Cloisters of Sant'Ambrogio, Renaissance cloister at Catholic University campus, Milan, Italy

The Cloisters of Sant'Ambrogio is a Renaissance cloister complex on the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore campus in Milan, composed of two square courtyards with classical columns. One courtyard features Doric columns while the other displays Ionic columns, creating visual balance through architectural refinement.

The monastery was founded under Bishop Pietro I, documented on 23 October 789 and ratified by Charlemagne in 790. In 1487 Cardinal Ascanio Sforza received the abbey in commendam, installed Cistercians from Clairvaux and commissioned Donato Bramante to rebuild it in 1497. Work stopped with the fall of the Sforzas in 1499; the Ionic cloister was continued by Cristoforo Solari until 1513, and the Doric cloister was added in 1620-1630.

The former 16th-century refectory between the two cloisters became the university's Great Hall, where the wall fresco of the Wedding at Cana by Callisto Piazza (1545) is displayed, moved here from the Brera. The library and chapel hold sculptures set against high walls by Giacomo Manzù.

The cloisters are part of an active university campus and can be visited during the institution's operating hours, with standard access rules in place. It is best to check in advance for any restrictions, as the site primarily serves the university's educational functions.

Excavations in the 1980s, during expansion of the complex, first brought to light remains of a Roman necropolis of the 1st to 3rd century, which stood just outside the walls of Mediolanum. The most notable find was a large circular brick structure from the late 16th or early 17th century, identified as the Cistercian ice house, the "conserva de giazzo" mentioned in Sforza documents. It is now visible in the underground classroom named after the philosopher Gustavo Bontadini.