Church of S.Maria al Carrobiolo

The church is in the area of a district previously known as Sant'Agata where there used to be an older church of Longobard origin, now lost.

Santa Maria del Carrobiolo stands in the old town centre of Monza and was founded, between 1232 and 1234, by the Humiliati of Saint Agatha, the powerful lay-religious order that arose in Lombardy between the 11th and the 12th century and that was originally dedicated to the woollen industry and to works of charity. The economic power that the Order accumulated made it a powerful force, to such an extent that - in 1248 - the Cathedral Chapter asked them for help in paying a high war tax, entrusting to the Humiliati both the Iron Crown and other valuables from the Treasury of the Cathedral, which were kept at Santa Maria del Carrobiolo until they were redeemed. The Treasury of the Cathedral was again pledged to the Humiliati of Santa Maria del Carrobiolo in 1273, by Raimondo della Torre, a leading member of the family in conflict with the Visconti and previously archpriest of Monza Cathedral between 1251 and 1262. Della Torre probably needed the loan to pay for the expenses of his spectacular entry to the prestigious patriarchal see of Aquileia, to which he was appointed by Pope Gregory X.

The name by which the church is known probably derives from its position close to the "Carrobiolo Gate" in the city walls, built in 1333 by Azzone Visconti. A surviving part of the original defence structure is the Ponte Nuovo, behind the apse of the church, spanning the bifurcation in the river Lambro, the main branch of which continues towards the town centre, while the other branch enters the artificial canal known as the Lambretto, also a part of the defence system created by the Visconti.

The Carrobiolo Gate (demolished in 1839) was the point of arrival of the main medieval street in the town, now Via Carlo Alberto, which leads to the Royal Palace of Monza. At the height of the small square in front of the church, the old street turned towards the gate, which was also used as tollhouse. Carts loaded with goods had to stop here: according to one interpretation, this would explain the name of the gate and of the church.

Having lost its original vocation and focussing mainly on financial matters, the Order of the Humiliati - which was accused during the Reformation of being close to Calvinism - arrived at the point of plotting against the life of Saint Charles Borromeo, who escaped the attack. After that, Pope Pius V suppressed the order (1571) and the church of Santa Maria del Carrobiolo was assigned to the Barnabites (Clerics Regular of St. Paul), who still look after it.

The Romanesque bell tower of Santa Maria del Carrobiolo is one of the rare authentic medieval structures in Monza.