Complesso monumentale di Santa Croce e Tutti i Santi, Renaissance religious complex in Bosco Marengo, Italy.
The monumental complex of Santa Croce e Tutti i Santi stands just outside Bosco Marengo, its church designed by Ignazio Danti and built under Martino Longhi the Elder from 1566. The Tuscan-Romanesque facade carries the striped red-and-gold shield of Pius V between two stone obelisks, above a marble portal with Corinthian columns. Inside, Giorgio Vasari supplied the decoration, including a grand altarpiece dismantled in 1710.
The monastery was founded in 1566 under the direction of Pope Pius V, with architects Ignazio Danti and Martino Longhi overseeing construction. It evolved into a significant religious center in the region.
The complex is still a Dominican convent, and its church was planned as Pius V's burial place; his mausoleum was restored in 1992. Giorgio Vasari supplied the decorative programme, including a grand altarpiece that was dismantled in 1710. In the 19th century the convent trained French novices, among them the group formed by Jean Baptiste Lacordaire in 1841, who received the habit in 1842 before founding a community at Nancy.
The site is accessible to visitors year-round and offers both church and museum spaces to explore. It is helpful to wear comfortable shoes for walking the grounds and allow time to view the artworks on display.
The church was designed by Ignazio Danti, with works directed by Martino Longhi the Elder, and Pius V entrusted its decoration to Giorgio Vasari, who built a grand altarpiece dismantled in 1710. The pope died before the works ended, and the plainer first floor of the convent shows the smaller funds available afterwards.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,405 contributors worldwide.
