Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio

Saint Ambrose, bishop of Milan, founded the basilica in the late 4th century; the Romanesque church you see dates from the 11th and 12th. You enter through a large arcaded brick atrium flanked by two bell towers of different ages, one for the monks and one for the canons, who quarrelled over the church for centuries.

In front of the presbytery stands the golden altar, a 9th-century masterpiece covered in gold and silver panels showing the lives of Christ and the saint. The crypt holds Ambrose's remains, and the chapel of San Vittore in Ciel d'Oro keeps 5th-century mosaics.