Getting Fooled At Santa Maria Near San Satiro Church

Santa Maria seems like a nice, neighborhood church of no significance. Not huge, not full of priceless art, just a place to pop into for a little prayer.

Front facade, crammed into a small plaza.

Nice dome, nice frieze on the side. Poor Jesus, he always ends up dead.

Looking down the central aisle toward the altar, choir. Wow, that barrel vault behind the altar goes on for a while. Or does it?

It turns out, designer Donato Bramante had a grand idea for what is actually no space at all. He created one of the first examples of painted perspective, trompe-l'œil. Bravo!

Back to shrines along the side of the church, a noir-ish scene.