Utente:FrOsmetti/Sandbox2

versione 77003695

CHIESA DI SANTA MARIA DEGLI ANGELI
Stato	Italia
Regione	Lombardia
Località	Brugherio
Coordinate	45°32′30.62″N 9°17′44.38″E
Religione	Cattolica
Titolare	Sant'Andrea, Madonna degli Angeli, Re Magi
Completamento	sec. XVI

Annexed to Farm Guzzina, in the south of Brugherio, there is the small church of Santa Maria degli Angeli.

History

In the south of the city lies the Cascina Guzzina, a complex of old farmhouses that were once isolated in the countryside town. The name comes from the Guzzina Gussetta that once referred to the cocoons failed, and testifies to the presence, in the farmhouse, silkworm breeding and production of precious silk fabrics. Cascina Guzzina also since eighteenth century, was known for the production of fine wine. The complex, which already existed in the sixteenth century, consists of a wide range of agricultural courts built following the typical features of rural architecture. In the eighteenth century the noble De Capitani of Vimercate built a noble villa adjoining the farmhouse. The rural complex is surrounded by a compact curtain wall plastered with yellow and, in the south part of the building, a white outline shows the facade of a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary, as indicated in the inscription on the lintel of this entrance. The church, probably of XVI century origins, was once part of a small Franciscan monastery. Later, according to the will of the different noble owners of the villa, it has had various dedications: to Saint Andrew, to Our Lady of the Angels, and finally to the three Magi.

Architecture

The interior consists of a small rectangular room with a raised presbytery, separated from the nave by a marble balustrade and enhanced by the presence of two pilasters. The altar is in gray marble and is leaning against the back wall which is highlighted by precious paintings. between two paintings there are reproduced illusionistically two niches where are depicted false columns surmounted by angels in prayer. Above the altar there is a painting in seventeenth century style representing the Virgin and Child, Saint Francis of Assisi showing hands with the stigmata and Saint Paul, with the classic attributes of the book and the sword. The heads of the Madonna and Child are adorned with crowns of gold, silver and precious stones, donated by the inhabitants of Cascina Guzzina in the fifties as a sign of devotion and thanksgiving for favors received and the protection granted. Below the painting in the background, you can recognize the Portiuncula, the small church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, located on the outskirts of Assisi. The Porziuncola is linked to the life of Saint Francis and Saint Clare and, due to this fact, it so dear to the Franciscan tradition.

The painting, which dates back to the period when the church was dedicated to Santa Maria degli Angeli, is framed by a white stucco decoration. On either side depicts two candlesticks, decorated with festoons, bearing the monogram of the Virgin Mary; these decorations are inserted into two painted pilasters. On the lintel, above the painting, there are two angels holding a medallion depicting the monogram of Christ "JHS", that stands for Jesus Hominum Salvator. The ceiling of the church is completely frescoed: on the small nave shows a clear sky, in the presbytery it appears several times the monogram of the Virgin Mary, alternating with festoons and floral decorations, led by two angels in glory. The left aisle leads to a small room where it's possible to attend the Mass. In this room there are fragments of frescoes which appear fake architecture and, on the right, a small closet. On the doors, finely decorated in a seventeenth-century style, appear flowers, angels and the letters S and R suggest that the contents of the cabinet: Holy Relics. On the floor above this room there is another similar space where it was possible to participate in the Holy Mass. In fact from the presbytery it 's possiblr to see the wooden lattice from which you could assist at Mass.

Bibliography

• (Italian) Brugherio: i suoi luoghi, la sua storia: 225º anniversario del primo volo italiano in mongolfiera con uomini a bordo, Brugherio, Comune di Brugherio, 2009.
• (Italian) Cooperativa Agricola di Consumo, Luoghi di orazione - Calendario 2011, Brugherio.

External links

• (Italian) Comune di Brugherio. Le cascine brugheresi, su comune.brugherio.mb.it. URL consultato il 24 November 2015.