Page 107 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Milan & The Lakes

SOUTHEAST MILAN  105

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
. Bell Tower Practical Information
(ciribiciaccola) Eighty Via Sant’Arialdo 102, Chiaravalle
small marble columns Milanese. Tel 02­57 40 34 04.
adorn the bell tower Open 9am–noon, 2:30–5:30pm
designed by Francesco Tue–Sat; 2:30–5pm Sun.
Pecorari in 1329–40. 5 8, 9:15 (Gregorian chant) &
Called ciribiciaccola 11am, 5:30pm hols; 8am, 5:30pm
(clever contraption) by Mon–Sat. 7 = (no flash).
the Milanese, its bells - 8 4pm Sun.
accompanied the farmers’
and monks’ working day. Transport
q 3 Corvetto, then bus 77.
The tower bell rope still @ 77.
hangs in the church.
Madonna della Buonanotte
Painted in 1512 by Bernardino
Luini at the top of the steps
leading to the dormitory, this
picture is known as the Madonna
della Buonanotte because she
“said goodnight” to the monks
going to bed.

KEY
1 The top of the façade, made of
brick, is what remains of the original.
The porch was added in 1625. The
16th­century main portal has
figures of Cistercian saints, including
St Bernard with the church in his hand.
2 The interior had no paintings
because this would have distracted
the monks from their prayers. The
17th­century frescoes tell the story
of the order.
3 The many windows (double,
triple and quadruple lancet) lend
. Cloister movement to the tower structure.
Rebuilt in 1952 by using
the one surviving side 4 The chapter house, designed in
as a model, the cloister the late 15th century by Bramante,
has a plaque commem­ has three graffiti from that period
orating the founding of depicting Santa Maria delle Grazie,
the church, next to the Duomo and Castello Sforzesco.
which is a stork, the 5 Refectory
symbol of Chiaravalle.

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