Rotonda della Besana, Milan

Rotonda della Besana is a former cemetery, and the long, undulating portico you see encloses a garden and the deconsecrated church of San Michele ai Sepolcri. The complex rose between 1695 and 1732, with Francesco Croce responsible for the portico and Attilio Arrigoni for the church. Its architectural language is Italian baroque.

Nearly 150,000 people were buried here in catacombs that are no longer accessible. This began as a burial ground for the poor connected with Ospedale Maggiore. After the cemetery closed, the complex served such varied purposes as a stable, a barn, a shelter for chronically ill people, and a hospital laundry.

Today, the colonnade and garden form a public leisure area and a setting for exhibitions, screenings, and cultural events. As you follow the rhythm of the arches, the building’s past remains unusually legible: a place created for burial has become an open civic space, while the church still gives the enclosure its solemn focus.