The remade 14th-century Marian shrine at the heart of Busto Arsizio

The Santuario di Santa Maria di Piazza, located in the heart of Busto Arsizio, Italy, is a remade 14th-century Marian shrine, quickly built between 1515 and 1522. The ancient building, according to seventeenth-century testimonies, had a square plan of 5 m on each side, but it was already probably a fourteenth-century remake of the original building. The church, in its typical forms of Romanesque architecture, was consecrated in 1346 by a bishop named Francesco, delegate of the archbishop Giovanni Visconti.

The only remnant of the ancient building is a stone rondel at the top of the present presbytery, featuring the Madonna and Child. The Santuario di Santa Maria di Piazza grew in importance as Busto Arsizio expanded in wealth, size, and influence within the Duchy of Milan during the 14th to 16th centuries. The Chaplaincy of Saint Catherine was established at the shrine in 1358 by Antonio Crespi, followed by another Chaplaincy named Santa Maria in 1485 by Donato Crespi.

The first stone of the new church was laid in 1517. It is likely, though not established, that Galeazzo Visconti, feudatory of Busto since 1488, supported the initiative. The rebuilding of the church followed a Bramantesque design, with Antonio da Lonate responsible for the design of the basic wall structure. Tommaso Rodari, a well-known sculptor and architect, was responsible for the completion and embellishments.

The comprehensive restoration of Santuario di Santa Maria di Piazza began in 1873 under the leadership of Carlo Maciachini. The side doors of the western facade were bricked up during the restorations, while the side door on the southern facade was reopened. The loggia of the tiburium was part of the restoration work, alongside structural changes to the interior and exterior walls, windows, balustrades, and flooring, as well as the replacement of wooden statues and the organ's transfer to another church.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons