Provost’s Church of St. Victor the Martyr

A provost’s church of ancient foundation

Dedicated to St. Victor the Moor, a martyr very dear to the Milan inhabitants, who died in the third century, the Provost’s Church of St. Victor the Martyr is of very ancient foundation, witnessed since the year 846. Unlike the current place of worship, however, the ancient provost’s church had the opposite orientation: the entrance was to the west and overlooked today’s Visconti Square, where there was a cemetery area. It was restored in 1596, but it still remained a small temple 18 meters long and 12 meters wide and in the nineteenth century it appeared so degraded, that it was decided to restore it with its expansion on the land in front dedicated to burials.
At the advent of the works, however, it was decided to demolish it with subsequent reconstruction, this time with an east-facing frontage. It was on this occasion that the mummy of Archbishop Leone da Perego was found in the attic of the church, which after various vicissitudes now rests in the cemetery of Rho.

Address:

Piazza San Vittore, Rho MI

Open for visits:

yes

Contacts:

Parish Office
Tel.: 02-9302364
e-mail: info@rho-sanvittore.it

The reconstruction in neoclassical style

A neoclassical style Basilica was then built according to the plans of Besi and Aluisetti. The first project built two bell towers, one of which was razed to the ground in 1889 due to structural instability. The right bell tower remained, which was raised up to 58.40 meters. The paintings of the pronaos are the work of the Milanese professor Beghè led by Don Moiolo; the stained glass windows, as many as 16, were made by the painter Giulio Cesare Giuliani and others are by Tevarotto of Milan. Other paintings in the monument are the work of Professor Bosoni and the school of Luini. In 1847 the construction of the Church was completed and the subsequent consecration took place with the presence of Archbishop Luigi Nazari of Calabiana. In the same square where the place of worship stands, there is the Cross of the plague, that is a cross under which relics accompanied by a sheet of paper were found. These relics were placed in envelopes of paper sealed and authenticated by Monsignor Benedetti.