Santa Maria presso San Satiro

Bramante 1480s church with a trompe-l'oeil choir that creates the illusion of depth

Address Via Torino 17/19, 20123 Milan
Admission Free
Opening Hours Mon–Fri 08:30–12:00, 15:00–18:30; Sat 10:00–12:00, 15:00–18:30; Sun 10:00–12:30

A small Renaissance church on Via Torino that contains one of the most remarkable visual illusions in Italian architecture. From the nave, the choir appears to extend deep into the building in perfect Renaissance perspective — except that it is painted on a shallow wall only 97 centimetres deep. Bramante's trompe l'oeil choir is one of the finest examples of perspective manipulation in 15th-century art.

The church also contains a beautiful 15th-century terracotta Pietà in the Sacello di San Satiro (a 9th-century chapel incorporated into the larger church). This is a five-minute detour from the Duomo that most visitors completely miss. Do not walk past it.

things to do sight architecture centro storico
A story
Architect Donato Bramante faced a problem when he designed this church in 1476: the street behind the apse left no room for a real choir. His solution was to paint a trompe l'oeil perspective that makes a flat wall appear to extend into a deep barrel-vaulted choir. Even knowing it is an illusion, it is almost impossible to see it as flat. It is one of the most elegant architectural deceptions in Italy.