San Gregorio

About

The Church of San Gregorio Magno in Camposanto, more commonly known as the Church of San Gregorio, is a Roman Catholic Church in Busto Arsizio, located near the Piazza Trento Trieste. The church was constructed between 1632 and 1659.

Construction of the church began after the 1630 plague epidemic. Busto Arsizio built a cemetery and a lazaretto due to the large number of people infected. This lazaretto and cemetery were located in the current Parco Ugo Foscolo. On 10 May 1632 construction began.

Construction though was quickly halted and abandoned for 15 years, commencing once again in the late 1640s. Between 1657 and 1659 the main central part of the church was constructed, along with a sacristy and a bell tower. The presbytery was the last part of the church to be constructed, with construction concluding in 1711. It was designed by Giovanni Comino. In 1719 a new sacristy was constructed, followed by the construction of a new bell tower. In 1736 a new marble altar was constructed and consecrated.

The church’s interior was decorated in 1745 by Biagio Bellotti. In 1790 a connection between the church and the cemetery was made. In 1831 the church’s bell tower received the bell from the church of Sant’Antonio Abate. In 1859, an oratorio was opened.

Between 1924 and 1926, a new sacristy was added at the back of the church and renovations were carried out, including the relocation of the altar to the back of the church, where the altarpiece commemorates the miracle of St Gregory the Great, who, in 590, after a solemn procession, managed to stop the plague. Outside, near the western wall of the church, a copy of the votive column was placed in 1941.

In the 20th century, Bellotti’s frescos were restored by Tito Poloni, and were once again restored in 1969, 1983, and 1991. The church’s exterior was restored between 2010 and 2012 by Augusto Spada, on the orders of Monsignor Franco Agnesi. In 2012, when restoration work was completed, St. Gregory's became the first religious building in Lombardy equipped with district heating.