Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore — iBlackcat (CC BY-SA 3.0 it)

Ready-made walk · Milan

Ancient Basilicas to the Navigli

7 stops · ~2 hr 10 min · 4.9 km

Religious Heritage

Trace Milan’s Christian roots from the Biblioteca Ambrosiana and the frescoed San Maurizio to Sant’Ambrogio, founded by Bishop Ambrose, and the late-Roman San Lorenzo with its columns. Visit Sant’Eustorgio, linked with the relics of the Magi, then end by the canals at the Darsena and the old washhouse of Vicolo Lavandai.

The stops, in walking order

iBlackcat (CC BY-SA 3.0 it)
Stop 1: Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore
~15 min here
Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore is a Roman Catholic church whose surviving form still preserves the bold geometry of a late-imperial building.
iGeobia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Stop 2: Basilica di Sant'Eustorgio
~15 min here
Sant’Eustorgio is a basilica whose story reaches back to the fourth century.
iLorenzo Fratti (CC BY 2.5)
Stop 3: Vicolo Lavandai
~3 min here
Vicolo Lavandai is a Milan lane in the Navigli district, at Alzaia Naviglio Grande 14.
iNelson Pérez (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Stop 4: Darsena
~3 min here
Darsena is an artificial water basin beside Porta Ticinese, shaped by Milan’s former waterways and once devoted to boats.
iLudvig14 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Stop 5: Basilica di Sant'Ambrogio
~15 min here
Sant'Ambrogio is a Roman Catholic basilica whose present character is Romanesque, rebuilt in Milan during the medieval period.
iMarkusMark (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Stop 6: San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore
~15 min here
San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore is a church whose interior is almost entirely covered by Renaissance frescoes.
iLudvig14 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Stop 7: Biblioteca Ambrosiana
~3 min here
Biblioteca Ambrosiana is a historic library that also brings together an art gallery, making this building a meeting place for books, manuscripts, and pictures.