MILAN: The Devil's Column…

In the 14th century, the Dominican friar Galvano Fiamma recounts in his *Chronichae* that the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire had to embrace the column in Piazza Sant’Ambrogio in order to be crowned. The column, made of cipollino marble, was in fact called the Imperial Column because of this custom.

 

<< […] L’imperatore giurerà che sarà obbediente al Papa e alla Chiesa Romana nelle cose temporali e spirituali. […] Ciò fatto l’Imperatore deve abbracciare quella colonna dritta di marmo per significare che la giustizia in lui sarà dritta…>>

(Galvano Fiamma, Chronichae)

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The Roman-era column is located in Piazza Sant’Ambrogio near the Basilica of the same name, but it originally belonged to the Roman Imperial Palace of Mediolanum, built by Emperor Maximian at the end of the third century.

Discovered during archaeological excavations in the 19th century, it immediately stands out for two distinctive holes at the bottom.

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It didn’t take long for a rather unusual legend to develop around it, after it was renamedthe “Devil’s Column”:

The Devil was determined to meet Saint Ambrose at all costs in order to tempt him into evil. His repeated attempts were in vain, for the saint, losing his patience, kicked him away. The devil lost his balance and impaled his horns on a nearby column, where he remained stuck for an entire day. He finally used the holes created by his horns as a portal to return to Hell.

 

According to popular belief, as you approach the holes, you can hear the bubbling sounds of the underworld river Styx and smell the scent of sulfur coming directly from Hell.

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Holes in the column

 

St. Ambrose Basilica

Photo 122524944 © Antanovich1985 / Dreamstime.com

 

Devil's Column

Photo: G. dallorto, Attribution, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Photos of Milan

Photo 61042008 © Xantana / Dreamstime.com