The Devil's Column and the mysteries of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan

Next to the basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, one of the oldest and most revered churches in Milan, stands an isolated marble column that the Milanese call the Devil's Column. On its shaft two deep holes can be seen, and around these marks one of the city's liveliest legends has grown. But the Ambrosian complex holds other objects laden with meaning, which allow us to retrace almost seventeen centuries of religious and popular history.

The duel between saint and demon

According to legend, the devil long tempted Ambrose, bishop of Milan in the fourth century, trying to turn him from his work. Exasperated by the saint's resistance, the demon is said to have charged at him head down, but Ambrose stepped aside and the attacker's horns ended up stuck in the column. After much effort the devil freed himself and fled, in some versions through the very holes, down to hell.

Popular tradition adds that, bringing your nose close to the holes, you can still smell sulphur, and that putting your ear to them you can hear the noises of the infernal world. On Easter night, some traditions say, the devil appears near the column. These are beliefs the Milanese hand down with a mixture of irony and affection.

A Roman column

From a historical point of view, the column is a Roman element, reused in a later period, as often happened on medieval building sites. Some scholars have suggested that it was linked to public ceremonies, but its original function is not documented with certainty. The two holes may derive from ancient fixing systems or from damage suffered over the centuries.

The basilica itself was founded by Ambrose between 379 and 386 and took on its present Romanesque appearance between the eleventh and twelfth centuries. In the crypt lie the remains of the saint, beside those of the martyrs Gervasius and Protasius. Inside one can admire the golden altar of Vuolvinius, a masterpiece of Carolingian goldsmiths' work from the ninth century.

The bronze serpent

In the central nave, on a granite column, stands a bronze serpent that tradition links to the serpent raised by Moses in the desert, according to the Book of Numbers. The object is of Byzantine origin and reached Milan around the year 1000, as a gift to a Milanese archbishop from the court of Constantinople.

A popular belief says that the serpent will come down from its column and crawl towards the Valley of Jehoshaphat at the end of time, announcing the Last Judgement. In the Middle Ages, it is said, mothers brought their children to it in the hope of protecting them from certain illnesses. These are devotional practices of which only the memory remains today, and they should be read as an expression of popular piety.

The Sant'Ambrogio complex shows how legend and history can coexist in the same space. The Roman column, the early Christian basilica, the Carolingian altar and the Byzantine serpent tell of Milan's long continuity, while the stories of the devil and the serpent reveal how ordinary people gave voice, through vivid images, to the struggle between good and evil.