater altar four men that in the solemn festivities come upgraded from as many envelopes in bronze in figure of bishops with the haloed head. And it is exactly in one of these men that are guarded, second the legend, seems from 1558, the skullcap of Saint Magno that was bishop of Milan, for will of Pope Silverio, holding such charge from the 518 to the 528, preceded from Eustorgio II and followed from Custom office (some historian assigns instead to Magno 30 years).

But in which documents is the Saint patron of Legnano cited?

A carme exists in the first place in which signal to Saint Magno, found in an ancient code from Goffredo di Bussero and brought back he in the Liber notitiae Sanctorum Mediolani is made exactly, that it says exactly:

Virtute officio meruit et nomine Magnus Forma quidem speculum lux et imago Dei Claruit in signis ditatus munere divo Viribus ex toti semper amando bonum. Non laetis unquatm extolli nec tristibus hisce Ferre manum fessis nudos vestire paratus. Captorumque gravi solvere colla jugo Sustiunuit magni promissa praemia regni Devincens hostis Taedia magna suis.

Of Saint Magno there is trace also in a letter of Saint Avido, bishop of Vienna, that it would have been addressed to such Magno. Draft of a recommendation of which some poor devils are lators 'who have a lot suffered - therefore law in the missiva - and that they hope to find in the adressee good acceptance'. In the historical archives of Saint Magno to the times of mons. Cappelletti existed (and probably there is still) a 'Vitae of the fathers, of the martyrdoms and of the other main ones it knows to you' of Abbot Albano Buttler, eleventh volume of one printed publication collection to Venice in 1860. In this publication the author describe to praise Magno above all, emphasizing its attention to the safeguard of innocence of the young women in danger and binds together the name of Magno to the city of the Carroccio asserting:
'very soon he came honored of festivities, altars and churches, between which the ancient of Legnano deserves a distinguished rank'.

Cited book of Goffredo di Bussero that moreover asserts that its body 'iacet in Ecclesia regum (of 1 November of the 540 died being to alreadythe King Magi) cum Sancto Eustorgio'. According to the Butler instead it died in the 530. In Lombardy it exists to he dedicated an other church to Morazzano, while to Saint Maria in Corbetta there is an altar in honor of Saint Magno.

Even if the reason is not specified in some document for which our Bramante's church was dedicated to him, the devotion for Saint Magno from part of the citizens of Legnano that has elevated it to protecting celestial of the city, however solid and is animated from great feeling and religious faith.

He was Pope XII to elevate Saint Magno to smaller Roman church.

The invocata papal bubble from the Priest Mon. Cappelletti is dated 29 March 1950.

Saint Magno Smaller Roman Church.

With papal bubble given 29 to March 1950 Pope Pio XII it elevated the church of Saint Magno to the rank of Smaller Roman Church. The document that we reproduce with some extracts of the translation, concurs to estimate which has been the recognized titles them of merit from the Catholics for the acceptation of the demand, advanced from priest the Mons. Cappelletti.

Legnano, as they tell the historical memories, became a center far away 7 August 1584, for deliberation of Saint Carl Borromeo, than in the past occasion presses preopositure of Parabiago. Just the construction of the church and its richest decorative apparatus and artistic equipment, let alone cospicue the unearned incomes, determined the choice of the Borromeo, not shared, obviously, from the citizens of Parabiago that uselessly asked to return in the number of the prepositure. Sure the citizens of Legnano were gratify from the nomination, also because the local community exited some strengthened in its position.

Hour the things are changed but the title remains with its prerogatives, which, as an example, that one of having understood it, a what that the normal parishes do not have. The parishes have replaced from many years the role of the prepositure, but the titles testify them the importance that some communities have acquired in the context in which they were found, obtaining therefore important acknowledgments and motivate. As it can be read from the bubble, our community distinguishes itself, beyond that for the historical memories, the work of its industries and the many virtues that explain in cure of the youth, the sick ones, old and the children let alone the strong religious feeling, testified also from the presence of numerous religious associations and of charity. The reading of this document can sure be useful in order to know some our aspects of recent passed on which is not never sufficiently informs to you.

Eugenia De Giovannini

The praises of the Pope to Legnano's temple.

Here one extract of the document in Italian translation:
'… this tempio, than laughed them at the beginning of century XI, more times modified and finally reconstructed from the brilliant arhitect Donato Bramante, constitutes an ornaments and honor of the City. You sculptures and paintings of illustrious artists admire, yes that the church goes numbered between best monuments of the Reinassance. Moreover in this temple, rich of rests of It knows to you and of sacred things, a Priest and other clergymen exercise their ministry. So that this laborious city and for its faith and the same one temple of S. Magno was public honors to you with a sign of Our good will, than still it served to promote the mercy puts into effect it them priest also to name of the clergy and the people, than uninterruptedly it crowds the Church, has turned us humble prayers, because we deigned to declare that church Smaller Church. From bread Our, receiving ready all that that can favor the increment of the religion and wanting to increase the honor of this temple, considered the wide recommendations of the delight son our Alfredo Ildefonso of the Saint Roman Church cardinal Schuster, thinks of must consent very gladly… '.