Milan - San Babila

Milan is the city capital of the Lombardy and the second most populous city in Italy after Rome. Known during Roman times as "Mediolanum" it was the place, where in 313 Constantine I and Licinius met and "signed" the "Edict of Milan", giving Christianity a legal status within the Roman empire.

At the end of the Roman empire Milan was besieged by the Visigoths in 402, looted by the Huns in 452, and taken by the Ostrogoths in 539. Only 30 years later is belonged to the Kingdom of the Lombards, until in 774 Charlemagne defeated the Langobards and added Milan to the Carolingian empire. During Barbarossa´s (Frederik I) "Italian Campaigns" Milan was taken and destroyed to a great extent.

The "Basilica di San Babila" was erected here, near the city walls, end of the 11th. The relics of Saint Babylas of Antioch had been brought to Milan already in the 5th century. The church got altered ane extended a couple of times and upto the late 19th century had a baroque façade.

Then renovations began intending to restore the appearance of the medieval basilica, and a Neo-Romanesque façade was built. The campanile was erected in the 1920s, replacing the original tower which collapsed in the 16th century.