Chiesa di Santa Maria del Carmine

In 1268, the Carmelite Fathers settled near the Sforza Castle, where they started building their convent and the annexed church in the 14th century, which was destroyed by fire in 1330. The new church, however, had no greater fortune: it fell into ruinous abandon when, towards the end of the century, the friars moved to another convent. The present church, instead, was built from 1339-1400; the new project was entrusted to Friar Bernardo da Venezia and the works, completed in 1446, were led by Pietro Antonio Solari. As soon as it was finished, the vault of the church collapsed and only three years later the restoration work began. The fact that, starting from the middle of the century, the church had become from "conventual" to "aristocratic" is testified by the many noble burials in the naves and chapels. In the seventeenth century, the presbytery was radically restored in Baroque style and assumed its present shape. The present façade, instead, is the work of Carlo Maciachini and was built in 1880.