San Carlo al Corso (formally
Santi Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso) is a 17th century minor basilica, a titular and conventual church in the rione Campo Marzio, dedicated to the Milanese Saints
Ambrose and
Charles Borromeus.
It is the regional church of the Lombards, and it also contains the Chapel of
St Olav, which is the Norwegian national shrine.
For reference, a plan of the church is available
here.
The first church on the site was called San Niccolò del Tufo. It was granted to the Lombard community by
Pope Sixtus IV, after he had approved of the establishment of a Lombard Confraternity in 1471. They rededicated it to their patron St Ambrose, and restored the church.
In 1612 a new church was built by
Onorio Longhi, and dedicated to Sts Ambrose and Charles Borromeo; the foundation stone was laid on 29 January of that year. The latter had been canonized in 1610, and it was this canonization that led to the enlargement of the church. The confraternity, now named the Archconfraternity of Saints Ambrose and Charles of the Lombard Nation, funded the project. The architect died before the work was completed, and the façade was finally completed in 1684 by Gian Battista Menicucci and Mario da Canepina. The interior was designed by
Martino Longhi the Younger, son of Onorio, in 1642 and slightly altered by
Pietro da Cortona in 1651. The latter erected the dome and apse in 1668.
In 1929, it was given the status of minor basilica.
The interior was renovated in 2001. In February 2002, the Roman newspaper Il Messaggero wrote that the external wall have cracks in them, and the church was therefore in danger of collapsing. The damages may have been caused by the heavy traffic on the Corso. To prevent it from collapsing, steel reinforcements were put in place at the apse, and the church is now safe.
The church is served by
Rosminians fathers.
