BASILICA OF THE FRIARS, The Chapels

Like I said, this church is full of sculpture and painting masterpieces that make it a treasure trove of beauty. Chapel after chapel, I'll point out the most important works, going from left to right.

Now pause the audio and go to the first chapel to the left of the High Altar, called Corner or St. Mark's Chapel, which is in front of the "St. Mark Enthroned".

This painting is a triptych, or a three-panel painting, from the second half of the 1400s. The figures of the saints with bright colors have the splendor of the glass and enamel of Murano, where the painter Bartolomeo Vivarini was born. Admire the rich carved frame in golden wood, with the statues of Our Lady and prophets Jonah and Jeremiah.

Now pause the audio and go to the next chapel, called dei Milanesi, in front of the so-called "St. Ambrose Altarpiece".

This "St. Ambose Altarpiece" was donated to the church by the thriving Lombard colony in the mid-1300s. It is a very busy painting where you can count a total of eleven saints. St. Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan, is sitting on the throne under a loggia....