Sant'Eustorgio: Interior of the Cappella Portinari

Pigallo Portinari was the branch manager of the Medici Bank in Milan. He supervised the construction of a burial chapel for his family at the church of Sant'Eustorgio. Its Florentine and specifically Medici-associated patronage is evident in its plan and elevation, which consciously recall the Old Sacristy at San Lorenzo in Florence. However, there are significant alterations to both the proportions and the decoration.

The interior spaces are defined by architectural orders, pilasters, architraves, mouldings, pendentives and a ribbed dome with all the details picked out in grey stone that contrasts with the flat plaster surfaces. These architectonic features are in places richly ornamented with formal motifs in relief.

A number of the surfaces have been painted in fresco in the Lombard manner by Vincenzo Foppa.

View the section of Cappella Portinari.