L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2021 L'Italo-Americano M i l a n , t h e b e a t i n g h e a r t o f I t a l i a n e c o n o m y and fashion, the trendsetting city, the birthplace of Man- z o n i a n d p a n e t t o n e , t h e home of the most famous gothic church in the country, the Duomo, and of one of Leonardo's most precious works, the Last Supper. M i l a n , t h e c a p i t a l o f Italian opera, which is a bit to say the capital of world opera, because, in the end, t h a t w a s o u r i n v e n t i o n . M i l a n a n d i t s b e a u t i f u l Navigli, the quintessential aperitivo location, the place where every work day ends and every weekend starts. But the Lombard capital i s a l s o t h e c i t y o f S a i n t Ambrose, or Ambrogio, as w e k n o w h i m i n I t a l y , Doctor of the Church – it means he contributed signif- icantly to Christian thought and to the development of theology – bishop and the city's holy protector. In Italy, as in other Catholic coun- tries, the cult of Saints is very common and is part of the history of spirituality and of heritage, so much so that every place and person h a v e a s a n t o p a t r o n o , a patron saint: Ambrogio is that of Milan and Milan has been honoring her connec- tion with the holy bishop for c e n t u r i e s , o n t h e 7 t h o f December. If the entire country, or at least the faithful, do have a special prayer for Ambrogio o n t h a t d a y , o l d Mediolanum puts on quite a show with a beautiful fair and the season premiere of La Scala's opera calendar. And then, Sant'Ambrogio d a y i n M i l a n m a r k s t h e beginning of the Christmas season, a day earlier than in the rest of Italy, where it usually begins on the 8 th , the day of the Immaculate Conception. Ambrogio is a figure of great interest. Born in Trier (Germany) in 339 AD, when t h e R o m a n E m p i r e s t i l l existed and in a time known t o h i s t o r i a n s a s L a t e Antiquity, his full name was Aurelius Ambrosius and he c a m e f r o m a w e l l - t o - d o R o m a n s e n a t o r i a l f a m i l y that had been Christian for g e n e r a t i o n s . A m b r o g i o , therefore, was raised within t h e f a i t h a n d w a s s e n t t o study in Milan so that he could follow in his ances- tors'steps and become an imperial administrator. His first, important post was as g o v e r n o r f o r t h e R o m a n p r o v i n c e o f L i g u r i a a n d Aemilia, that is, the area roughly corresponding to t h e e p o n y m o u s m o d e r n regions. As an administrator, he was known for his oratory a n d m e d i a t i n g a b i l i t i e s , which he would put to good use to settle the many dia- tribes of those days between Catholics and Aryans. It was also in name of his strong c h a r a c t e r a n d p o n d e r e d , assertive personality, as well a s h i s e v i d e n t s k i l l s a s a leader, that, in 374, he was nominated bishop of Milan by acclamation. Now if you think that's weird, well, it is to modern standards but not to late antique ones: back then, it was usual for men who had a knick for leader- ship, were Christians and h a d d i s t i n g u i s h e d t h e m - selves for their morals and g o o d h e a r t , t o b e e l e c t e d b i s h o p s b y p e o p l e . T h e event, which is a trope of hagiographical literature, u s u a l l y t o o k p l a c e a f t e r some outstanding episode where the bishop-to-be gave p r o o f o f h i s o t h e r w o r d l y spirituality and goodness. Once he became bishop, A m b r o s e e m b r a c e d a n ascetic lifestyle and gave all of his earthly belonging to the needy – again, as many saints of that time would do, including Saint Martin of T o u r s , o n e o f F r a n c e ' s p a t r o n s a i n t s , a n d S a i n t Augustine, who was, in fact, converted to Christianity by Ambrose himself. As the spiritual leader of Milan, Ambrogio made sure the city had adequately large and meaningful places of w o r s h i p , a n d h a d S a n N a z a r o C h u r c h , S a n Simpliciano Church and San Dionigi Church built; but the m o s t i m p o r t a n t p l a c e o f worship commissioned by the saint is, without a doubt Saint Ambrose basilica. He had it built, between 379 and 386 on the place where martyrs who perished dur- ing Christians' persecutions had been buried. It was to b e c o m e h i s o w n r e s t i n g place, too, in 397, when he p a s s e d a w a y . T o d a y , t h e basilica is the second largest church in Milan after the Duomo and, while it is a fine e x a m p l e o f R o m a n e s q u e architecture, its layout still mirrors that of the original p a l e o c h r i s t i a n b u i l d i n g wanted by Ambrose. A man of incredible faith, Ambrose, of strength and m o r a l r e p t i t u d e , w h o became a symbol of Milan and its history. It is not sur- prising that, as we said earli- er in this article, the city still today honors and celebrates h i m i n g r a n d e u r a n d h a s been doing so since the 13 th c e n t u r y ! O n t h e 7 t h o f December, along with reli- gious celebrations, there are many events taking place across the city. The inauguration of La S c a l a ' s o p e r a s e a s o n , o f course, but also the begin- ning of Milan's O Bej O Bej, the traditional Christmas f a i r h e l d a t t h e C a s t e l l o S f o r z e s c o f r o m S a i n t Ambrose day until the fol- lowing Sunday. The fair was likely established in 1510, when Giannetto Castiglione, a delegate of Pope Pius IV, had visited Milan on Saint Ambrose day. Legends say that Giannetto, who wanted to be well liked by locals, had come with boxes full of candies and toys for chil- dren, which were then dis- tributed to the crowd gath- ered around Saint Ambrose basilica. The fair's name, O B e j , O B e j , w h i c h i n M i l a n e s e d i a l e c t m e a n s "how nice, how nice," is said to come from the words chil- dren would say when receiv- i n g t h e i r p r e s e n t s f r o m Giannetto. FRANCESCA BEZZONE Saint Ambrose, in a Byzantine mosaic (Photo: Steve Estvanik/Dreamstime) Ambrogio, the Holy Man of Milan and his feast HERITAGE HISTORY IDENTITY TRADITIONS PEOPLE

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