Sant'Antonio abate, Mannerist church in central Milan, Italy
Sant'Antonio abate is a church located in central Milan with a simple hall-like interior structure. The walls and vault display religious paintings and decorative elements that span several centuries of artistic development.
A 13th-century church and hospital of the Canons of Saint Anthony of Vienne, where the sick of Saint Anthony's fire were treated, stood here; the hospital was called Ospitale de' porci. In 1452 the complex passed as a commendam to the Trivulzio family. In 1577 the Theatines took over and had Dionigi Campazzo rebuild the church in 1582; Francesco Maria Richini completed the work in 1630. The Neoclassical facade by Giacomo Tazzini was left unfinished in 1832.
The church preserves artworks by multiple Italian masters, including the Nativity and Adoration of the Magi by Pier Francesco Mazzucchelli and works by the Carlone brothers.
The church stands between the Duomo and the State University, on a street parallel to Via Festa del Perdono. The former Theatine convent to the left of the entrance, now housing Milan's Catholic Action, keeps a 16th-century cloister with two orders of Tuscan and Ionic columns; its arcades are only simulated in relief on the side against the church.
The building combines three distinct architectural periods: Mannerist interior from 1582, Richini modifications from 1630, and a Neoclassical facade from 1832.
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