Sant'Antonio da Padova Sanctuary, Minor basilica in Milan, Italy

The sanctuary of Sant'Antonio di Padova has a neo-Baroque facade divided by a cornice with metopes and triglyphs, with three portals below and three arched windows above. Its interior is eclectic, inspired by Neoclassicism with Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque elements: three naves, a flat painted ceiling, a matroneo with biforas, and a single deep semicircular apse without transept. The 55-metre Liberty-style bell tower has a circular belfry and is topped by a 5-metre cast-iron statue of Saint Anthony.

The church was built from 1898 to 1902 to designs by Paolo Cesa Bianchi, on the site of the Ospizio di Terra Santa founded in 1872. Cardinal Andrea Carlo Ferrari consecrated it on 12 June 1902, the eve of Saint Anthony's feast. Ugo Zanchetta added the side aisles, chapels and 55-metre bell tower between 1932 and 1937; Pius XI raised it to minor basilica on 18 July 1937, and it became a parish church in 1957.

The flat ceiling of the central nave carries paintings of scenes from Saint Anthony's life by Attilio Andreoli. A carved wooden pulpit stands between the fifth and sixth bays, and the apse bowl is frescoed with the Glory of Saint Anthony. The saint is also the subject of the bronze fountain group of 1932, where he preaches to the fish.

The church sits on Via Carlo Farini and opens for visitors during regular hours. Checking mass schedules beforehand helps you plan your visit, as these times affect when the space is open to the public.

The bronze statue of Saint Anthony preaching to the fish, by Giuseppe Maretto, stands in the fountain on the triangular tree-planted square before the church. It was placed there in 1932 for the seventh centenary of the saint's death, on the initiative of the Circolo di coltura francescana, and the pedestal bears the sculptor's signature: "Giuseppe Maretto 1932 X".