Museo San Fedele

About the museum

The church of San Fedele, designed by Pellegrino Tibaldi in the heart of Milan, is a symbol of the city of Carlo Borromeo and of the Counter-Reformation. After the suppression of the Jesuit order (1773–1814) it passed to the canons of the nearby Santa Maria della Scala, a church demolished to make way for the Teatro alla Scala; after the Second World War it returned to the Jesuits, whose social, cultural and artistic activities are now brought together in the Fondazione Culturale San Fedele.

The museum route, opened on 31 December 2014 at the end of restoration work lasting a decade, runs through the church and some of the surrounding spaces. It is linked to the Galleria San Fedele, founded in the fifties on the initiative of Father Arcangelo Favaro as a place of dialogue between art and faith, and to seventy years of the Jesuits’ relationship with contemporary artists: among the collaborators are Carlo Carrà, Mario Sironi and Lucio Fontana, who painted the altarpiece of the Sacred Heart (1956).

The works are displayed in the church and in restored “stanze di contemplazione” (contemplation rooms): the crypt and the sacellum, the sacristy, the ballerinas’ chapel, together with spaces containing ancient reliquaries, liturgical objects and paintings. Alongside ancient works, such as the Deposition by Simone Peterzano, the museum hosts interventions by contemporary artists including Jannis Kounellis, Mimmo Paladino, Claudio Parmiggiani, David Simpson, Sean Shanahan and Nicola De Maria.

Highlights

• Crypt with Jannis Kounellis’s installation of the Apocalypse
• Picture gallery with works by Romanino, Tintoretto, Fontana, Sironi and Manzoni
• Deposition by Simone Peterzano in the church
• Collection of relics of all the saints of the year
• Stations of the Cross and frieze by Lucio Fontana

Permanent exhibition

• Itinerario museale di San Fedele – Route through the church, the crypt, the sacristy, the ballerinas’ chapel, the picture gallery and the reliquary rooms, with works from the 14th century to today.

Founded

2014

Operated by

Fondazione Culturale San Fedele (Gesuiti)

Visitors per year

approx. 6,000

Admission & discounts

The website strongly recommends buying admission tickets online.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The entrance is at Piazza San Fedele 4, in the centre of Milan.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit