SANT’ANGELO LODIGIANO

THE HISTORY

S.Angelo Lodigiano is one of the biggest towns in the province of Lodi and it is located on the river Lambro. The religious reference about S.Angelo is uncertain, but it is well known that during the Longobard Kingdom, the cult of Saint Arcangelo was very common and from this name it could derive.

S. Angelo Lodigiano is named for the first time in the inventory of the Monastery of Santa Cristina at the end of the 10th century and also in 1188. According to the historian Giovanni Agnelli, in 1261 S. Angelo was already known for its wide church.

During the Visconti domination, the town grew also as a commercial centre and started to be considered one of the leading towns around Milan. In 1375 Bernabò Visconti decided to build a castle and donate it to his wife Regina della Scala. In 1452 the Earls Bolognini became the new lords of S. Angelo and they governed until the 20th century.

Finally, it is important to mention that during the Spanish domination, S. Angelo improved its commercial business.

The Earls Bolognini were actively committed in the life of the town and built up many institutes of Assistance as well as various public industrial facilities like the iron bridge and the irrigation plant.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Earl Gian Giacomo Morando Bolognini started the maintenance works of the castle and after his death  in 1919 his widow Lydia donated the castle to the Istituto Sperimentale di Cerealicoltura.

ROMAN BASILICA of S.ANTONIO ABATE and  S.FRANCESCA CABRINI(called after these Saints in 1946)
S.Angelo Lodigiano - Diocese of Lodi – province of Lodi

The Bishop’s Archive of Lodi states that the “ECCLESIA PLEBANA” (the church) of S. Angelo Lodigiano could be dated back to 1210.

At that time it was located in the living centre of the town and here it remained up to the end of the 15th century. At the end of 1400 a new church and a spire were built and in 1535 a new patron saint was assigned to the church: S. Antonio Abate.

The history of the actual Basilica is rather recent and it is of about one century old. The project is dated 1859 and it is thanks to the Reverend Bassano Dedè, the spiritual guide of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, that the town can now benefit from its glorious church.

On July 7th 1928 the first stone was laid and on October 28th 1938 the church was finally consecrated by the Bishop of Lodi. On November 13th of the same year Mother Cabrini was beatified.

The actual Basilica includes many chapels which is worth to mention:

1. CHAPEL OF THE HOLY VIRGIN WITH THE ROSARY: this is what remains of the church dated 1400. It is decorated with beautiful frescos and a renaissance marble altar.
2. BAPTISTERY: a great wooden work from the 17th century which comes from the old church. Mother Cabrini was baptized here on July 15th 1850.
3. CHAPEL OF THE SACRED HEART: the fresco called “Holy Virgin with Jesus and the Saints” comes from the old church too.
4. CHAPEL OF SAINT FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI: the central part of the chapel is dominated by the painting that represents the young nun rising to the Paradise. Next to it, there are two frescos about Mother Cabrini’s main activities. The first one shows her dedication to the immigrants, while the second one represents her educational assistance among young people. The marble altar in the centre holds a precious relic of Saint Frances Cabrini: her bone.

This Basilica witnesses the generosity of the citizens of S. Angelo Lodigiano who built a church in a period of economic restrictions. This shows how S. Angelo has always cared for Saint Frances Cabrini and how it is proud to celebrate her.